Serika's POV
The guards close in, and the magic cage glows brighter around me. My arm still burns with the strange golden power. The guard closest to me smirks, ready to grab me again.
I do not wait.
I slam my foot into his knee. Something pops. He yells and drops his sword. Before the other guards can react, I shove the broken sword hilt into the second guard's stomach. He gasps and bends over.
My heart races. My whole body shakes. I should run, but the third guard lunges for me. I duck under his arm and smash my forehead into his chin. Pain shoots through my skull. He stumbles back, cursing.
The crowd screams for the guards to catch me. Some cheer when I fight back, like it is entertainment.
The magic cage flickers open for a heartbeat as the wounded guard falls into it. That tiny gap is enough.
I bolt.
I sprint out of the trap and into the street. My lungs burn but I keep running. I do not stop for anything. Not even when something explodes behind me.
A magic blast hits the ground inches from my feet. The dirt erupts. The shockwave throws me forward. I roll across the street and scramble up again.
More blasts streak through the air, bright blue and deadly.
One barely misses my head. Another hits a wall and cracks it open. People scatter in every direction. Nobles shout. Servants hide under carts. Everyone wants to get away from the chase.
I race past a group of terrified children. A blast hits close, and they scream. I shout for them to hide. Then I turn a corner, running so fast the wind steals my breath.
My legs feel like fire. My chest squeezes tight. I can hear the guards right behind me.
"Stop or die!" one of them yells.
I run faster.
A blast slams into a fruit stall. Oranges fly into the air. Another blast hits the ground again. The shock makes my ears ring. I push myself harder.
I pass the healer's stall. The same healer who refused to help me. He sees me run by and immediately ducks inside his shop, locking the door.
No help. No kindness. Nothing.
Kai's face flashes in my mind, pale and fragile. That gives me one last burst of strength.
I sprint toward the far edge of the noble district. Past shops. Past towers. Past screaming people. The street slopes downward, leading toward the slums again.
Then I see it.
A tall stone arch far in the distance, half hidden by shadows and broken signs.
The Forbidden Zone.
Every child in the slums grows up hearing stories about it. The cursed place no one enters. The place the Empire sealed with magic. A place where monsters were said to sleep.
People whisper that even guards avoid going near it.
But right now, all I see is a place the guards might not follow.
I run toward it.
The ground shakes again behind me. Another blast flies past and hits a roof, sending tiles crashing down.
I dodge falling debris and leap over a broken fence.
"Do not let her reach the barrier!" a guard yells.
I do not slow down.
My lungs scream for air. My legs feel like they might tear apart. But the arch grows closer. Dark. Silent. Waiting.
As I near it, the world feels different. The air turns cold. The shadows feel alive. A strange pulling sensation tugs at my chest, like something inside the Forbidden Zone is calling me.
My arm tingles again. That golden spark flares beneath my skin, brighter than ever. I slap my hand over it, but the glow leaks through my fingers.
A few guards skid to a stop behind me.
"She is heading straight for the barrier," one says.
"Idiot girl," another mutters. "Let her go. The barrier will kill her."
Kill?
My heart trips, but I do not stop.
I reach the last stretch of broken ground. What was once a road is now cracked earth covered in dust and weeds. No one has walked here in years. Maybe centuries.
Ahead of me stands the barrier.
It looks like a huge wall made of shimmering silver light. It moves like smoke but stands like stone. Even from far away, it radiates power. Old power. Dangerous power.
Power I do not understand.
I slow to a stop just a few feet from it.
Behind me, the guards refuse to come closer. Their boots scrape the dirt as they stay far back, watching like they expect me to explode.
"Let her touch it," one says. "That barrier burns anything unworthy."
Another guard shouts, "Run back, girl! That place is cursed."
Cursed or not, this is my only path. If they catch me, the captain will do things I cannot even think about without shaking.
I turn toward the guards. They watch me like I am already dead. Their faces show fear and disgust.
"Come back and surrender," one warns. "The barrier will melt your skin."
I take a small step back, closer to the glowing wall.
The air hums. My heartbeat matches the strange vibration coming from the barrier. My arm glows again, stronger than ever. Gold light moves across my veins like liquid fire.
The guards see it.
"What is wrong with her arm?"
"She has magic. That is impossible."
"We cannot let her near the barrier. She might be cursed."
Their panic rises. A few more guards arrive, but none cross the cracked ground. They stay safely away, terrified of the Forbidden Zone.
I take a deep breath.
I do this for Kai.
I reach my hand out.
The barrier pulses.
The guards shout, "Stop!"
I ignore them.
My fingers touch the surface.
I expect pain. I expect burning. I expect death.
But the moment my palm presses against the shimmering wall, something impossible happens.
The barrier softens.
It ripples like water.
A deep sound echoes through the empty land. Like a whisper from the earth itself.
The silver glow spreads from my hand. It moves outward, forming a circle of warm light.
Then the circle widens.
It widens more.
The guards stare with wide eyes.
"What is happening?" one whispers.
I step back, trembling.
The shimmering wall splits open.
Not with violence.
With purpose.
Like a giant invisible hand pulled it apart.
A doorway forms, tall enough for a giant and wide enough for an army.
Cold air rushes out, carrying a smell like forgotten magic and ancient fire.
My golden glow flares brighter, matching the strange energy inside the open passage.
The guards fall silent.
One finally speaks in a shaking voice.
"The barrier opened for her."
Another bites his lip. "That has never happened. Ever."
Their fear grows. Deep fear. This is not normal. Not allowed. Not possible.
I stare into the opening.
Dark halls stretch beyond the glowing doorway. I feel something calling me from within. Something old. Something powerful. Something waiting.
My legs shake.
My breath stutters.
But I step closer.
Because whatever lies inside might be the only way to save Kai.
The guards yell again, voices cracking.
"Do not go in there!"
"It is forbidden!"
"It will eat your soul!"
But I barely hear them.
I stand at the edge of the doorway.
One last thought of Kai fills my heart.
Then the wind shifts, brushing my cheek with icy fingers.
A deep voice whispers from inside.
"Welcome, Serika."
My blood freezes.
Who knows my name?
The doorway glows brighter.
The guards scream.
The barrier begins to close behind me.
I take one step forward.
And the Forbidden Zone swallows me whole.