The Ascended — Chapter no 37

Chapter 37

Fire Beasts

REMEMBERING MY PURPOSE PROVED EASIER THAN EXPECTED. XÜL WAS NOT simply away for the rest of the afternoon. It had been days since he vanished into the Eternal City—five, to be exact.

The letter arrived on the second day. Back soon. Aelix will oversee your training. That was all. No explanation. No warmth. Just orders.

I hated—hated—how his absence hollowed out the Bone Spire. How shadows felt wrong without him stepping out of them. How silence pressed against my ears where his voice should have been. Without his constant presence pulling my focus, I was left to drown in my own thoughts. And gods, they were vicious things.

Memories hunted me through the darkness. Sulien's blood painting sandy cave floors; the exact second they tore me from everything I'd ever known; how the world compressed to a single point of pure terror before exploding outward into chaos. Those trial monsters with their unnatural joints.

Sleep had become my enemy. I'd wake gasping, sheets soaked through with cold sweat, the taste of copper and fear thick on my tongue.

Sometimes I'd reach for a presence that wasn't there, forgetting in those hazy moments between sleep and waking that I was alone.

Aelix had been charged with training me in Xül's absence.

Poor bastard.

Whatever chaos Marx and I generated seemed to multiply in Aelix's presence. He tried—gods knew he tried—but he wielded authority the way

a child wielded an oversized sword. Where Xül could end rebellions with a single glance, Aelix's commands fell flat. His desperation grew more visible each day, carving new lines into his face.

He'd been instructed to work on my crown of stars. I managed to summon it without any external motivation from Aelix—thank every god listening. I couldn't imagine Xül had shared what it took to unlock that power the first time.

His mouth on mine. Heat that swam through my veins. The world narrowing until only his hands existed, his lips, the dangerous promises his body made against mine— I slammed that door shut before the memory could form, but my traitorous body remembered. It always remembered. I wasn't even sure how much of a line Xül and I had crossed. Mortals and Immortals couldn't be together, but what did that entail? Kissing? More than kissing? I'd assumed the latter, considering he did it right out in the open, daring the world to stop him.

By day four, Marx had driven Aelix to madness.

When I was alone with Marx, I avoided the subjects that simmered in the air between us. Her parents. What she'd been forced to reveal in the archives while I'd escaped with my secrets intact. The words to ask died in my throat whenever I glimpsed that haunted shadow that sometimes crossed her features. She hadn't chosen to bare that wound. The least I could do was not pick at it.

But Marx had no such restraint. Her suspicious glances struck, each one saying: I know you're hiding something. Because everyone knew. Everyone had seen me walk out of those archives without paying the price. I was living on borrowed time before her questions came knocking again.

Where Xül preferred the brutal honesty of the shore—Aelix favored the forest clearings. So that's where we trained.

Today was no different. The clearing was dappled with morning light, the sun filtering through the dense canopy. The trees here were different than those in Elaren—darker, more sentient, with bark that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. Sometimes I swore I could hear them breathing. I'd grown accustomed to the strangeness of this domain, but sometimes, in quiet moments, the otherness of it all struck me anew, leaving me homesick for a place I could no longer return to.

"Again," Aelix demanded. Sweat beaded on his brow despite the morning chill. "And this time, Marx, try not to curse the entire clearing into decay."

Marx flashed him a grin that was all teeth and threat. "Where's the fun in that?"

I suppressed a smile, gathering my power once more. It surged through me, pooling in my palms before shooting up to frame my head—first as sparks, then pulsing spheres of light. Across the clearing, Marx flexed her fingers, readying herself.

"The point of this exercise," Aelix said, his patience wearing thin enough to see through, "is control, not destruction."

"Boring," Marx muttered, but she squared her shoulders anyway.

We'd been at this for hours. He'd begun each session by drawing a blade across his palm, letting crimson droplets fall to the earth where they sank in and waited for his command. His curses were born from blood—his own given with purpose, ours when we bled in combat. Despite his exasperation, he was an excellent teacher. Patient in a way Xül never was, explaining the mechanics of combat rather than expecting us to learn through pain and failure.

