Chapter 6 · The Fire Beneath the Ice

The stairway ended beneath a frozen lake. Blue ice curved overhead, and enormous fish moved through it like silent constellations. Nessa stayed at the threshold, saying the Archive belonged only to those who carried a living flame. Mira stepped onto the glassy floor. Heat stirred in her chest, answering the fire hidden far below.

Rowan walked beside her, sword drawn. His reflection in the ice showed a different man: a boy with a scar across his throat, standing before a burning palace. Mira tried not to stare, but the reflection turned its head and met her eyes.

“You are looking for a name,” it said.

Rowan struck the ice. Cracks raced outward, then sealed.

“Do not listen,” he told her.

The lake began to sing. Each note opened a door in Mira's memory. She saw her mother carrying her through snow, Aunt Sella crying beside a locked gate, and a woman in a crown kneeling before a dying dragon. The dragon's scales were black at the edges, but its heart shone white.

At the center of the lake stood a small island. On it rested a brazier filled with ash.