Ashes of the FutureChapter 15 – The Shadow and the Flame
The morning after Roan's warning brought no peace. The sky remained overcast, clouds hanging low like a threat waiting to unfold. Kira stood barefoot in the damp grass outside the main watchtower of Tondc, her skin prickling from the cold mist. She breathed deep, every inhale burning with tension she couldn't quite shake.
Lexa approached silently, dressed in her commander's armor, the cloak whipping faintly behind her. She stopped a pace away. "You're troubled."
Kira kept her eyes on the horizon. "That man—Roan. He's a blade sheathed in silk. He wants something."
"Of course," Lexa said. "But wanting something does not make him an enemy."
Kira turned to her. "Wanting something makes him dangerous."
Lexa inclined her head, acknowledging the point. "Then we watch him. Together."
By midmorning, a gathering formed in Tondc's courtyard. Lexa called the tribal representatives to discuss the threat Roan had raised. The coalition sat on the edge of a knife, and any misstep could shatter it.
Roan stood beside Lexa, unarmed, his posture calm. Kira stayed close, her hand never far from the curved dagger at her hip.
"Azgeda prepares to march," Roan said to the assembled leaders. "My mother sees your union as weakness. She wants the Coalition broken."
"Why speak now?" demanded a tall warrior from Trikru. "Why not warn us before she arms?"
"Because," Roan said, "I only recently escaped her leash. And because I see a better world under Lexa than under her."
The room exploded into voices. Shouting. Accusation. Fear.
Kira stepped forward, voice slicing through the din. "Enough! We don't have the luxury of suspicion right now. If Azgeda moves, we either move with purpose or die divided."
The silence that followed was deep and electric.
Lexa gave her the faintest nod.
After the meeting, Kira found herself by a water pump, splashing icy water on her face. Roan approached, his expression unreadable.
"You speak like a warrior. But you don't carry yourself like one of our clans."
"I'm not," Kira said simply. "I'm not from here."
He squinted at her, clearly curious but cautious. "Then where?"
Kira shrugged. "Someplace else. Doesn't matter. This is home now."
Roan smiled faintly. "Then I hope you fight for it."
"I do," she said. "Every day."
That evening, Lexa and Kira walked the perimeter of Tondc's outer defenses. Makeshift watchtowers, spiked palisades, and earthworks hastily reinforced. The city was bracing for war.
"Will they come?" Kira asked.
"Yes," Lexa said. "It's only a matter of when."
Kira exhaled. "Then we need to hit them first."
Lexa gave her a sidelong look. "You're always so quick to strike."
"Because hesitation gets people killed."
"And yet," Lexa murmured, "sometimes waiting is the better path."
They paused at the edge of a ruined overlook. Below, the forest stretched like a sea of shadows.
"When I was a child," Lexa said, "I thought I could stop the world from bleeding if I just tried hard enough."
Kira looked at her. "And now?"
"Now I know I can't. But I can slow it. Delay the worst of it. Give people a chance."
Kira reached out and gently touched her hand. Lexa didn't pull away.
"You're not alone in this, you know," Kira said. "Whatever happens, I'll fight with you."
Lexa met her eyes, something raw behind them. "I know. That's what scares me."
That night, Kira sat alone under the stars, polishing a blade from her inventory. It gleamed with alien metal—something that didn't exist in this world. Something that shouldn't.
"You carry strange weapons," came a voice.
She turned. Roan.
"I carry what I need," she replied.
He looked at the weapon. "That blade... it hums."
"It remembers things," Kira said cryptically. "And it remembers pain."
Roan laughed, low and amused. "Then it fits this world."
Kira watched him a moment. "Why are you really here, Roan?"
He paused. Then, with rare honesty, "Because I don't want to die for my mother's ambition. And because I think Lexa might be the only person who can actually change anything."
Kira nodded. "Good. Then let's make sure she lives long enough to try."
At dawn, Lexa joined her atop the wall. Neither spoke for a long time.
Finally, Lexa said, "When the flames come, we hold the line."
"Together," Kira replied.
Their hands brushed. Not quite a touch.
But close enough for now.
End of Chapter 15
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