"Ready?" he asked, his golden eyes narrowing as he shifted into a combat stance, weight balanced on the balls of his feet.

We nodded, and then he was moving.

Aelix pressed his bloodied palm to the ground, and the earth responded.

Crimson veins spider-webbed across the dirt, pulsing with malevolent life.

Where they touched, the blood rose—vapor that coalesced into horrid shapes. Serpents made of clotted gore, hands that grasped with liquid fingers, thorns that wept red tears.

I threw myself sideways, feeling the heat of corrupted blood pass inches from my face. My hands came up, pulling down a star from my crown and forging a shield of starlight that materialized just as the second attack struck. A whip of blood lashed against my shield. The impact sent vibrations up my arms, rattling my teeth. Where blood met light, steam rose with the scent of iron and stardust.

Marx dodged and weaved, her fingers dancing in subtle patterns. I couldn't see her curses, but I saw their effects. Aelix stumbled mid-strike, his ankle twisting as if he'd stepped wrong. He corrected with practice, but Marx was already moving, fingers flicking in a new pattern.

This time Aelix's arm spasmed. He switched his blade from one hand to another, but I caught the flash of irritation in his eyes. Another gesture from Marx, and angry red welts bloomed across the back of his neck where her curse found flesh.

"Better," Aelix acknowledged, even as he scratched at the welts. "But predictable."

He touched two fingers to a small cut on his cheek, and the droplet of blood expanded, becoming a crimson mist that hung in the air. Marx inhaled before she could stop herself, and I watched her eyes go wide as the blood curse took hold. Her movements turned syrup-slow.

More red rose from the ground in droplets, each one hardening into a crimson needle that hung suspended in the air, pointed at me.

"And that," Aelix said with calm steps, "is why you're still students and I am a Legend."

With a flick of his wrist, the curses dissolved. The blood sank back into the earth, leaving only rust-colored stains on our clothes and skin. I collapsed to my knees, gasping. My blood still felt wrong, sluggish and foreign in my veins.

"Show-off," Marx muttered, bent over with her hands on her knees. Her breath came in ragged pants.

"There are no rules in combat except survival," Aelix corrected, not even winded. "I'm sure Xül has taught you that, Thais."

I straightened, wincing at the ache in my shoulder where his curse had invaded. "Oh, he has. Usually while beating the lesson into me with the blunt end of a training sword."

Aelix laughed. "That does sound familiar." He glanced up at the position of the sun, calculating. "I think we've earned a break. I'll fetch some food from the kitchens."

"I could eat an entire boar," Marx declared, collapsing onto the ground with her arms spread wide.

"Please don't," Aelix said, already turning toward the path that led back to the Bone Spire. "The last time you tried that, the kitchen staff refused to serve you for a week."

"Worth it," Marx called after him as he disappeared into the trees.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, catching our breath. The forest around us was alive with sounds—birds calling to each other in strange

whistles, the rustling of creatures moving through the underbrush on too many legs. It was peaceful, in its own wild way.

"You've been avoiding me," Marx said, her voice serious.

I glanced at her, feigning innocence. "What are you talking about? We train together every day."

"You know what I mean." She picked at a blade of grass, shredding it between her fingers. "Ever since the archives. Ever since I… revealed what I did."

"I haven't been avoiding you. I just… didn't want to press. It seemed painful to discuss."

"Don't feel different about me now that you know I'm a kin-killer?" She raised an eyebrow.

I studied her for a moment, trying to decide which Marx I would get today—the sarcastic brute who blew everything off, or the understanding girl who seemed lost to her own darkness sometimes. "After hearing what they did to you, I could never judge you for retaliating."

"Well, I suppose I appreciate that." She said, looking away.

"I know there are things you probably want to ask me as well." I sucked in a deep breath.

"You mean, why you and your brother can never follow the rules?" She asked, turning towards me with wide eyes.

"Yeah, something like that."

"Sure, I'd love to know why it's necessary."

"Can I trust you?" I asked with quiet words.

Marx snorted. "What kind of question is that?"

"A serious one." I turned to face her and let her see the certainty in my eyes. "Marx, I need to know. Can I trust you?"

