The Thirteenth Ember - Chapter 7: Chapter 7
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The road south was nothing more than a deer path swallowed by roots and time.
Aeryn moved quietly, each step purposeful, her senses wide open. Every sound — the crack of a twig, the distant flap of wings — made her fingers twitch toward her dagger. She didn’t trust the silence anymore. Not after the Trackers.
Behind her, Kael walked with uneven steps, one hand always on his side, the other never straying far from the pouch that held the emberglass.
They hadn’t spoken much since leaving the hollow.
Words, it seemed, cost more than silence now.
But as dusk fell and the forest bled into a golden haze, he finally broke it.
“You should’ve left me.”
“You keep saying that,” Aeryn replied without looking back.“Because it’s true.”
She stopped, turned. “You think I don’t know that helping you could get me killed?”
His gaze was unreadable. “Then why are you still here?”
She stepped closer. “Because I want to know what they’re so afraid of.”
He didn’t answer.
She studied him. “It’s not just the ember, is it?”
Kael’s jaw clenched. “No.”
“Then tell me.”
He looked away. “Not yet.”
Aeryn shook her head and walked on. “Coward.”
Kael didn’t argue. That, more than anything, unsettled her.
They stopped near a bend in the river to camp — what little firewood they could gather burned with reluctant embers, not enough to warm them, just enough to be seen. Risky.
But necessary.
As night deepened, Aeryn pulled her cloak tighter and sat with her knees to her chest, eyes fixed on the fire. Kael sat across from her, quiet, his face half-lit by flame.
“I killed my captain,” he said suddenly.
Aeryn looked up.
“He found the emberglass. He tried to take it to the High Ardyn. Said it could end the war. Said they’d honor us. I believed him.”
He was still now, like he was remembering the moment exactly as it happened.
“But he didn’t want peace,” Kael continued. “He wanted power. And I… I knew what the ember could do. I knew what it would awaken. So I stopped him.”
Aeryn’s voice was low. “And ran.”
Kael nodded. “But not fast enough.”
The fire crackled between them, and for the first time, Aeryn saw him not as a fugitive — but as someone who had chosen to lose everything to keep the world from burning.
She hated that she understood.
“I used to believe in the Flameborn Oath,” she whispered. “That every life mattered. That healing was purpose.”
“And now?”
“I still believe it,” she said. “I just stopped believing in the people who say it.”
Kael looked at her. “Then maybe you understand why I ran.”
Aeryn held his gaze. “I do.”
He lay back on the ground, exhaling slowly.
Above them, stars pierced the sky like tiny blades of light — distant, cold, and watching.
glowed faintly from Kael’s side.
And for the first time in years, Aeryn didn’t feel alone in the fire.
Aeryn moved quietly, each step purposeful, her senses wide open. Every sound — the crack of a twig, the distant flap of wings — made her fingers twitch toward her dagger. She didn’t trust the silence anymore. Not after the Trackers.
Behind her, Kael walked with uneven steps, one hand always on his side, the other never straying far from the pouch that held the emberglass.
They hadn’t spoken much since leaving the hollow.
Words, it seemed, cost more than silence now.
But as dusk fell and the forest bled into a golden haze, he finally broke it.
“You should’ve left me.”
“You keep saying that,” Aeryn replied without looking back.“Because it’s true.”
She stopped, turned. “You think I don’t know that helping you could get me killed?”
His gaze was unreadable. “Then why are you still here?”
She stepped closer. “Because I want to know what they’re so afraid of.”
He didn’t answer.
She studied him. “It’s not just the ember, is it?”
Kael’s jaw clenched. “No.”
“Then tell me.”
He looked away. “Not yet.”
Aeryn shook her head and walked on. “Coward.”
Kael didn’t argue. That, more than anything, unsettled her.
They stopped near a bend in the river to camp — what little firewood they could gather burned with reluctant embers, not enough to warm them, just enough to be seen. Risky.
But necessary.
As night deepened, Aeryn pulled her cloak tighter and sat with her knees to her chest, eyes fixed on the fire. Kael sat across from her, quiet, his face half-lit by flame.
“I killed my captain,” he said suddenly.
Aeryn looked up.
“He found the emberglass. He tried to take it to the High Ardyn. Said it could end the war. Said they’d honor us. I believed him.”
He was still now, like he was remembering the moment exactly as it happened.
“But he didn’t want peace,” Kael continued. “He wanted power. And I… I knew what the ember could do. I knew what it would awaken. So I stopped him.”
Aeryn’s voice was low. “And ran.”
Kael nodded. “But not fast enough.”
The fire crackled between them, and for the first time, Aeryn saw him not as a fugitive — but as someone who had chosen to lose everything to keep the world from burning.
She hated that she understood.
“I used to believe in the Flameborn Oath,” she whispered. “That every life mattered. That healing was purpose.”
“And now?”
“I still believe it,” she said. “I just stopped believing in the people who say it.”
Kael looked at her. “Then maybe you understand why I ran.”
Aeryn held his gaze. “I do.”
He lay back on the ground, exhaling slowly.
Above them, stars pierced the sky like tiny blades of light — distant, cold, and watching.
glowed faintly from Kael’s side.
And for the first time in years, Aeryn didn’t feel alone in the fire.
End of The Thirteenth Ember Chapter 7. Continue reading Chapter 8 or return to The Thirteenth Ember book page.