Ava froze.
The crown of flame sizzled as it settled atop Lily's small head. Embers drifted down like dying stars. And yet the child didn't scream. She didn't run. She didn't flinch.
She smiled.
A smile far too calm for a seven-year-old.
"Do you like it, Mommy?" Lily asked, tilting her head sweetly. "She said I earned it."
Behind her, the Ember Witch's skeletal fingers rested lightly on Lily's shoulders, her mouth curled in a grin of triumph.
Ava's heart cracked like glass underfoot.
The Firebound Throne
"No," Ava whispered. Her knees gave way. She collapsed onto the obsidian floor, hands trembling. "You're not hers. I raised you. I sang you to sleep—I fought for you!"
Lily blinked. Her smile wavered. For a heartbeat, the fire crown flickered.
But the Ember Witch leaned forward.
"She did raise her. In the warmth of broken promises and shattered truths," the witch murmured silkily. "You just weren't watching."
"You tricked her!"
"I gave her what you couldn't—attention. Purpose. Power."
The Trial of Flame
The mirror-world pulsed. Every reflection of Ava showed a different fear:
Ava holding a dead Lily.
Ava walking away while Lily burned.
Ava kissing Damian as Lily screamed behind them.
The guilt was suffocating.
But Ava forced herself to stand.
Her fists blazed to life—not with anger, but love. Fierce. Selfless. Blinding.
"You don't own her," Ava said, stepping forward.
The Ember Witch's smile faded.
"She chose me."
"No," Ava whispered. "She missed me."
She extended her hand to Lily.
"Come home, baby. Let me fix what I broke."
Lily hesitated.
The Child Torn
The fire crown flickered again. Lily's lips trembled.
"I… I wanted you to come back," she whispered. "But you forgot me."
"I never forgot you, sweet girl," Ava said, voice cracking. "I bled for the chance to see you again."
Tears welled in Lily's eyes.
She took a step toward Ava.
Then another.
The Ember Witch snarled, her shadow stretching like a storm across the floor.
"You dare betray me?!"
Lily froze—caught between worlds.
Cliffhanger Hook
Suddenly—a chain of flame shot out from the witch's hand and wrapped around Lily's neck.
She screamed.
Ava lunged.
The ground beneath them shattered into fire and void.
And then—
Lily vanished.
Gone.