The Thirteenth Ember - Chapter 14: Chapter 14
You are reading The Thirteenth Ember, Chapter 14: Chapter 14. Read more chapters of The Thirteenth Ember.
The wind changed as they left the ruins.
It carried the scent of rain and pine, but beneath it — ash. Old ash. The kind that clung to the soul more than skin.
Kael noticed it first. “We’re being followed.”
Aeryn didn’t flinch. “Then we don’t stop.”
They moved fast through the highlands, staying off paths, sticking to rock and root. The land here was sharp — ridges like blades and trees that bent toward each other, as if whispering.
By dusk, Aeryn’s muscles ached and Kael was limping again. But they didn’t stop until they found a stone hollow beneath a cliff wall — just wide enough for two people and barely tall enough to sit upright.
It was perfect.
Safe enough.
Kael collapsed against the stone and exhaled shakily. “That was the first time I used the ember… without losing control.”
Aeryn knelt beside him and peeled away the bandage from his side. The wound hadn’t reopened, but it was raw. Still angry.
She dabbed it gently with herbs from her pouch.
“You didn’t just control it,” she said. “You commanded it.”
He looked at her. “I didn’t think I could.”
“You didn’t think you were allowed to,” she corrected.
Kael’s eyes searched hers. “Why do you keep believing in me?”
Aeryn hesitated.
There were a thousand reasons she could give. But none would fit in the space between their breaths.
So she said the truest thing.
“Because you’re the first person who made me believe in myself.”
Kael was quiet. Then he said, “They said the Thirteenth was cursed. Born of fire, doomed to destroy.”
“And I was raised to fix what others broke.”
Their eyes met in the half-light.
“Maybe we were made for each other,” he said.
She looked away quickly, heat rising to her cheeks — but it wasn’t fear.
“I should… check the perimeter,” she muttered, starting to rise.
But his hand caught hers.
“Aeryn.”
She stopped.
He didn’t say anything more. Just held her hand like it grounded him. And in that moment, something shifted — not loud, not explosive — but deep. A quiet leaning toward.
Toward trust. Toward warmth.
Toward everything else.
Aeryn stayed.
That night, Kael dreamed again.
But this time, the flames didn’t scream.
They sang.
And in the center of the fire… Aeryn stood, unburned.
It carried the scent of rain and pine, but beneath it — ash. Old ash. The kind that clung to the soul more than skin.
Kael noticed it first. “We’re being followed.”
Aeryn didn’t flinch. “Then we don’t stop.”
They moved fast through the highlands, staying off paths, sticking to rock and root. The land here was sharp — ridges like blades and trees that bent toward each other, as if whispering.
By dusk, Aeryn’s muscles ached and Kael was limping again. But they didn’t stop until they found a stone hollow beneath a cliff wall — just wide enough for two people and barely tall enough to sit upright.
It was perfect.
Safe enough.
Kael collapsed against the stone and exhaled shakily. “That was the first time I used the ember… without losing control.”
Aeryn knelt beside him and peeled away the bandage from his side. The wound hadn’t reopened, but it was raw. Still angry.
She dabbed it gently with herbs from her pouch.
“You didn’t just control it,” she said. “You commanded it.”
He looked at her. “I didn’t think I could.”
“You didn’t think you were allowed to,” she corrected.
Kael’s eyes searched hers. “Why do you keep believing in me?”
Aeryn hesitated.
There were a thousand reasons she could give. But none would fit in the space between their breaths.
So she said the truest thing.
“Because you’re the first person who made me believe in myself.”
Kael was quiet. Then he said, “They said the Thirteenth was cursed. Born of fire, doomed to destroy.”
“And I was raised to fix what others broke.”
Their eyes met in the half-light.
“Maybe we were made for each other,” he said.
She looked away quickly, heat rising to her cheeks — but it wasn’t fear.
“I should… check the perimeter,” she muttered, starting to rise.
But his hand caught hers.
“Aeryn.”
She stopped.
He didn’t say anything more. Just held her hand like it grounded him. And in that moment, something shifted — not loud, not explosive — but deep. A quiet leaning toward.
Toward trust. Toward warmth.
Toward everything else.
Aeryn stayed.
That night, Kael dreamed again.
But this time, the flames didn’t scream.
They sang.
And in the center of the fire… Aeryn stood, unburned.
End of The Thirteenth Ember Chapter 14. Continue reading Chapter 15 or return to The Thirteenth Ember book page.