The morning came with smoke in the sky.
Jackie stood on the edge of the ruined stadium, her arms crossed, golden eyes narrowed. She'd been awake all night—reliving the memory from her dream. The girl who wasn't her, but felt like her. The merging. The fire. The rage.
She turned as Kael approached.
"We need to move soon," he said. "There's another Rift flare forming—"
"No," she cut in. "We need to talk."
Kael stopped mid-step.
Jackie walked toward him slowly, claws flexing.
"You lied to me."
"I didn't—"
"You said I survived the flame by chance. That I was lucky. But you knew what I was from the beginning."
Kael's jaw clenched.
"I suspected. That's not the same."
"Bullshit," she snapped. "You were talking to someone, Kael. In the dark. Whispering about what I am. What happens if I 'turn.' Like I'm some kind of ticking bomb."
His silence was louder than any answer.
Jackie's voice shook. "You were never here to help me. You were watching me."
Kael finally looked her in the eye.
"Yes," he said quietly. "I was."
Jackie felt something inside her tremble—like a scale cracking.
"So what?" she hissed. "You gonna wait until I mess up and then put me down like the rest?"
"I don't want to," Kael said, stepping closer. "But if the Echo awakens fully—and you lose yourself—there won't be anything left of you to save."
"I'm not her," Jackie growled. "I saw her in the dream. She burned everything."
Kael nodded. "And she ended the first world. That's why the Wardens were created—to make sure it never happens again."
Jackie stepped back. "So I'm your enemy?"
"No," he said, softer now. "You're my last chance to get it right."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Jackie turned away, eyes burning.
"You should've told me. I had a right to know what I am. Not just to be afraid of it—but to own it."
Kael didn't follow her.
He let her walk to the edge of the stadium and stare out over the city—half devoured by vines, half swallowed by flame.
"Then what do you want now?" he asked.
She didn't turn around.
"I want to decide what I become. Not you. Not the Rift. Not the dragons."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"I'm not the Echo. I'm not a prophecy. I'm Jackie."
---
That night, Kael stood alone by the fire, sharpening his blade with haunted eyes.
A soft voice echoed from the shadows behind him.
> "She's resisting, isn't she?"
Kael didn't turn.
> "You should've let the flame consume her. Would've been easier."
Kael's fingers curled around the hilt of his sword.
"She's stronger than you think," he said.
The voice sighed.
> "Then we hope your trust doesn't get us all burned."