SERINA POV
"You want me to stop your heart," Drakthar said flatly. "And then restart it after Cassian releases your brother."
We were in an abandoned church on the edge of Silver Moon City. Moonlight streamed through broken windows, casting shadows across the empty pews. I sat on the stone floor, Kael's bloody shoe still clutched in my hand.
"Yes," I said. "That's the plan."
"That's not a plan. That's suicide with extra steps." He paced in front of me like a caged predator. "Do you understand what you're asking? True death isn't like falling asleep. Your soul will leave your body. If I can't call it back in time—"
"Then I die for real. I know." I met his burning gold eyes. "But if I do nothing, Kael dies. If I surrender, I die anyway and Cassian wins. This is the only option where we might both survive."
"Might being the key word." He stopped pacing and crouched in front of me. "Serina, I've seen death magic go wrong. I've watched people's souls get lost between worlds, trapped forever. I've seen bodies brought back empty because the soul refused to return. This is dangerous beyond anything you've faced."
"I don't care. Teach me."
He stared at me for a long moment, and I could see the war happening behind his eyes. Finally, he sighed—a sound like distant thunder.
"If we do this, we do it my way. No arguing. No second-guessing. You follow my instructions exactly, or I stop the entire thing. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Good." He stood and pulled me to my feet. "First, you need to understand what death actually is. It's not an ending—it's a threshold. Your body stops, but your consciousness continues for a brief time. That's the window where resurrection is possible."
"How long is the window?"
"For a normal human? Three to five minutes before brain death makes revival impossible. For you?" He tapped my wrist where the violet Ashveil marks were showing through more each hour. "Your Void Magic complicates things. It might keep your consciousness anchored longer. Or it might scatter it across dimensions. There's no way to know."
Not exactly reassuring, but I'd already made my choice.
"What do I need to do?"
"We'll use a variation of the ancient Void Walker technique—a ritual your ancestors developed for traveling between life and death." He pulled a piece of chalk from his coat and started drawing symbols on the floor. "You'll lie in the center. I'll stop your heart using dragon magic, which is gentler than other methods. Your soul will slip free."
"And then?"
"Then I tie a thread of my life force to yours—a leash connecting your soul to your body. When it's time, I pull you back." He finished the circle and looked up at me. "But here's the dangerous part. While you're dead, you'll drift toward the Void—the space between dimensions where Ashveil Void Mages draw their power. It will try to keep you. You'll have to fight to come back."
My mouth went dry. "Fight how?"
"By wanting to live more than you want to rest. Death is seductive, Serina. It promises peace. No more pain. No more fear. No more struggling." His voice softened. "You'll hear voices of people you've lost. They'll ask you to stay. And part of you will want to."
I thought about my parents. I barely remembered them, but sometimes I dreamed about my mother's voice singing lullabies. Would I hear her in the Void?
"I won't stay," I said firmly. "Kael needs me. That's stronger than any promise of peace."
"I hope you're right." Drakthar gestured to the circle. "Lie down. We're going to practice the connection first—I'll stop your heart for just ten seconds. See if the thread holds."
I stepped into the circle and lay flat on my back. The stone was cold beneath me. My heart was already racing with fear.
"Relax," Drakthar said, kneeling beside me. He placed one hand over my heart. "This will feel wrong. Your body will panic. Ignore it. Trust that I'll bring you back."
"I trust you."
Something flickered in his eyes. "You shouldn't. You barely know me."
"You've protected me since I freed you. You could've let those hunters kill me, but you didn't. You carried me when I couldn't run." I reached up and touched his face—obsidian scales rough under my palm. "I trust you because you've earned it."
His hand covered mine. For a moment, we just stayed like that.
Then his expression hardened with resolve. "Ten seconds. Count them when you wake up. If you lose track of time, that's a bad sign."
"Okay."
"Ready?"
No. But I nodded anyway.