My tone must have gotten through. The sarcasm faded from her expression.

"Yes," she said with simplicity. "You can trust me, Morvaren."

My hands trembled as I steeled myself. "I can't tell you everything. Not because I don't want to, but because I can't. There are secrets that aren't mine alone to tell. Secrets that would put everyone in danger who knew them."

Her eyes narrowed, mind working behind them. "Does this have something to do with your blood?"

My hesitation was answer enough. I nodded, the movement feeling wrong.

"I suspected as much," she said, leaning closer. Her voice lowered. "No ordinary blessed has power comparable to yours. Or your brother's." She trailed off, studying my face.

I remained silent, my heart hammering so hard I was sure she could hear it. How much had she guessed? How much was safe to confirm? One wrong word and everything could unravel.

"You're right," I said.

Marx squinted at me, those keen eyes missing nothing. "Your mother…"

I tensed, then nodded. Just the barest movement, but enough.

Marx simply blinked, understanding filling her eyes. She didn't have all the pieces yet, but she was assembling the puzzle faster than I'd anticipated.

"Well, shit," she said, leaning back on her hands.

Despite everything, I laughed. It burst out of me, surprising us both.

"That's one way to put it."

She shook her head, a strand of dark hair falling across her face. "No wonder Xül is so… invested in your training. Does he know?"

"Yes." The admission felt dangerous. "He figured it out."

"And he's keeping your secret." It wasn't a question. "Interesting."

Before I could respond, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot echoed through the clearing. But the stride was too heavy.

Marx heard it too. She was on her feet in an instant.

"Aelix?" I called, rising with care.

Silence.

"Something's wrong," Marx whispered, her eyes scanning the treeline.

We stood back to back, turning in a slow circle, watching for any movement.

"Aelix!" I called again, louder this time.

Nothing.

And then— The trees at the edge of the clearing didn't part so much as recoil. They bent away from what emerged, their trunks groaning in protest. It was Kavik.

Behind him, Aelix stumbled into view. His hands were bound behind his back with chains that glowed with sickly light. His face was a ruin of bruises and blood, one eye swollen shut.

And flanking Kavik on all sides were beings I'd never seen before.

Their bodies were composed of flame. They shifted and reformed, no two moments the same, leaving scorched footprints that went deeper than they should. The grass didn't just burn where they stepped, it melted, leaving wounds in the earth.

"Thais," Marx breathed, horror bleeding through her voice. "Those are fire elementals."

Kavik's lips curved into a cruel smile. His face might have been carved from stone for all the mortality it showed. "Ladies," he greeted us, his voice pleasant. "What a fortuitous encounter."

"What the fuck is this?" Marx demanded, her stance shifting to full combat readiness. Every muscle coiled, ready to explode into violence.

"What have you done to Aelix?"

"A temporary inconvenience," Kavik replied with dismissal. "Don't worry, Marx. You're not the one I'm here for." His gaze shifted to me, and I saw nothing behind those eyes. No recognition, no emotion, just emptiness.

"I've come for the star-wielder."

Aelix's good eye went wide with alarm. He thrashed against his bonds, the chains cutting deeper into his wrists. "Run!" he shouted, the word torn from his throat.

One of the fire elementals pressed a burning hand to his shoulder. The smell of charred flesh filled the air as Aelix screamed.

"Stop!" I shouted, sparks dancing through my fingers. "What do you want with me?"

Kavik tilted his head at an odd angle. That terrible smile never wavered.

"Classified information, I'm afraid."

"I'm not going with you alive," I told him.

His smile widened more. "Alive was never part of the plan."

The fire elementals surged forward as one—a wave of flame that turned the air around us into an oven. The heat hit hard, soaking me in sweat and burning my lungs.

Marx and I moved together, our powers colliding in a defensive wall that screamed where light met curse. The barrier held for three heartbeats before the first elemental struck it, and I felt the impact in my bones.

They were strong. Stronger than anything we'd faced.

I dodged, throwing a blade of light towards the fire beast. It struck its core and the thing shrieked before collapsing into embers that burned holes

in reality before fading.

