Seraphina's POV
The moment the Blood Moon sets, I feel it.
Power. Enormous, terrifying power flooding through me like a dam breaking. It's not just my magic anymore—it's Draeven's too. His dragon fire. His ancient strength. His three hundred years of battle experience.
All of it is flowing through our bond into me.
And mine is flowing into him.
I gasp and fall to my knees as the connection solidifies. It's like our souls are tangling together, becoming one thread instead of two separate ones.
"Seraphina!" Draeven's dragon form shimmers and shifts. He becomes human again, falling beside me. "What's happening?"
"The mate bond," I breathe. "It's completing. The Blood Moon setting was the final catalyst."
We're both glowing now—him with silver light, me with golden flames. It should be impossible. Dragons glow gold. Witches glow silver. But we're sharing everything, including our magic's color.
Morganna stares at us with wide eyes. For the first time since I've known her, she looks genuinely afraid.
"You're true mates," she whispers. "Actual true mates. I thought it was just attraction, just prophecy binding you together. But this... this is real."
"Yes," Draeven says, standing and pulling me up with him. "Which means you just made a fatal mistake."
"What mistake?"
"You hurt his mate," I say, looking down at Kael's body. "And nothing is more dangerous than a dragon protecting his bonded."
Morganna's face hardens. "True mate or not, you're still weak. Both of you are injured, exhausted, barely standing. I am fresh and prepared. I have two centuries of gathered power. You have nothing but desperation."
She's right. Even with the bond, even with our combined magic, we're both running on fumes.
But then I remember something Celestia said in the Abyss: "You'll figure it out. Trust. Cooperate. Let others help carry the weight."
I look around the throne room. The unconscious guards who were possessed. The terrified High Priestesses. The servants hiding behind pillars.
We're not alone.
"Help us," I say to the room. "Please. Anyone who wants to see tomorrow, help us fight her."
Silence. Everyone is too scared.
Then one of the High Priestesses steps forward. She's young, maybe only thirty, with kind eyes.
"I'll help," she says quietly. "Morganna has controlled the covens through fear for too long."
Another priestess joins her. Then another. Soon, five of the twelve High Priestesses are standing with us.
"You dare betray your High Priestess?" Morganna snarls.
"You betrayed us first," the young one says. "You said we were coming here to save the world. Instead, you're trying to steal a girl's power for yourself. That's not what witches do. That's what monsters do."
Some of the guards are stirring now, waking from the Void's possession. One of them—Marcus, who was possessed earlier—stands shakily.
"The king saved my life once," he says, his voice hoarse. "Let me return the favor."
More guards stand. Not all of them. But enough.
Within minutes, we have maybe twenty people on our side. Against one woman.
But that one woman has two hundred years of stolen magic.
"This changes nothing," Morganna says. "You're all insects. I'll crush you like—"
"Like you crushed my village?" I interrupt. "Like you crushed everyone I ever loved? Like you crushed the truth for two centuries?"
I step forward, and my power flares. "You made me think I was a monster. Made me believe I killed my family. Made me hate myself for surviving. All so you could use me as your power source."
"Yes," Morganna admits without shame. "And it worked perfectly. You became exactly what I needed—strong, isolated, and desperate enough to accept death. If that fool Draeven hadn't interfered, you'd already be dead and I'd be a goddess."
"But he did interfere." I take Draeven's hand. "And now we're going to do something you never expected."
"What's that?"
"Give you a choice." I look at her—really look at her—and see the scared woman underneath the power-hungry monster. "You don't have to be this person, Morganna. You raised me for fifty years. Some of that had to be real. Some of those moments when you braided my hair, when you taught me magic, when you called me daughter—some of that had to mean something."
Her face flickers. For just a second, I see regret there.
"It meant nothing," she says, but her voice wavers. "You were always just a tool."
"I don't believe you." I step closer. "The woman who read me bedtime stories, who held me when I had nightmares, who smiled when I mastered a new spell—she was real. I saw her. I loved her."
"Stop it."
"She's still in there somewhere. Buried under two centuries of fear and jealousy. But she's there." I extend my hand. "Come back. Please. We can find another way. You don't have to be a goddess. You can just be Morganna again. The woman I called mother."