His hand pressed down on my chest. Heat flooded through me, then ice-cold. My heart stuttered. Skipped a beat. Stuttered again.
And stopped.
The world went black instantly. Silent. Empty.
I was floating in nothing. No ground beneath me. No sky above. Just darkness so complete it felt like being erased.
Then I saw the light.
A doorway opening in the distance, spilling golden warmth. And through it, I heard my mother's voice:
"Serina, baby, come here. Come home. Rest now."
I wanted to go to her. Wanted it so badly I ached.
But then I heard something else. Fainter. More desperate.
Kael's voice screaming my name.
My eyes snapped open and I gasped, air rushing back into my lungs. Drakthar's face swam into focus above me, his hands still on my chest.
"Four seconds," he said. "You were only gone four seconds, but you looked terrified. What did you see?"
"My mother." My voice came out shaky. "She wanted me to stay. And I heard Kael screaming."
"The Void shows you what you fear and what you desire." He helped me sit up slowly. "It will be worse when you're dead longer. Can you handle it?"
Could I? I didn't know. But I had to.
"Yes. I can handle it."
"Then we'll do the full ritual tomorrow night. That gives us time to prepare and plan how to get word to Cassian that you're dead." He pulled me to my feet. "Get some rest. You'll need your strength."
But I couldn't rest. My mind was spinning with everything that could go wrong.
"Drakthar?" I caught his arm as he turned to leave. "What happens if I don't come back? What happens to you?"
"The contract breaks. I'll be free again."
"So you'd be fine. You'd survive."
He looked at me strangely. "Is that what you're worried about? That I'll be fine if you die?"
"Someone should be fine."
He grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "Listen to me carefully, little Ashveil. If you die tomorrow, yes, I'll survive. The contract will break. I'll be free." His gold eyes burned into mine. "But surviving isn't the same as being fine. I've already failed to protect one Ashveil. If I lose you too—" He stopped, jaw clenching.
"You barely know me," I whispered, echoing his earlier words.
"I've known you your entire life through our bond. I've watched you grow from a scared child into someone brave enough to face death to save the person you love." His voice went rough. "So no, Serina. I would not be fine if you died. I would be—"
The church doors exploded inward.
We spun around to see five figures in white Academy uniforms filing in. But these weren't regular hunters. Their ranks were all Eights and Nines—elite forces.
The leader stepped forward, and my blood ran cold.
It was the woman from the market. The Seven who'd nearly killed me. Except now her rank tattoo was different. Enhanced. Glowing.
"Lord Cassian sends his regards," she said with a cruel smile. "He changed his mind about waiting two days. He wants the Ashveil heir now." She raised her hand, and magical chains shot from her palm toward me.
Drakthar's roar shook the building as he shifted into full dragon form—massive obsidian wings, devastating claws, eyes like twin suns. He lunged at the hunters, but there were too many. One of the Nines cast a binding spell that wrapped around his wings, slamming him into the wall.
"Drakthar!" I screamed.
The chains caught my wrists. Yanked me off my feet. I tried to use Void Magic, but I was too exhausted from the death practice. Nothing came.
"The dragon can't save you," the woman said as more chains wrapped around my body. "Lord Cassian owns the Academy grounds. The moment we drag you through the gates, even the World-End Dragon can't reach you."
They were pulling me toward the door. Toward captivity. Toward Cassian's experiments.
Fifty-three hours left, but it wouldn't matter. I'd be captured long before the deadline.
I looked at Drakthar, struggling against the magical bindings, rage and desperation on his face.
"I'm sorry," I mouthed.
Then the woman cast a teleportation spell, and the world dissolved into light.
When my vision cleared, I was standing in a pure white room. No windows. No doors. Just empty white walls that seemed to absorb sound.
And sitting in a chair across from me, smiling that poisonous smile, was Lord Cassian Vor'alan.
"Welcome home, little princess," he said. "Let's begin."