She sat alone at the edge of camp, the stars still pinned to a navy sky.
The phrase Jazira whispered echoed over and over in Jackie's mind, each syllable glowing a little brighter in her blood.
It wasn't just a memory.
It was a key.
She could feel it. Behind her ribs, behind her flame—something waiting to be unlocked.
Jackie took a breath.
Her lips parted.
And she said it.
> "Seryn'valas ith ran'dakar."
The air shattered.
A wave of heat rippled outward, warping the shadows and silencing every sound around her. The mark on her shoulder burned—not in pain, but in recognition. Her eyes glowed like suns. Her voice—when she exhaled—sounded layered. Hers, and someone else's.
A chorus of flame.
And then—the world answered.
---
🜂 Beyond the Rift
Far away—too far for the eye but not for fire—something stirred in the depths of the Rift.
An ancient place.
A throne of stone, floating in blackness.
Eyes—six of them—opened.
> "The name has been spoken," it hissed. "After all this time…"
A clawed hand reached out.
> "The heir of flame has awakened."
---
🜂 Jackie's Awakening
Jackie gasped as light burst from her skin.
She wasn't burning. She was transforming.
Her hands pulsed with goldfire, laced now with veins of deep red and silver. Her back arched—heat racing through her spine—and two outlines of wings flared briefly from her shadow before fading.
She fell to her knees, panting.
And Kael came running.
> "Jackie!" he shouted. "What did you do?!"
She looked up, and for a moment—just a moment—her eyes weren't human.
They were draconic.
Slit pupils. Gold-ringed. Ancient.
> "I spoke her words," she said. "And something heard me."
Kael's hand trembled near his sword. Not reaching. Not yet.
But ready.
> "Those words haven't been spoken in over a thousand years."
Jackie rose slowly, eyes locked on his.
> "Then maybe it's time they were."
---
From the distance—beyond the cliffs, beyond the ruined skyline—a deep, echoing roar rolled across the earth like thunder wrapped in fury.
Not Unmade. Not Warden.
> Something older.
Kael turned pale. "What was that?"
Jackie didn't blink.
> "Something that remembers me."