Tears well in her eyes. Her sword lowers slightly.
"I can't," she whispers. "I've done too many terrible things. Killed too many people. Hurt too many innocents. There's no redemption for someone like me."
"There's always redemption," Draeven says quietly. "My uncle murdered my father. Spent three centuries trying to steal my throne. And he still found redemption in his last moments. You can too."
Morganna looks between us. I can see her warring with herself. The monster she's become versus the woman she once was.
"I just wanted to live forever," she says, her voice breaking. "I was so afraid of dying. Of being forgotten. Of meaning nothing."
"You won't be forgotten," I tell her. "I'll remember you. The real you. The one who taught me that magic is about intention, not just power. The one who said 'never use your gifts to harm, only to heal.' Remember? You told me that when I was fourteen."
She closes her eyes. "I said that?"
"Every day for five years. Until you started planning my death and forgot your own lessons."
A tear rolls down her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Sera. I'm so sorry for everything."
She drops the sword. It clatters on the stone floor.
And I make a choice.
I could let the others attack her. Let justice be served. Let her die for her crimes.
Instead, I walk forward and hug her.
She stiffens in shock. Then she collapses against me, sobbing.
"I'm sorry," she keeps saying. "I'm so sorry."
"I know," I whisper. "I forgive you."
Draeven comes to stand beside me. The guards and priestesses look confused, unsure what to do now that the fight is over.
But it's not over.
Because at that moment, Kael gasps.
We all spin around. He's sitting up, holding his chest where the sword struck. But the wound is closing. Healing.
"How—" Draeven rushes to his brother. "You were dead. I felt you die."
"I was dead," Kael says, looking at his hands in wonder. "I was dead. But then something pulled me back. Something warm and bright."
He looks at me and Draeven. "Your mate bond. Your combined power. It's not just connecting you two—it's affecting everyone around you. Life magic and dragon fire together create something new. Something that can heal the dying."
Hope flares in my chest. "Casimir. Where's Casimir's body?"
Guards point to where my uncle fell. I run over and place my hands on his chest. Draeven does the same.
Together, we push our combined power into his still heart.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then Casimir's eyes fly open. He gasps and sits up, looking around wildly.
"I was... I saw..." He looks at me and Draeven. "I saw the afterlife. And it sent me back. Said it wasn't my time yet."
Draeven pulls his uncle into a hug. "Don't ever do that again."
"Die for you? I'll try not to make it a habit." Casimir pulls back. "What happened? Did we win?"
"We won," I say. "Without killing anyone. Well, except Lyria. She's still dead."
"Good. She deserved it." Casimir stands on shaky legs. "Now what?"
Before anyone can answer, the floor starts shaking again.
Not like before, when the Void was breaking through. This is different. This is everything.
The walls crack. The ceiling groans. The entire palace is coming down.
"Everyone out!" Draeven roars. "NOW!"
People scramble for the exits. Guards help the wounded. Priestesses use magic to shield falling debris.
Draeven grabs my hand. "We need to leave. The building won't hold."
"Wait!" I look around. "There are still people trapped in the lower levels. The prisoners. The servants."
"The palace is collapsing. We don't have time—"
"Then we make time." I pull away from him and run toward the stairs leading down.
"Seraphina!"
"I'm not leaving people to die!" I shout back. "That's not who I am!"
I hear him curse. Then footsteps behind me. He's following.
We race down the stairs as the palace crumbles around us. Stone falls from the ceiling. Walls split apart. The air fills with dust and screams.
We reach the dungeon level and start unlocking cells. Prisoners pour out, terrified and grateful.
"This way!" I guide them toward the emergency exit Kael told me about.
But as we're running, a massive support beam breaks free from the ceiling. It's falling directly toward a group of children—servants' kids who must have been hiding down here.
There's no time to move them. No time to cast a shield.
I do the only thing I can. I throw myself between the children and the falling beam.
"SERAPHINA!" Draeven's scream echoes through the dungeon.
The beam crashes down on me. Pain explodes through my entire body. I hear bones cracking. Feel blood in my mouth.
