Serina's POV
The explosion came without warning.
One second I was eating breakfast with Finn in our cramped safe house room. The next, the wall burst inward in a shower of ice crystals and expensive perfume.
Vivienne Solace stepped through the hole, flanked by six Council guards in silver armor. Her smile was sharp as broken glass.
"Hello, thief," she said sweetly. "Did you really think you could hide from me?"
I shoved Finn behind me and called fire to my palms. It came easier now after weeks of training, but my hands still shook. "Get out. Now."
"Oh, I don't think so." Vivienne tilted her head. "You see, I have wonderful news. The Magic Council has decided to be... merciful."
That word made my skin crawl. Nothing good ever followed when nobles talked about mercy.
"They're giving you a chance," Vivienne continued. "A chance to prove you deserve that dragon bond you stole. Isn't that generous?"
"I didn't steal anything!"
"The Council disagrees." She snapped her fingers. One of the guards unfurled a scroll that glowed with official magic seals. "By order of Archmagus Theron Valtor, the rankless girl known as Serina Ashvale will compete in the Grand Trial—a tournament of magical combat against the kingdom's finest mages."
My stomach dropped through the floor.
"If you win," Vivienne's smile widened, "they'll recognize your bond as legitimate. If you lose..." She paused for effect. "You surrender the dragon to the Council. The whole kingdom will watch you fail."
"That's not a trial," I snarled. "That's an execution!"
"Isn't it?" Vivienne laughed. "You have three weeks to prepare. Try not to die before then—I want to beat you myself." She turned to leave, then glanced back. "Oh, and Serina? Run, and they'll hunt down everyone you care about. Starting with that sweet little brother of yours."
Finn grabbed my arm. His face had gone pale.
The guards filed out after Vivienne, leaving us alone with a gaping hole in our wall and a death sentence hanging in the air.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. They were going to make me fight trained mages in front of everyone. I'd barely learned to make fire without burning myself. How was I supposed to win against people who'd studied magic their whole lives?
"Serina?" Finn's voice was small. "Are you going to be okay?"
I wanted to say yes. Wanted to promise everything would be fine. But the lie stuck in my throat.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. My heart jumped—but it was only Kael, returning from whatever mysterious errand he'd been on. He took one look at the destroyed wall and his eyes flashed crimson.
"What happened?"
I told him. Every word felt like swallowing glass.
When I finished, Kael was silent for a long moment. Then he said, voice flat as stone: "The tournament is in three weeks?"
"Yes."
"And you'll face the kingdom's best combat mages?"
"Yes!"
"Then we have work to do." He turned toward the door. "Come. Training starts now."
"Now?" I stared at him. "Kael, did you hear what I just said? I can barely control dragon fire! How am I supposed to beat people who've been training since they were children?"
He looked back at me, and something flickered in his eyes. Something almost like fear. "Then train harder. Or accept defeat and die. Your choice."
The words hit like a slap. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"
"What do you want me to say, Serina? That you'll be fine? That everything will work out?" His voice turned harsh. "You won't be fine. They've set a trap designed to kill you. The only question is whether you'll walk into it as prey or as a predator."
My hands clenched into fists. "I'm not a predator! I'm just a girl from the slums who doesn't know what she's doing!"
"Then LEARN." The command cracked through the air. "You wanted power to protect your brother. Power demands sacrifice. Now prove you're worth the bond I gave you."
He walked out.
I stood there, shaking with anger and terror and something that felt dangerously close to tears. Finn hugged me tight.
"I hate him sometimes," I whispered.
"He's scared," Finn said quietly. "I can tell. He's just really bad at showing it."
I wanted to argue, but I was too tired. Too overwhelmed. "Come on. Let's find Darius and Mira. Maybe they can help."
But when we reached the Underground Market, the mood was dark. Word had spread fast about the Grand Trial. People whispered as we passed. Some looked at me with pity. Others looked away, like I was already dead.
Mira found us near the weapons stall. Her usual smile was gone. "You heard."
"Hard to miss when Vivienne blows a hole in your wall," I muttered.
"This is bad, Serina. Really bad." Mira pulled out her notebook, but her hands were shaking. "I've been researching the Grand Trial. It's not just about winning fights. The Council controls everything—the matchups, the rules, even the judges. They can stack every advantage against you."
"So I'm going to lose no matter what I do?"
