Ashes of Our Flame
Episode 12: "The Price of Peace"
Two weeks.
That's how long it had been since Marcus Vale fell.
Since Kara pulled the trigger that ended a legacy of blood.
Since the empire shook and crumbled under the weight of truth.
The headlines screamed revolution.
"The Vale Dynasty Falls"
"Anonymous Files Expose Decades of Corruption"
"Masked Girl Sparks Citywide Uprising"
But Kara and Adrian had no interest in the noise.
They were ghosts now.
Drifting through border towns and no-name cities, far from the chaos they left behind.
For the first time, they were free.
But peace, Kara was learning, came with its own kind of weight.
---
They stayed in a small apartment above a café in a sleepy town near the coast.
The walls smelled of cinnamon and old wood. The ocean whispered secrets through the windows.
Adrian grew a beard. Kara stopped checking the news.
They slept tangled in sheets. Cooked breakfast. Walked without fear.
And yet…
Kara couldn't shake the feeling that they were only borrowing time.
One morning, as Adrian poured her coffee, she asked the question that had haunted her since they fled:
"Do you think it was worth it?"
He froze, hand mid-pour.
"Marcus?" he asked.
"All of it."
Adrian set the cup down and looked her in the eyes.
"I think… some fires don't care if they're worth it. They just burn."
---
Later that day, Kara walked alone to the market.
The sun was warm. Kids laughed in the street. No one recognized her.
But something felt… off.
She caught a man watching her near the fruit stand. Not local. Too still. Eyes too sharp.
Another by the café entrance. Pretending to read a newspaper.
She dropped her bag and walked faster.
At the alley, a woman stepped into her path.
Tall. Leather coat. Scar down her jaw.
"Kara Voss," she said. "We've been looking for you."
Kara reached for the blade in her boot.
The woman raised her hands.
"Easy. We're not here to hurt you. We're here to offer you a deal."
Kara's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
"Call me Agent Rhea. I work with a government task force you've never heard of."
Kara didn't lower the blade.
"Marcus Vale was one of many. And you… you cracked the first wall. We want you to help us take the rest down."
Kara blinked. "Why me?"
"Because you're not scared to fight monsters. And you know how to burn kingdoms."
Kara stared at her.
"And if I say no?"
"Then you live here. In the shadows. Until someone less polite comes knocking."
Rhea stepped closer.
"You're a ghost, Kara. But ghosts can haunt the right people—if they choose to."
---
That night, Kara sat beside Adrian on the balcony, watching the stars drown in mist.
She told him everything.
He listened quietly.
When she finished, he didn't speak for a long time.
Then he said, "I won't stop you."
"You should come too."
"I can't," he said. "That part of me… it's broken."
"You're not broken," she said fiercely.
He smiled. "Maybe not. But I'm tired, Kara. I don't want to burn anymore."
A pause.
"I want to build."
Kara nodded.
"I don't know how to do that."
"Yes, you do," Adrian whispered, touching her cheek. "You just haven't had the chance."
---
The next morning, Kara packed a single bag.
She left him a letter on the kitchen table.
No goodbyes.
Just:
"This isn't the end. Just another beginning. Keep the flame safe."
And then she disappeared.
Again.
---
Six months later.
The city she left behind was still healing.
Elites arrested. Foundations dismantled. Protests reshaping laws.
But in the shadows of it all… a new war was brewing.
A war built on the ashes of the last.
And somewhere in that war…
A girl with fire in her veins walked into a new city.
A new target.
A new name.
Nova Quinn.
Undercover.
Unseen.
Unstoppable.
---
Meanwhile, Adrian Vale rebuilt the mechanic shop Kara once called home.
He started over with Tessa and Lio, fixing old cars, hosting free classes for kids, and donating food to shelters.
He smiled more.
Slept deeper.
But every night, he lit a single candle in the corner of the room.
And whispered her name.
Waiting for the day the flame would find its way back home.
---
To be continued in Episode 13...
Don't forget to vote, comment & follow for more.