Beside me, Marx's curses had taken on a life of their own, wrapping around another elemental. Where they touched, the creature's flames evaporated. Its form began to collapse, the very essence that held it together corrupted by her power until it shattered into smoking fragments.

Through the chaos, I glimpsed Aelix breaking free of his bonds. Blood poured from his wrists where the chains had cut to bone, but he launched himself at Kavik with a roar that shook the clearing. Blood spiraled from his fingertips.

Kavik deflected without looking, his attention never leaving me.

"What are you doing?" Aelix demanded, circling his opponent. His movements were desperate, sloppy. "Have you lost your mind? She's under Xül's protection!"

"She is a threat," Kavik responded, his voice flat. "The girl is a threat.

She must be eliminated."

"What are you talking about?" Aelix dodged a blast of wildfire that left a crater where he'd been standing. The edge of it caught him anyway, sending him spinning. He kept his feet with effort. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"The girl is a threat," Kavik repeated. "She must be eliminated."

Another fire beast lunged for me—its form towered twice my height. I threw up a shield of starlight, pouring everything I had into it.

The creature's burning fist smashed through my defense.

I lurched sideways, feeling the heat of its strike pass inches from my face.

"Thais!" Marx shouted, fighting to reach me. Three elementals moved to intercept her, forcing her back with walls of flame that filled the air with smoke.

I pushed myself to my feet, muscles screaming in protest. Deep inside, I felt it—that well of power Xül had helped me find. I reached for it, pulling

harder than ever before.

Stars answered.

Light streamed down from the heavens, wrapping around my arms, my torso, my legs—a second skin of celestial brilliance that made the beasts recoil. For a moment, I felt invincible.

The massive elemental charged again. This time I didn't dodge.

I met it head-on, my star-wrapped fist colliding with its core. The impact sent shockwaves through the clearing, shattering nearby trees. The creature exploded in a shower of sparks and ash that fell across scorched earth.

Victory lasted two seconds. Three more took its place, and these were learning. They moved with caution, testing my defenses.

And I was weakening. The well of power wasn't endless—I could feel its limits now, feel myself approaching them with terrifying speed. Each draw took more effort, each manifestation cost more than the last.

Across the clearing, Aelix was losing. Kavik's attacks had taken on a frenzied quality, wildfire lashing out. Aelix's blood ran from a dozen wounds. Would Kavik actually kill him—another Legend? What the fuck was happening?

"The girl is a threat," Kavik continued to chant, each repetition driving him to greater violence. "She must be eliminated. The girl is a threat. She must be eliminated."

My vision blurred at the edges. Black spots danced across my sight as I pushed harder, demanding more power.

Marx screamed somewhere to my left. I turned to see her overwhelmed, her curse-forms flickering and losing cohesion as exhaustion took its toll.

She managed one last desperate manifestation—a writhing mass that made the elemental's arm wither and combust—before her knees buckled.

No.

I reached deeper, pulling on reserves I didn't know existed. The pain was immediate and absolute—being turned inside out. My skin felt too tight, ready to split apart. But power came, raw and terrible.

The starlight that erupted from me wasn't beautiful. It was violent, uncontrolled, a nova of pure destruction that sent elementals flying. Marx's

attacker disintegrated.

But the cost— I fell to my knees, screaming. My vision went white, then red, then started to fade. My skin was on fire—no, not my skin. Underneath my skin.

I was overheating.

Through the haze of agony, I saw Kavik break free from his battle with Aelix, and he turned his eyes on me—terrible, empty, glazed over eyes. The Aesymar crossed the clearing in seconds. His hand was reaching for my throat, and I had nothing left to stop him.

"The threat must be eliminated," he said, and his fingers were inches

from my skin when — The world stopped.

Flames froze mid-flicker. The wind died. Every sound vanished.

The ground… was it moving? Breaking?

Everything was sliding in and out of focus, doubling, tripling. Sounds reached me distorted—wet tearing that might have been fabric or might have been something worse. Then cracks.

Things were coming up. Dark shapes that moved wrong, too many joints bending in directions that made my poisoned mind reel. The smell hit me—rot and earth and putrid sweetness.

The shapes kept rising, kept moving toward the fire beasts.

