Chapter 168

*Elora*

The Gate behind Kezar trembled again, shadows flickering like fractured hearts. My own flame—violet and gray—pulsed in my veins and whispered my name. Not just me. Not just flame. Choice.

I swallowed, feeling the heat of the threshold rise through me. He stood there, Kezar, arrogance and longing and ruin intertwined in his eyes.

“You can’t stop what’s already been chosen,” he said. “You