"I didn't say that." Darius appeared beside us, carrying two practice swords. "But you'll need more than dragon fire to survive. You need strategy. You need to know your opponents' weaknesses. And you need to train like your life depends on it—because it does."
For the next two weeks, I didn't sleep more than four hours a night.
Kael pushed me until I collapsed, then pushed me further. He made me practice fire control for sixteen hours straight until my hands bled. He attacked me without warning—during meals, in the bathroom, even in my sleep. I learned to wake up fighting or wake up burned.
"Faster!" he'd shout as I dodged his flames. "Your opponents won't wait for you to think!"
"I'm TRYING!" I screamed back, sweat pouring down my face.
"Try harder!" He sent a wave of fire that singed my hair. "In the arena, hesitation means death!"
I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten a full meal. Couldn't remember what it felt like to not hurt everywhere. My body was one giant bruise. My magic felt raw and wild, like it might explode out of me at any second.
During one particularly brutal session in the training yard, I finally broke.
Kael had been attacking me for six hours straight. No breaks. No mercy. Just endless fire and ice and pain. When I collapsed for the tenth time, unable to even lift my arms, something inside me snapped.
"Why are you so CRUEL?" I screamed at him, tears streaming down my face. "You act like you don't care if I live or die!"
Kael froze. For a heartbeat, he just stared at me. Then he crossed the space between us in two strides and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me to my feet. His eyes burned into mine—not with anger, but with something desperate and terrible.
"I'm cruel because the mages you'll face will be CRUELER," he said, voice rough. "I push you because if you're not ready, they will KILL you."
His grip tightened. His hands were shaking.
"And despite what you think..." He stopped. Swallowed hard. "I find the idea of your death... unacceptable."
The words hung in the air between us.
Then he released me and turned away, back rigid. "Again. We go again."
But I just stood there, staring at his back, my anger draining away into something else entirely.
He was scared.
The World-End Dragon, the monster who'd destroyed armies, the being who couldn't be killed—he was scared of losing me.
"Kael—"
"I said AGAIN!" The roar shook the walls.
But it was too late. I'd seen the truth. Beneath all that ice and cruelty and impossible standards, he was terrified.
And that scared me more than anything else.
Because if even Kael thought I might not survive this...
What chance did I really have?
That night, unable to sleep, I climbed to the roof of our safe house. The city sprawled below, lit by magical lanterns. Somewhere out there, Vivienne was sleeping in silk sheets, confident she'd destroy me. Somewhere out there, the Council was preparing their trap.
And in three weeks, I'd walk into an arena to face them all.
Footsteps behind me. Kael sat down without asking, staring at the same city lights.
"I've been thinking," he said quietly, "about the first dragon I ever killed."
I blinked. He never talked about his past. "What?"
"I was young. Arrogant. I thought I was invincible." His eyes were distant. "The other dragon was bigger, stronger, more experienced. Everyone said I'd die. And I almost did. He broke three of my ribs, tore off half my wing, burned me so badly I couldn't fly for a month."
"How did you win?"
"I didn't." A bitter smile. "I survived. And that was enough. Because surviving when everyone expects you to die? That's its own kind of victory."
He looked at me then, really looked at me. "You don't have to beat them all, Serina. You just have to refuse to die. Can you do that?"
I thought about Finn. About the Underground Market and all the people counting on me. About Kael sitting here, trying so hard to prepare me for something that might kill me.
"Yeah," I whispered. "I can do that."
"Good." He stood. "Now come. We have two more weeks, and I just thought of seven new ways to attack you."
I groaned, but I followed.
Two days before the tournament, Vivienne sent another message. It arrived in a fancy envelope that smelled like winter roses, delivered by a servant who looked at me like I was dirt.
Inside was an invitation to a pre-tournament ball. All the competitors would be there. It was mandatory.
"It's a trap," Darius said immediately.
"Of course it's a trap," Mira agreed. "But you have to go anyway. Refusing would be an insult to the Council."
I stared at the invitation. At the swirling silver letters that promised an evening of dancing and death.
And at the bottom, in Vivienne's perfect handwriting, a personal note:
"Wear something pretty, thief. I want you to look your best when I destroy you in front of everyone you've ever known. P.S.—I've arranged a special surprise for you at the ball. I think you'll find it... illuminating."
My blood ran cold.
"What kind of surprise?" Finn asked nervously.
I didn't know.
But something told me that whatever Vivienne had planned, it would change everything.