A KINGDOM OF ASH AND FLAME

rits caught in the light. Elira sat by the window of her cottage, grinding herbs into a fine powder wit

w thief that stole his days piece by piece. She watched him from the corner of her eye, sit

rrior and victim. The weight of his crown, invisible yet c

be like to be free?" Elira asked s

ery day," he admitted. "But freedom without a

lls we build are only as strong

stripped of royal armor. "And what about you? Wh

e ones built from silence and solitude. From wa

d. "Then we are

ld its breath, the only sound the quiet rust

here Kael sat. "Come inside," she sai

awed at his limbs, but the flicker o

herbs and the flickering glow of candles. Elira reache

loom and starroot. It won't cure the curse, bu

refully. "You make it

ng at her lips. "Sometimes, a littl

rank slowly, the bitter ta

u," he sa

"You don't have to

s.The morning's calm felt like a fragile promise, but Kael knew better than to trust moments of peace. T

remedies filling the small cottage. Outside, the world was still soft with daw

ng. Each movement was a negotiation with his failing bo

soft and steady, carrying a

, her voice a blend of

his palms. The liquid was bitter, infused with bitterroot and m

ence, the weight between

ng the quiet. "For everything. For com

re is no shame in needing help. Especially

not the world I fear, but myself. Wha

exterior shining through. "You are more than this c

ability bare and raw. "Somet

ngers brushing his hand g

ed tirelessly, gathering rare herbs from the forest, mixing tinctures and salves

e was a relentless enemy, but Elira's care brought small victories-nights when the

pened, moving from nece

ira asked one evening, her voice

ry. Once, it was vibrant-fields that stretched like oceans of gold, rivers that sa

e of ruin, torn by war and fear. My father is old and weary

t of his confession settl

fight?" she

eans losing everything. Because hope, no matter how faint, i

Kael sat by the hearth, wrapped in a thick cloak, his fingers tracing the worn edg

y, the flicker of firelight casti

itted suddenly, voice

presence a warm anchor i

t just in body, but in heart. Of becoming

"You're not alone in this. And whatever

e weight of her words

neither dared name aloud. They shared stolen moments beneath the starlit sky, whispered con

ad revealed, fears that threatened to

eyond the hills, Elira found Kael

the curse," s

d magic. Dark, cruel. It's mea

e who cursed me was more than a foe. He was a sh

s widened.

l. "Someone I trusted. Someone who

inst the roof like the drums of wa

aler's instinct battling t

carry this alone,

al. "But if I lose this figh

a silent promise. "Whatever happens, you are not defined

lira's cottage, casting soft, trembling shadows on the worn wooden floor. Outside, the village slowly stirred to life - smoke spiraling from chimneys, roosters

crept further into his bones during the night, the coldness spreading, a creeping frost that no fire could fully cha

rtly, grinding roots and leaves into powders, but her eyes never left him. She had seen the way he

who was losing himself piece by piece, th

, breaking the silence.

d, voice raspy.

Instead, she moved closer with a bowl of thick porridge

bites," she

slowly, he took a spoon, the taste plain but comforting. As he ate, Elira sat besi

ought moments of relief - a balm for the skin, a tonic to ease the ache in his joints -

ing mist, Elira led Kael outside. The village was small, clustered with s

these four walls," she said

wonder and wariness. "I'm no longer a prince her

"A man is more than hi

he smithy's hammer ringing clear, the baker's scent of fresh bread, children ch

dark and deep, its tangled roots hiding secrets older

said softly. "The kind of magic that

th the trees and saw something mor

ght out an old, leather-bound book. Its pages were fragile, fi

a healer like me. She believed that magic, even the

the faded text, the weight

could save me?"

t determination. "I don't know. But I

le, Kael felt a flicker of somet

ves, to read the signs of the forest, to listen to the whispers of the old ma

ose moments when his hand brushed hers as she handed over a vial, or when their eyes met acros