CHAPTER 66: TRUTH OF FIRE

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Emberling flared her tiny wings and chirruped proudly, as if she felt it too. The chamber brightened, not from lava, but from the newborn harmony between them. When Fenna stepped again, fire answered, curling not just from her palms but also from beneath the phoenix chick’s talons, synchronized arcs tracing their movement.

It was no longer mimicry.

They moved together, danced together, flared and dimmed like a single ember split into two bodies. Each motion fed the other. Each flame reinforced the bond.

The Matron paused her circle, eyes narrowing with ancient clarity.

"She understands," Fenna whispered.

The Matron circled slowly around them, her eyes soft. "She feels you. Fire doesn’t obey command. It obeys presence. Yours is finally becoming one."

Emberling flapped her wings and hovered for the briefest moment. It was no more than a blink but it was flight.

Sort of.

"Tomorrow, we will test you in flame winds," the Matron said. "But tonight... sleep. Let the heat from resonance settle in your blood."

She didn’t speak. She didn’t need to. Because for the first time... they were one flame, split in two bodies.

The next morning came not with a sunrise, but with a slow swell of heat rising from the lava veins under the obsidian floor. Fenna stirred, cradling Emberling against her chest. The little chick was already awake, glowing faintly beneath her feathers like a coal catching breath.

"You feel that too, don’t you?" Fenna whispered. Emberling chirped, as if to say, Always.

The Ember Matron stood before them, more solemn than ever, her wings tucked tight to her sides. "Today," she said, "you will learn what True Fire is."

Fenna rose to her feet, dusting ash from her legs. Her new body moved differently. It was lighter and stronger. As though each muscle had been reforged in volcanic heat. Emberling hopped beside her, mimicking her pace with giddy, bouncing steps.

"The flame you carry is not meant for destruction alone," the Matron began. "It is misunderstood by the world above. They see fire and think of war. But true phoenix fire is not rage... it is renewal."

She swept one wing out, and a trail of glowing embers floated in her wake, spiraling slowly like golden snowflakes. They hung in the air, humming with life.

"Watch closely."

The Matron raised one talon and struck it against the stone, drawing blood—a deep cut across her feather palm. Emberling squeaked in alarm, fluttering toward her, but the Matron held up a wing to still her.

Then, with a breath so slow it nearly stopped time, the Matron exhaled.

A soft plume of fire, pink-orange and gentle as morning light, passed over the wound.

And the flesh closed. The blood dried into nothing. The scar disappeared.

Fenna’s breath caught.

"This is True Fire," the Matron said. "The flame that knows when to burn and when to heal. When wielded through harmony... it becomes life itself."

Fenna stepped forward slowly, eyes wide. "I’ve never... I didn’t know fire could heal."

"It can. When bonded. When understood. When shared."

She looked down at Emberling, who nuzzled into Fenna’s leg, her little body still radiating that pulse of heat, the same pulse Fenna now carried within her bones.

"The fire you have now is no longer yours alone. It is hers too. And hers is yours. That is what makes it sacred."

Fenna knelt and scooped Emberling into her arms. The chick chirped once, then again, before her tiny wings sparked a small flare.

"I want to learn it," Fenna said quietly. "The healing fire. I want to use it to protect others."

The Matron smiled, faint but warm. "Then let us begin your final lesson."

They stood in the center of the lava chamber again, the runic ring beneath their feet now glowing brighter than before. It pulsed with the heat of memory—each lesson etched into its stone. This was not just a place of power. It was history.

The Matron extended both wings.n"Close your eyes, Fenna."

She obeyed.

"Now feel your flame—not the one in your hands, but the one behind your ribs. Feel it swirl with hers. Let your heartbeat become her wings."

Fenna focused. The warmth inside her no longer felt distant. It was ever-present. Breathing. Waiting. Emberling’s presence was a second rhythm next to her own, like the beat of a second heart.

"Now," the Matron whispered. "Push it out."

Fenna extended her hand. A wisp of flame curled forward. It wasn’t blazing, but steady. Emberling hopped into the flame’s reach and flared her wings.

The flame shifted color. From orange to white. Then, From white to rose gold. The air shimmers around it—not with heat, but with comfort.

The Matron stepped closer, watching intently. "You are not conjuring. You are resonating. Now, let it fall onto yourself."

Fenna hesitated, then opened her palm and let the gentle flame drift downward—onto her shoulder. It didn’t burn. It was soothing to her.

The tension in her muscles faded. The tiny burn marks on her wrist from the earlier training session vanished. Her body exhaled, as if some invisible wound had been washed away.

Fenna gasped. "It worked..."

The Matron nodded solemnly. "True Fire listens to pain. It listens to need. But only when two hearts share the same flame. When your bond becomes stronger you can command it by yourself. You just need to think about what you want, burn or heal. The true phoenix fire will obey you."

A long silence passed.

Then the lava beneath them shifted, just slightly. It was like a heartbeat echoing up from the mountain’s core. The Matron stepped forward, her feathers aglow.

"You have learned to walk with the fire. To breathe with it. To guide a baby phoenix’s heart. Now... accept your mark."

Fenna looked up, confused. "My mark?"

The Matron’s eyes glowed golden. "Every reborn flame carries a sign. A symbol that binds soul to soul. It cannot be given. It must be earned."

A strange warmth began to build in Fenna’s wrist, just beneath her skin. She winced, looking down.