Page 263 of House Ignis

She wasn't looking at me anymore.

She was looking at the spot where Khai had vanished, her fingers idly stroking the raven’s velvet feathers.

The festival was supposed to be a celebration.

But standing there, under the watchful eyes of two courts, I realized the games had only just begun.

My mind was frazzled, my body still vibrating with that strange, jagged electricity, until my father’s voice boomed across the ballroom, commanding the air itself to still.

“Welcome to the Flame Festival, held here every year in Solkaris, where the heart of the Fire Kingdom beats. Tonight, we celebrate Ignis—the Burning Wrath. We raise our glasses, our flames, and our hearts to him. May we burn bright… and rise from the ashes.”

The nobles murmured their agreement, a ripple of sound like a thousand sparks catching tinder.

“And,” his voice dropped lower, the weight of it holding the room, “we offer our prayers for my first heir. My son. My warrior. May Nox guide his soul.”

My throat constricted. My breath hitched in my chest, sharp as a blade pressed against my ribs.

Beside me, I felt Ezra shift, his presence a dark, unmoving shadow.

“Ava,” he murmured, the single word a warning and a comfort, as if he could feel the fracture running straight through my soul.

Ember’s fingers tightened around mine, her skin hot and solid.

“And tonight,” my father continued, his grin sharpening even as his eyes shone with a pride that felt like both a crown and a chain,

“we praise our new flame. Zymarra’s flame. My beautiful daughter.”

The entire hall turned in unison. Hundreds of eyes—hungry, jealous, reverent—burned into me.

I forced a smile onto my face, though it felt brittle enough to shatter.

My hand trembled as I lifted my goblet to the light.

“To Ignis!” the hall roared.

“To Ignis,” I echoed, the words scraping my throat raw.

The wine went down like ash and liquid fire. Inside, something was already splintering.

I chugged the rest of the flute, the bubbles stinging my eyes until they watered.

My cue.

“Going to the bathroom,” I murmured to Ezra and Ember.

Ezra only nodded, his gaze fixed on me like he was reading the lines of my panic.

His jaw ticked once, but he didn’t move to follow. Not yet.

I slipped past the dais, past the blazing braziers and the suffocating scent of expensive perfumes.

The weight of the hall fell away the moment the heavy doors shut behind me.

The thrumming drums and sharp laughter dulled into a distant, muffled heartbeat echoing through the cold marble corridors.

I knew exactly where I was going.

Guards were positioned at every turn, statues in gold and crimson, but they stepped aside instinctively the moment they saw me.