Kael sat by the campfire, his knees drawn up to his chest, staring into the flames. The night was heavy, and the air felt thick, as though the weight of his thoughts hung in the atmosphere, pressing down on him. His mind spiraled back to the vision—the fire he could summon, the reflection of his darker self mocking him. His body still felt restless, the urge to move, to do something, gnawing at him. But what could he do? He didn’t even know how to control the power coursing inside him.
He reached for the fire with his mind, but nothing happened. His fingers twitched, a faint glow flickering in his palms for a split second, but it vanished almost immediately, leaving him with nothing but the sharp sting of failure. His jaw tightened. This fire—his power—was like a distant memory, just out of reach, mocking him the way his darker self had done. He couldn't control it. Not yet. And that terrified him.
Siris lay a few feet away, feigning sleep, but Kael could see the subtle tension in her form. Her silence was palpable, a gulf growing wider with every day that passed. She hadn’t spoken to him the same way since the night of the vision. It wasn’t anger—at least, not entirely. It was something else. Worry. Fear. A look that Kael had seen before, in his mother’s eyes when she’d worried he would never live up to his potential.
Siris’s distance made him feel small. It was easier to hide behind arrogance than face the growing emptiness between them. So he did. The fire, however uncooperative, would be a part of him, whether he understood it or not. But right now, it was nothing more than a flicker.
"You're still awake," Siris finally said, her voice a quiet murmur, breaking the silence. She didn’t turn to look at him, but Kael could feel her eyes on him.
“Couldn't sleep,” Kael muttered, his voice cold, but there was a sharp edge to it that hadn’t been there before. He hadn’t meant to sound that way, but the frustration bubbled up too quickly. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
Siris shifted, her gaze now fixed on the fire. “It’s more than that. You’ve been... different.”
Stolen novel; please report.
“Different?” Kael scoffed, his tone laced with arrogance. “I’m the same as I’ve always been. Just... trying to figure this out. I didn’t ask for any of this.”
Siris turned her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. "Maybe not. But you’re pushing people away. Me, especially. What happened to the Kael who actually cared about the people around him?"
Kael felt a flash of irritation. “I’m not pushing anyone away. I’m just... dealing with things. It’s harder than you think.”
Siris sat up a little, her voice softer, but there was no mistaking the frustration in it. “Kael, you’re scared. I get it. But you don’t have to shut me out. You don’t have to become someone else.”
Kael clenched his fists, his fingers still tingling with that faint, uncontainable heat. He looked away from her, the words scraping against the walls he’d built around himself. “I don’t need anyone to understand. Not right now. I need to figure out how to control this, and the last thing I need is for you to act like I’m a lost cause.”
Siris stayed silent for a moment, then said quietly, “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that I’m here. I won’t abandon you. But you can’t keep pretending this isn’t a problem. That power inside you—it’s dangerous. And you need to face it. Not just hide from it.”
Kael stared into the fire, its flickering flames doing nothing to calm the storm inside him. He was terrified, but admitting that would be the same as admitting weakness. And he couldn’t do that. Not now. Not with everything at stake.
“I’m not hiding,” he muttered, almost to himself. "I’m just... not sure what to do with it yet."
Siris’s eyes softened for a moment, but Kael couldn’t bring himself to look at her. His pride wouldn’t let him. Instead, he focused on the fire, and the more he stared, the more the flickering flames seemed to mock him. It was like they were laughing, showing him just how powerless he really was. He could feel his anger rising, but he kept it in check, forcing the frustration down.
“I don’t need you to fix me,” he said, the words sharper now, a mask of arrogance slipping into place. “I’ll figure this out on my own.”
Siris let out a quiet sigh and lay back down, turning away from him. “I hope you do, Kael. But don’t wait until it’s too late.”
Kael didn’t reply. The fire crackled softly, and the tension between them thickened in the silence. He wanted to say something—to reach out, to fix whatever had broken between them—but the words wouldn’t come. So, instead, he sat there, his thoughts a whirlwind of fear, arrogance, and the need to prove he wasn’t as lost as Siris seemed to think.
But deep down, he knew something was slipping away, and no amount of bravado could stop it.