But the children are safe. The beam hit me instead of them.
Through blurry vision, I see Draeven shift to dragon form and lift the beam off me. He shifts back and cradles me in his arms.
"No, no, no," he's saying. "Don't you dare. Don't you dare die after everything we've been through."
I try to speak, but blood bubbles from my lips instead of words.
"You're immortal," he says desperately. "You can't die. You've survived worse than this. Just hold on. Please."
But I can feel it. This is different. The beam crushed something vital. Something even my immortality can't fix quickly enough.
I'm dying.
Really dying.
The children I saved are crying. Draeven is crying. Even Kael, who just caught up to us, has tears streaming down his face.
"I'm sorry," I manage to whisper. "I had to... save them..."
"You did," Draeven says, his voice breaking. "You saved them. Now let me save you."
He places both hands on my chest. His power flows into me, trying to heal me. But it's not enough. The damage is too severe.
"Draeven," I gasp. "I need you... to promise me..."
"No. No promises. No goodbyes. You're not dying."
"Promise me... you'll be happy. Find someone... who doesn't... make you watch them die... over and over..."
"There is no one else!" He's sobbing now. "You're it. You're my mate. My true mate. If you die, half of me dies with you. That's what the bond means. So you have to live. Please. For me."
I want to. I want to so badly.
But my vision is fading. The pain is disappearing. Everything is getting cold.
"I love you," I whisper.
Then everything goes black.
When I open my eyes again, I'm not in the dungeon.
I'm standing in a place made of moonlight. Silver walls. Silver floor. Silver everything.
And standing in front of me is a woman who glows like the moon itself.
"Hello, child," she says in a voice like music. "I am the Moon Goddess. And we need to talk about your choice."
"What choice?"
"The choice you've been avoiding for two hundred years." She smiles sadly. "The choice between life and death. Between staying and leaving. Between love and peace."
My heart sinks. "I'm dead, aren't it?"
"You're dying. But you're not dead yet. You have one minute before your soul separates from your body completely. And in that minute, you must choose."
"Choose what?"
"To live or to die." The Moon Goddess gestures, and two doorways appear. One is bright and warm, filled with the faces of everyone I've lost. My parents. My sister. My friends who aged and died while I stayed young.
The other doorway shows Draeven crying over my body. Shows the palace crumbling. Shows chaos and pain and struggle.
"The first door leads to peace," the Moon Goddess says. "No more pain. No more suffering. No more watching everyone you love die. Just rest. Forever."
"And the second door?"
"Leads back to life. Back to struggle. Back to pain." She pauses. "But also back to love. Back to Draeven. Back to the chance to change the world instead of leaving it."
I look between the two doors. My heart is being torn in half.
Through the bright door, I see my mother smiling at me. "Come home, baby," she calls. "You've suffered enough."
Through the dark door, I see Draeven collapsing over my body. "Don't leave me," he's begging. "Please don't leave me."
"I don't know what to choose," I whisper.
"Then let me tell you something that might help," the Moon Goddess says. "If you die now, Draeven will die too. The mate bond is too strong. His heart will stop within the hour. And without him, the dragon kingdom will fall into chaos. Millions will die in the resulting war."
My blood runs cold. "You're saying I have to live to save him?"
"I'm saying your choices have consequences. As do everyone's." She looks at me kindly. "But I won't force you. The choice must be yours, made freely. Otherwise, it means nothing."
I look at my mother's face one more time. "I'm sorry," I tell her. "But I can't come home yet. Someone needs me here."
She smiles. "I know, baby. I'm proud of you."
The bright doorway fades.
I turn to the Moon Goddess. "Send me back."
"Are you certain? Life will not be easier from here. You've made powerful enemies. Solved one crisis but created others. The path ahead is full of thorns."
"I'm certain." I think of Draeven's smile. Kael's jokes. Even Morganna's tears. "I'm not done living yet."
The Moon Goddess nods. "Then I grant you a gift. Your immortality was a curse placed by another. I now make it a blessing placed by me. You will not age. You will not die from injury. You will heal from anything—but only if you choose to keep living. The moment you truly want death, it will come for you. Do you accept these terms?"
"I accept."
