That was the question, wasn't it? Most of the time, the fire whispered simple things. Hunger. Growth. More wood, girl. But tonight, the flames were restless. They leaned east. They hissed a name I hadn't heard in ten years.
I was never cold. And I never, ever forgot a debt. lily starfire pov
I watched them spiral upward, each orange spark a tiny sun born from a log I’d chosen, a flame I’d whispered to. The others saw fire. I saw a language. The crackle wasn't random noise; it was the pop of a secret shared between me and the deep, molten heart of the world. That was the question, wasn't it
I finally turned to Kael. The firelight reflected in his eyes, two smaller versions of my own dominion. "You think I'm looking at it," I said, letting a spark jump the gap between the fire pit and my finger. It landed, warm as a kiss, then vanished. "I'm not looking at it. I'm listening ." Growth
A laugh escaped me, low and smoky. He wasn't wrong. Fire owed me everything. Last winter, when the blizzard had buried the passes and the other scouts were losing toes to frostbite, it was my heat that kept us alive. Not a blanket. Not a spell from the soft-handed mages in their towers. Just me, Lily Starfire, pulling a core of warmth from a single damp twig until it roared loud enough to scare the wolves away.
My father's name. The man who had tried to drown me in a river because my first flame had singed his favorite cloak.
He paused his sharpening. "What's it saying?"