Page 87 of Claimed By Flame

“…Mirael.”

Seraphine stumbled back a step. Her fingers trembled, but she didn’t lower her blade. “You’re going to explain everything,” she said. “And if I don’t like a single word, I’ll burn your tongue out through your teeth. Clear?”

“Crystal.”

She stepped back enough for him to sit up, but kept her weapon ready.

He coughed, wincing. “Name’s Roen. Cassian trusted me.”

“Mistake,” she muttered.

Roen gave a bitter chuckle. “He’d probably agree with you right about now.”

“Talk.”

“I had the last shard,” Roen said, digging into his coat with shaking fingers. He pulled out a cloth-wrapped bundle and unrolled it slowly, revealing a jagged piece of black crystal pulsing faintly with magic. “It’s been in my family for generations. Passed down, kept hidden. We were Watchers—guardians of the final piece, waiting for the right moment. The right hand.”

Her eyes locked on the shard. “He never told me.”

“He didn’t know until I told him.”

“And Mirael?”

“She was watching. Always watching. I didn’t even feel her arrive. Just a cold. Like the Veil split open.”

Seraphine’s voice was barely a whisper. “What did she do to him?”

“Didn’t kill him,” Roen said quickly. “Not yet. She touched him. Said something. I didn’t hear it—but he…changed. His eyes. His posture. And then she took him. Just vanished into the dark.”

Seraphine clenched her fists. “Why him?”

“Because he’s the key,” Roen said grimly. “Not just to the blade. To the Hollow itself. That line of his, the one Drakar buried? It wasn’t just cursed—it was bound. Tied to the Veil.”

Her knees gave, and she dropped to the stone.

Cassian hadn’t just been chosen. He’d been doomed.

She’d known. Deep down, she’d always known.

“I have to get him back.”

Roen looked up sharply. “You can’t go alone.”

“I’m not.” Her voice was steel. “I’m taking the Houses with me.”

He blinked. “You mean… unite them?”

“Yes.”

“They’ll never follow you. You’re half in rebellion already?—”

“They’ll follow when I tell them the Hollow’s not just breaking,” she cut in, standing tall again, eyes blazing, “it’s ready to spill.”

Roen tilted his head, expression unreadable. “You’ll need proof.”

“I’ll give them proof.” Her jaw clenched so tightly her teeth ached. “I’ll drag the Hollow to their gates if I have to.”

Roen stared at her a long moment, then nodded once. “I’ll come.”

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