My girlfriend is trapped in my superpower

The courtyard was empty except for me, Bram, Mira, and Sareth. Dawn light spilled over the cracked stone floor, turning the ash marks from yesterday's battle into streaks of pale gold. My body still ached from sleep's strange visions, from Lyra's taunts, from the heavy truth pressing in my chest.

Sareth had decided to train me.

"Again," he said, voice calm but sharp as steel. "Summon the flame."

I grit my teeth, lifted my hand, and felt the heat coil inside my chest. The voidflame stirred—wild, impatient. My vision blurred at the edges as sparks licked across my fingers, curling into a small, flickering flame.

"Pathetic," Lyra muttered. "You call that fire? That's a candle stub in a tavern corner."

"Shut up," I whispered.

Sareth's eyes narrowed. "You are speaking to her again?"

Heat flushed my face. "She doesn't stop."

"Then make her listen." His tone was flat, but it cut through me like a blade. "Power without discipline is destruction. Show me control."

The flame in my palm flared suddenly, stretching upward, writhing. My chest tightened. I tried to pull it back, but it fought me, biting into my skin with searing pain.

Bram shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe give him a break? He nearly died three days ago."

Sareth didn't even glance at him. "The fire doesn't care if he is tired. The fire doesn't care if he is afraid. If he cannot master it, it will master him."

Lyra's laughter rang in my skull. "Oh, he's good. Cold, cruel, dramatic. Ten out of ten mentor energy."

"Quiet," I hissed, but the flame responded to my frustration, leaping higher, wild and hungry.

In an instant, Sareth moved. His hand sliced through the air, and a pulse of energy slammed into me, forcing the fire to collapse back into nothing. I stumbled, gasping, clutching my chest where the heat had scorched me inside.

"You hesitate," Sareth said, eyes blazing. "You fear your own blood. That is weakness."

"Maybe I don't want to burn everything I touch," I shot back, harsher than I meant to.

For the first time, Sareth smiled—not kindly, but with something like grim approval. "Good. There is fire in your tongue, at least."

Mira stepped forward, bristling. "You don't have to tear him down to build him up."

"I do," Sareth said simply. "Because the monsters he will face will not coddle him. They will rip and devour without pause. If he cannot take my words, how will he survive their teeth?"

The silence after that was heavy, broken only by my ragged breathing.

I wanted to hate him. I wanted to shove his smug confidence down his throat. But deep down, I knew—he was right. Every battle, every moment of hesitation had nearly cost us lives. If I didn't change, if I didn't grow, Bram and Mira, the villagers, the little girl with the flowers—they would all pay for my weakness.

Sareth finally stepped closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear. "You carry royal blood. You carry flames that can erase worlds. But right now, you are nothing more than a boy trembling at his own shadow. Decide, Kael. Will you stay a boy… or will you become a king?"

Lyra went silent. For once, even she had nothing to say. I clenched my fists, heat rising inside me—not just fire, but something heavier, sharper. Resolve.

"I'll try again," I said.

"No," Sareth corrected, eyes locked onto mine like iron shackles. "You will succeed."

The village felt different at night. Lanterns swayed in the soft breeze, their orange glow washing over cracked walls and narrow streets. Children laughed in the distance, chasing each other with wooden swords. For the first time in days, the air wasn't filled with the stink of blood or the screams of dying beasts.

Bram stretched his arms overhead, yawning. "Not bad, huh? Almost feels normal. Like we're just… regular folk after a long day of work."

"Except our 'work' involved a monster trying to swallow us whole," Mira muttered, pulling her cloak tighter.

"Details," Bram said with a shrug.

I walked quietly beside them, hands shoved deep in my pockets. My body still ached from Sareth's training, but it wasn't just the exhaustion weighing me down. It was his words. Boy or king? Which one will you be?

"Oh, don't tell me you're sulking," Lyra's voice teased, and before I could stop her, she appeared. Flames shimmered into shape beside me, her dark hair flickering like a fire dancing against the night.

Mira stopped dead. "You."

Lyra grinned, folding her arms. "Yes, me. Don't sound so thrilled."

Bram smirked. "I like when she shows up. At least things get entertaining."

"Entertaining?" Mira snapped. "She's a cursed spirit bound to Kael's blood. That's not entertainment—that's dangerous."

"Relax, Mira," Lyra said sweetly. "If I wanted to kill him, I would have done it the day we met. Besides, I quite like him. He's… tolerable. For now."

"Your definition of affection is twisted," Mira said flatly.

"Oh, don't pout, little protector. I think you like me. Deep down." Lyra leaned closer, her fiery eyes gleaming with mischief. "Jealous, maybe?"

Mira flushed. "Of what?"

"Of me being closer to him than anyone else could ever be."

Bram burst out laughing. Mira looked like she wanted to slap both of them. I just rubbed the back of my neck, wishing Lyra would keep her voice in my head where it belonged.

We walked past the fountain at the square, the water shimmering faintly under lantern light. A few villagers nodded at us, their whispers trailing behind—hero, demon, savior, monster. I didn't know which one hurt more.

Lyra tilted her head, her smile fading just slightly as her gaze swept the villagers. "They don't know what you are. Not really."

I frowned. "And what am I, exactly?"

She looked back at me, her tone soft, almost serious. "Royalty. The last thread of a fire long forgotten. The monsters don't just want you, Kael. They want what's inside you. What your blood could awaken."

Something in her voice made Bram's laughter die, and Mira instinctively stepped closer to me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my chest tightening.

Lyra's smile returned, sharp and mischievous, as if she realized she'd said too much. She twirled a lock of flame around her finger. "Oh, nothing important. Just an observation. Your new mentor reminds me of someone I once knew, that's all."

Mira's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

Lyra smirked, fading back into sparks before she answered. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

The night suddenly felt colder.