Page 270 of House Ignis

It hovered midair, its cover pulsing with fiery radiance

Symbols rippled across its spine, rearranging themselves again and again until the strokes sharpened into one unmistakable word.

PYRESON.

The sound it made was wrong. Not quite a whisper, not quite a growl. It was recognition—the sound of something ancient realizing it had finally been found.

A voice threaded through my chest like it had always belonged there. Mine.

Aether snarled, his fur rising in a jagged line along his spine.

“Don’t touch it.”

But gods… it was calling me.

The light beat like a heart. Like my heart.

My palm began to itch, something inside my skull thrummed, sharp and hungry, dragging me forward one step at a time.

“Ava,” Aether warned, stepping in front of me, his tail lashing hard enough to crack the air. “Do. Not.”

But my hand was already lifting. I called the fire. It answered instantly. Too instantly.

Sparks erupted across my skin, racing up my arms in blazing streams until my fingers ignited.

The library reacted like a wounded beast. Every floating flame exploded white-hot.

Shadows stretched into monstrous shapes across the towering shelves, and books trembled violently before tearing free to circle us. Runic wards screamed to life, veins of burning magic spider-webbing across the stone floors.

The hovering book answered my fire. Its cover split open with a searing hiss, and symbols crawled across the spine like fresh brands.

The language shifted before my eyes—ancient Ignis first… then something older. Crueler.

Until silver strokes settled into place. Sharp. Elegant. Lethal.

Veyari script.

The world tilted. My heart slammed once—hard enough to hurt.

The shelves shifted again, but not violently this time.

They moved with a slow, graceful reverence, clearing a path toward the glowing tome as if the library itself were bowing.

Not like a trap snapping shut.

They simply… moved.

Sliding back into place with a deep, grinding sigh, as if the library itself had reconsidered its temper.

The maze straightened, the floating flames settled into slow, drifting patterns once more, and the suffocating pressure in the air loosened its grip on my lungs.

The tome drifted toward me. Slowly, I reached out and took it. Heat pulsed against my palms, but it didn't burn.

Aether’s gaze dropped to the book burning in my hands, his golden eyes reflecting the molten glow.

“Well,” he murmured, his voice tight. “Are you going to open it?”

My heart was still racing as I swallowed hard and forced my fingers to turn the first page.