The Thirteenth Ember - Chapter 39: Chapter 39
You are reading The Thirteenth Ember, Chapter 39: Chapter 39. Read more chapters of The Thirteenth Ember.
Whispers travel faster than flame.
By the week’s end, Aeryn couldn’t move through the camp without hearing them trail behind her:
“She looks different.”
“Is it true?”
“She can’t lead like that not now.”
“What if it’s Kael’s?”
They weren’t loud. Not yet.
But they were sharp.
And they cut in places no blade could reach
Aeryn stood in the war tent, her fingers hovering above the map. The Southern Bastion needed reinforcements. The Spine’s tunnels were collapsing. The Order’s aerial scouts had been
spotted in the east.
Her mind, trained and sharp, struggled to stay on task.
Her body… was already changing.
There were moments when nausea crept in like a tide. Others where a wave of heat flushed her from within not magical, not dangerous, just human.
She hadn’t told the council yet.
Not because she was afraid.
But because she didn’t want this—this—to be weaponized against her.
Not the child.
The hope.
Kael found her later that night, standing at the edge of the cliffs again, the wind tugging her cloak like it was trying to pull her back into the world she came from.
“You haven’t eaten,” he said quietly.
Aeryn didn’t turn. “I’m not hungry.”
“Liar.”
She smiled faintly, then looked down at her hands. “They’re starting to guess. It won’t be long before it becomes something they question. Or resent.”
“They’ll follow you. They always have.”
“They followed a version of me who could charge into fire without hesitation. Who didn’t hesitate to kill. Who didn’t ” She paused, then placed a palm over her belly again, protectively. “Who didn’t have anything to lose.”
Kael stepped closer.
“You still don’t. Not alone.”
The council summoned her the next day.
Five seated leaders from allied factions. Liora beside them. Eyes narrowed, voices clipped.
“We’ve heard things,” said Marshal Tovin, a hardened veteran from the Hollow Reaches. “And if they’re true… you need to step back from command.”
“Are you offering to lead in my place?” Aeryn asked coolly.
“I’m offering to preserve stability,” he said. “We cannot risk the rebellion on sentiment.”
Liora didn’t speak. But her silence said enough
Aeryn stood tall, the firelight behind her flickering like a crown.
“Let me make this clear,” she said, voice steady. “Carrying life does not make me less. It makes me more. Because now I’m not just fighting for freedom. I’m fighting to make sure there’s a future worth surviving for.”
No one replied.
But something shifted in the air.
Kael, standing just outside the tent, smiled proud and quiet, his fingers flexing at his sides like he was ready to burn down kingdoms for her.
That night, as the camp settled into uneasy sleep, a raven arrived from the north.
Its message was sealed in silver wax.
Three words written in blood-red ink:
“She carries flame.”
Somewhere deep within the Court, a hunter smiled.
By the week’s end, Aeryn couldn’t move through the camp without hearing them trail behind her:
“She looks different.”
“Is it true?”
“She can’t lead like that not now.”
“What if it’s Kael’s?”
They weren’t loud. Not yet.
But they were sharp.
And they cut in places no blade could reach
Aeryn stood in the war tent, her fingers hovering above the map. The Southern Bastion needed reinforcements. The Spine’s tunnels were collapsing. The Order’s aerial scouts had been
spotted in the east.
Her mind, trained and sharp, struggled to stay on task.
Her body… was already changing.
There were moments when nausea crept in like a tide. Others where a wave of heat flushed her from within not magical, not dangerous, just human.
She hadn’t told the council yet.
Not because she was afraid.
But because she didn’t want this—this—to be weaponized against her.
Not the child.
The hope.
Kael found her later that night, standing at the edge of the cliffs again, the wind tugging her cloak like it was trying to pull her back into the world she came from.
“You haven’t eaten,” he said quietly.
Aeryn didn’t turn. “I’m not hungry.”
“Liar.”
She smiled faintly, then looked down at her hands. “They’re starting to guess. It won’t be long before it becomes something they question. Or resent.”
“They’ll follow you. They always have.”
“They followed a version of me who could charge into fire without hesitation. Who didn’t hesitate to kill. Who didn’t ” She paused, then placed a palm over her belly again, protectively. “Who didn’t have anything to lose.”
Kael stepped closer.
“You still don’t. Not alone.”
The council summoned her the next day.
Five seated leaders from allied factions. Liora beside them. Eyes narrowed, voices clipped.
“We’ve heard things,” said Marshal Tovin, a hardened veteran from the Hollow Reaches. “And if they’re true… you need to step back from command.”
“Are you offering to lead in my place?” Aeryn asked coolly.
“I’m offering to preserve stability,” he said. “We cannot risk the rebellion on sentiment.”
Liora didn’t speak. But her silence said enough
Aeryn stood tall, the firelight behind her flickering like a crown.
“Let me make this clear,” she said, voice steady. “Carrying life does not make me less. It makes me more. Because now I’m not just fighting for freedom. I’m fighting to make sure there’s a future worth surviving for.”
No one replied.
But something shifted in the air.
Kael, standing just outside the tent, smiled proud and quiet, his fingers flexing at his sides like he was ready to burn down kingdoms for her.
That night, as the camp settled into uneasy sleep, a raven arrived from the north.
Its message was sealed in silver wax.
Three words written in blood-red ink:
“She carries flame.”
Somewhere deep within the Court, a hunter smiled.
End of The Thirteenth Ember Chapter 39. Continue reading Chapter 40 or return to The Thirteenth Ember book page.