Then there were screams. Everything was muffled now, underwater sounds that meant nothing.

Kavik's face swam above me, his mouth moving. Angry words I couldn't process. His hand closed around my throat with crushing force. His fingers were iron bands, cutting off air, crushing my windpipe. I clawed at his wrists, but my strength was gone. My lungs screamed for air that wouldn't come.

A dark figure stepped from the shadows, bringing the cold with it. My vision was going gray at the edges, but I felt the temperature drop, saw frost spreading across Kavik’s cheek.

Words. That voice. His voice. "Release her."

Kavik's grip tightened. More words I couldn't catch.

The earth beneath me rumbled. Something clawing its way out. Pale in the darkness. Rot crawled up my nostrils.

The thing rose, towering over us—cracking sounds splintering my ears.

Then it all came into perfect view.

A corpse. Inches from Kavik’s face. Half its flesh had rotted away, revealing a grinning skull beneath. Dirt was compacted in an empty socket where an eye should have been. Its jaw hung loose on one side, connected

only by strips of blackened sinew.

The dead.

Xül had raised the dead.

A maggot dropped from its throat onto Kavik's shoulder.

The corpse's hands shot forward, rotting fingers sinking into Kavik's arms. More of them erupted from the ground—a circle of decay closing in.

They grabbed his legs, his torso, their decomposing hands finding purchase despite his struggles.

Kavik's hands left my throat as he fought against them. But there were too many.

They dragged him backward, toward the center of the clearing where the earth had split wide. I watched him claw at the ground, leaving furrows in the dirt. Watched the corpses pull him down into that dark fissure, their bodies following him into the earth. His screams grew muffled as soil began to close over them.

My vision blurred again. The sounds were wrong—sucking, tearing, earth moving in ways earth shouldn't move.

Then silence. The ground sealed shut as if it had never opened.

I collapsed forward, gasping. My throat felt crushed, ruined. The world spun sick circles, and I couldn't tell if I was falling or if the ground was rising to meet me. And the pain. It was still there, poison in my veins.

Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground. Xül gathered me against him, and his skin felt cool against mine.

"Starling," he said, and his voice cracked on the word. His hands checked my throat, my pulse. His hand came away bloody. "Thais, look at me."

I tried, but my vision was fading fast. The edges crept in, and fighting it was fighting the sea.

"No." His voice turned sharp. "You don't get to leave. Do you hear me?

You stay here. You stay with me."

He sounded scared, I realized through the haze of pain. The Prince of Death—he was afraid.

"Aelix!" he shouted, never taking his eyes from my face. "Water! Now!"

"Already on it." Aelix's voice came from somewhere far away. Then blessed cold cascaded over me, soaking through my clothes, my hair. Steam rose from my skin as water fought the unnatural heat. The relief was immediate but insufficient—my insides were still on fire.

"She's burning out," Aelix said, his voice tight. "She—"

"I can see that," Xül snapped. His arms tightened around me, pulling me closer. One hand came up to cup my face, his thumb brushing over my cheekbone. "Thais, stay with us. That's an order."

I wanted to laugh at that—giving orders to someone who might be dying—but all that came out was a wet cough. Blood spattered his shirt.

"Too much," I managed to whisper. "Too much light."

"I know.” His other hand pressed against my chest, and I felt his power —cold and deadly and vast—trying to contain the stellar fire eating me alive. "I know, starling. Just hold on. Stay with me."

More water. More cold. But the darkness was inviting now, promising an end to the agony. Each heartbeat sent new waves of pain through me.

Each breath was harder than the last. My eyes fluttered closed.

"Don't you dare," Xül growled. "You don't get to die here, not this way.

Not on my watch."

But my body had other ideas. The power had scorched channels through me that weren't meant to exist, burned pathways that mortal flesh couldn't sustain. I was coming apart, unraveling.

"Please," Xül whispered, and that single word held more emotion than I'd ever heard from him. "Please, Thais. Stay."

The last thing I saw was his face above mine, eyes bright with something that might have been tears. The last thing I felt was his hand in mine, anchoring me to a world that was fading fast.

Then darkness claimed me, and I fell into a silence deeper than death.