"We keep to the forest paths," Dorn explained as they hiked through thick pine forest. "Main roads are watched."

  Kaelan adjusted the pack his unexpected ally had provided. His shoulder throbbed where the strange mark had formed, a constant reminder of what had happened at the settlement. Three days had passed since their escape, but the memories remained raw.

  "How far to Emberfell?" he asked, wincing as a low branch scraped his injured shoulder.

  "Two weeks on foot, keeping to these trails." Dorn moved with the easy confidence of someone accustomed to wilderness travel. "Could be faster on the main roads, but..."

  "But the Obsidian Order is looking for me," Kaelan finished. The reality of being hunted still felt surreal.

  "Not just the Order. Your little display with the volcanic glass will have drawn attention from other quarters. The Cinderguard. The noble Ashborn families. Maybe even the Wild Forgers, if any were close enough to sense it."

  So many names and groups Kaelan had never heard of before Morvith arrived. A hidden world existing alongside the simple one he'd known. "Are you part of one of these groups?"

  Dorn's expression closed. "I have my own path."

  They walked in silence for a time. The forest was peaceful, sunlight filtering through the canopy. Hard to believe that somewhere behind them, people might be suffering because of Kaelan's newfound abilities.

  "My father," he said suddenly. "Will they hurt him to get to me?"

  Dorn considered this. "The Order rarely harms potential leverage. More likely they'll watch him, waiting for you to return."

  Small comfort, but better than the alternative. Kaelan touched the medallion beneath his shirt, the only connection to his mother he possessed. Its metal was always warm now, responding to the fire that seemed permanently awakened within him.

  "You don't look like an Ashflame wielder," Kaelan observed after another stretch of silence.

  "What's an Ashflame wielder supposed to look like?" Dorn's tone held amusement.

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  "I don't know. Morvith had those strange golden eyes. The trackers had red pinpoints in theirs."

  "Physical manifestations come with time and use." Dorn paused at a stream, kneeling to refill his waterskin. "Your eyes will change eventually. It's already starting."

  "What?" Kaelan crouched beside the water, staring at his reflection. Sure enough, flecks of amber now ringed his pupils, barely noticeable but definitely not natural.

  "The more you use Ashflame, the more visible the changes become." Dorn straightened. "Some try to hide it. Others display it proudly. Marks you as someone with power."

  Kaelan touched the water's surface, dispersing his reflection. "I never wanted power."

  "Few who deserve it do." Dorn shouldered his pack. "Come on. We should make the ridge by nightfall."

  The day wore on. Kaelan struggled to keep pace, still weakened from his injury and unaccustomed to long treks. His mind churned with questions, fears, and fleeting memories of normalcy now forever beyond reach.

  As the sun lowered, they reached a rocky outcropping that offered a view of the valley behind them. In the far distance, a smudge of buildings marked his settlement, too far to see details. Was his father there, watching the same sunset? Or had he too been forced to flee?

  "We camp here," Dorn announced, dropping his pack. "Defensible position, good sight lines."

  "You expect trouble?"

  "Always." Dorn began gathering wood for a small fire. "You should practice while I set up camp."

  "Practice what?"

  "Control." Dorn gestured toward Kaelan's hands, where orange light flickered beneath the skin whenever his emotions ran high. "That glow marks you as easily as a beacon. You need to learn to suppress it."

  Kaelan stared at his veins, the subtle light pulsing with his heartbeat. "How?"

  "Imagine containing the heat, drawing it inward instead of letting it flow outward." Dorn struck flint to steel, igniting his carefully arranged kindling. "Like a coal banked in ash. Still hot, but not burning visibly."

  Kaelan closed his eyes, focusing on the constant warmth in his core. He tried visualizing it as Dorn suggested, a glowing coal covered in ash, heat contained but not extinguished. To his surprise, the sensation responded, drawing inward.

  "Better," Dorn said when he opened his eyes. "The glow's fainter."

  "You know a lot about this for someone who claims not to be part of any group."

  Dorn's expression revealed nothing as he fed small sticks to the growing flames. "I observe. I listen. Knowledge keeps you alive in this world."

  "And what exactly is 'this world'?" Kaelan sat on a flat rock, fatigue suddenly overwhelming. "Two weeks ago I was a miner's son with a simple future. Now I'm marked, hunted, and apparently carrying some kind of ancient bloodline power."

  "Welcome to reality." Dorn's voice held a bitter edge. "The simple life was the illusion. This is how it's always been. Those with power and those without. Those who control and those who are controlled."

  "Which are you?"

  Dorn looked up, firelight casting harsh shadows across his face. "Someone who refuses to be controlled."

  Night fell fully as they ate a simple meal of dried meat and hard bread. Kaelan stared into the small fire, finding he could sense its essence now, feel its potential. With concentration, he could make the flames dance, grow, or diminish.

  "Why are you helping me?" he finally asked. "The truth this time."

  Dorn was silent so long Kaelan thought he wouldn't answer. When he did, his voice was quiet but intense.

  "The Obsidian Order took someone from me. Someone important. I've been tracking their movements for two years." He met Kaelan's gaze directly. "You're the first person I've seen cause them real damage. That makes you valuable."

  "I'm not interested in revenge."

  "No?" Dorn raised an eyebrow. "They killed your mother's mentor. Attacked your home. Hunted you like an animal. And they won't stop."

  Kaelan had no answer. The rage he'd felt when Morvith fell still smoldered inside him, banking itself like the heat in his veins.

  "Rest," Dorn said, softer now. "I'll take first watch. Tomorrow we enter wilder territory. The kind of places where myths walk and ordinary rules don't apply."

  Kaelan settled into his bedroll, the strange mark on his shoulder throbbing in time with the distant pulse of the earth beneath them. His last thought before sleep claimed him was that perhaps the ordinary rules had never applied to him at all.

  He simply hadn't known it until now.