She touches my forehead. "Then go, child. Return to your mate. And show the world what true love can do."
Light explodes around me.
When it fades, I'm gasping in Draeven's arms. Air floods my lungs. Pain shoots through my healing bones.
"Seraphina!" Draeven's face appears above mine, shocked and hopeful. "You're alive. You're actually alive."
"Told you..." I cough. "Can't get rid of me... that easily..."
He laughs and cries at the same time, holding me so tight I can barely breathe.
Around us, the palace is still collapsing. We need to run.
But for just this moment, we hold each other and breathe.
We survived. Again.
Then Kael shouts, "Hate to interrupt the romantic moment, but CEILING!"
A massive chunk of stone is falling directly toward us.
Draeven shifts to dragon form, spreads his wings, and shields everyone.
The stone crashes onto his back, and he roars in pain.
But he holds. He protects us.
That's when I realize something.
We're going to be fighting for survival for a long time. Maybe forever.
But at least we'll be fighting together.
And that makes all the difference.
The stone cracks apart as Draeven pushes it off. He shifts back and picks me up.
"Can you walk?" he asks.
"Not yet. But I will." I touch his face. "Where do we go now? The palace is destroyed. Half your court probably hates you. The witch covens think I'm a monster. And we just brought the Void into the world then sent it back, which probably made it angry."
"I know a place," Draeven says with a small smile. "A place where no one will find us. Where we can rest and plan and figure out our next move."
"Where?"
"My mother's homeland. Far to the north. A place where dragons and witches once lived in peace, before the war."
"That place still exists?"
"I hope so. Because right now, hope is all we have."
He carries me toward the exit, Kael running beside us. Behind us, the palace that's stood for a thousand years finally collapses completely.
And ahead of us, the sun rises on a new day.
A day where everything has changed.
A day where we're fugitives, refugees, and outcasts.
But also a day where we're alive, together, and free.
As we escape into the forest outside the kingdom, I hear a voice behind us.
"Stop! In the name of the Twelve Covens, I command you to stop!"
We turn. A woman in white robes stands at the forest's edge. She's young, powerful, and wearing the marks of a High Priestess I don't recognize.
"Who are you?" Draeven demands, moving to shield me.
"I am Thalia Moonwhisper, new High Priestess of the Eastern Coven." She looks at me with eyes that glow pure silver. "And I'm here to deliver a message."
"What message?"
"The Void isn't gone. It's just waiting. Gathering strength in the spaces between worlds." Thalia's face is grave. "And when it returns, it won't be alone. It's bringing an army."
My blood freezes. "What kind of army?"
"The kind that will end everything." Thalia looks between Draeven and me. "The kind that only the Dragon King and his Luna Priestess mate can stop. If you're brave enough to try."
"What do we have to do?" Draeven asks.
Thalia smiles, and it's not a happy smile.
"Find the Thirteen Keys. Unlock the Forbidden Archive. And discover the truth about what really happened a thousand years ago when Celestia 'defeated' the Void." She pauses. "Because she didn't defeat it. She made a deal with it. And that deal's about to come due."
She vanishes in a puff of silver smoke before we can ask anything else.
Draeven and I look at each other.
"Thirteen Keys?" I say.
"Forbidden Archive?" he replies.
We're silent for a moment.
Then we both start laughing. Because what else can we do?
"We just survived certain death about six times today," I say.
"And now we have to save the world. Again." Draeven grins. "Want to?"
I look at him—my mate, my partner, my former executioner turned savior.
"Absolutely," I say.
He kisses me. Finally. After everything. A real kiss.
And it's perfect.
When we pull apart, Kael is making gagging sounds.
"Are you two done being disgustingly cute? Because we really need to keep moving before someone else tries to kill us today."
"Fair point," Draeven says, taking my hand.
We walk into the forest together. Three people against the world.
Well, two people and one priestess-witch with questionable immortality and a lot of unresolved trauma.
But we'll figure it out.
We always do.
Behind us, I hear someone whisper, "This isn't over, daughter."
The Void's voice.
I don't answer. I just squeeze Draeven's hand tighter.
Because the Void is right.
This isn't over.
It's just beginning.