Chapter 23: Fire in Her Blood
The crystal pulsed in Aria's hand the entire way back to the Tower.
A soft, rhythmic glow — like a heartbeat.
She hadn't let go of it since Ash handed it to her.
Ash.
Her brother.
Her mother's secret.
The boy erased from all records.
And now—Cinder's greatest mistake.
Echo sat on the floor of Aria's study, surrounded by floating books, glyphs drifting lazily in the air like snowflakes of light. She had been practicing flame control — harmless flickers of fire between her fingers.
When Aria entered, she looked up with a nervous smile.
"I didn't break anything this time."
Aria didn't smile.
She dropped to her knees, placed the crystal between them, and whispered, "I found the truth."
The books fell from the air.
Echo's eyes narrowed. "You went to the lab, didn't you?"
Aria nodded. "I had to. I needed to know what you really are."
Echo swallowed, voice tight. "So what am I?"
Aria activated the crystal.
It projected a hazy blue memory — Evelyn Vantier's voice filled the room.
"Echo was created to carry the spark of the Hollow and contain it. The others failed. But she… she adapted. She wasn't just made to survive the breach. She was born to close it."
The projection shifted.
Another voice — Cinder's, twisted with glee.
"She's the gate. Ash is the sword. Together, they don't just open the way — they become it."
The light faded.
Silence fell.
Echo's voice cracked. "I'm not a person. I'm a breach."
"No," Aria said, fiercely. "You are a child — one they used. Lied to. Built for war. But you are not their weapon."
Echo's body trembled.
But it wasn't fear.
It was something hotter.
Deeper.
Power.
Flames sparked across her arms — not wild and chaotic like before, but focused, radiant. Her eyes glowed like twin suns.
"I remember," she whispered.
Aria stood, alarm flaring. "Echo—?"
"I remember the pain. The tests. The bindings. But I also remember… music. Warmth. A woman's voice." She blinked rapidly. "Your mother. She used to sing to me."
Aria's breath caught. "She did?"
Echo nodded slowly. "I thought it was a dream. A trick of the chamber lights. But it was real, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Aria whispered. "She protected you. Just like she protected Ash."
Echo looked up sharply.
"Ash?"
Aria took a deep breath.
"He's alive."
Echo gasped.
Aria held her hands gently. "He was in the lab. Cinder kept him dormant — waiting to use him. But he woke up. He helped us escape."
Her voice broke.
"He remembered your lullaby."
Echo's face crumpled.
Tears filled her eyes, but they didn't fall. Her magic burned them away before they could drop. "He remembered me."
"You're not alone anymore," Aria said. "Neither of you are."
Then the lights snapped off.
Red sirens flared across the Tower.
Kestrel's voice rang through Aria's comm. "Multiple breaches detected. Flame signatures matching Hollow-born spikes. We're under attack."
Echo stood.
Eyes blazing.
"He's coming."
Aria turned to her. "Can you fight?"
Echo's voice was steady now. No trace of the frightened girl remained.
"I don't want to be a weapon."
She raised her hand, summoning fire into a precise blade of gold-lit flame.
"But I am a shield."
The Tower's lower levels erupted in chaos.
Security teams scrambled.
Flameborn agents activated ward systems, but three were already compromised.
Aria and Echo descended the secured elevator with Kestrel and Damien waiting, both armed and bracing for war.
"Six intruders," Damien growled. "All wearing Nulllight armor. They're here for Echo."
Aria looked at her. "You stay behind me."
Echo shook her head.
"No. I stand with you."
The first clash came in the west corridor.
Aria unleashed her mother's flame — refined and focused — while Kestrel dropped two attackers with silencer shots and rune-darts.
But it was Echo who turned the tide.
She moved like memory had awakened in her bones — each strike a flare of beauty and precision. Her fire danced, shifted, became solid. Swords, chains, shields.
Every Hollow-enhanced mercenary that approached her was repelled with terrifying elegance.
Then came the voice.
Not through speakers.
Not through comms.
But through the fire itself.
"I see you, Echo."
"I see the spark you've become."
"But it belongs to me."
Cinder.
His voice burned in their minds, laced with binding magic.
Aria winced as blood trickled from her nose. Damien dropped to a knee.
But Echo stood firm.
"You don't own me."
A pause.
Then Cinder laughed.
"We'll see."
The building shook.
A glyph seal shattered on the east wing.
And then…
Ash stepped through the breach.
Damaged.
Bleeding.
Eyes wide with warning.
"They've opened the rift."
Aria caught him before he fell.
"What do you mean?"
Ash looked at Echo, voice raspy. "They've begun the Ritual of Severance. If they complete it… they'll cut your soul from your body and anchor it as the new gate."
Echo staggered.
Her hands trembled.
"No… no, I don't want to disappear."
"You won't," Aria growled, standing. "Not while I breathe."
Above them, a storm began to form — not of wind or rain…
…but fire.
Twisting clouds of Hollow-flame churned across the city.
Reality rippled.
The countdown had begun.
And the war for Echo's soul was officially on.