Seraphina's POV
I'm still screaming when we hit the water.
The impact knocks the air from my lungs. Cold rushes in from every direction. We're sinking fast—Kael's armor is dragging us down like stones.
His arm locks around my waist. Through the bond, I feel his determination spike. Not dying today.
He kicks hard. Once. Twice. We break the surface gasping.
"Swim!" he shouts over the roar of water. "Don't stop swimming!"
The current is brutal. It tosses us like toys, slamming us into rocks. My shoulder hits something hard and pain explodes through my arm. I cry out.
Kael's grip tightens. "Stay with me!"
Up ahead, I see it—the river splits. One way continues downstream. The other veers left into calmer water.
"Left!" I gasp. "Go left!"
Kael doesn't question. He angles us toward the split, kicking with everything he has. We catch the current just right. It sweeps us into the calmer channel.
The water slows. Becomes shallow enough to stand. We stumble to the muddy bank and collapse side by side, coughing up river water.
For several minutes, neither of us can speak. We just lie there breathing, staring at the gray sky.
"That was insane," I finally manage. "We could have died!"
"Better than getting captured." Kael sits up slowly, wincing. Blood seeps through his shirt from the wolf wound. "The Voidborn general would have tortured you for information, then killed you anyway. At least the river gave us a chance."
He's right. I know he's right. But my hands won't stop shaking.
Kael notices. His expression softens just slightly. "You did good. Staying calm. Following orders."
"I wasn't calm. I was terrified."
"Fear and calm aren't opposites." He stands, offering his hand. "Being scared doesn't make you weak. It makes you smart."
I take his hand. His grip is warm despite the cold water. Strong. Steady.
The moment I'm on my feet, he drops my hand and steps back quickly. Walls up again.
"We need shelter," he says, all business. "Dry clothes. Food. You're shivering."
I am. My whole body trembles with cold and exhaustion and leftover terror. "Where are we?"
He scans the area. "Still in the Borderlands, but further south. If we're lucky, there's a trading post about two miles from here. Come on."
We walk in silence. Every step hurts. My wet clothes chafe. My shoulder throbs. Through the bond, I feel Kael's pain too—his ribs screaming with each breath. But he doesn't slow down. Doesn't complain.
How does he do this? Fight and bleed and nearly die, then just keep going like it's nothing?
"Stop staring at me," he mutters without looking back.
"I wasn't—"
"You were. I can feel your curiosity through the bond." He glances over his shoulder. "Ask your question."
"How long have you been doing this? Fighting, I mean."
"Three hundred and seven years."
I stumble. "Three hundred—but you don't look older than thirty!"
"Perks of divine service. We don't age." His voice goes flat. "We just keep fighting. Forever. Until something finally kills us or the goddess releases us."
There's so much pain in those words. So much exhaustion.
"Is that what you want?" I ask quietly. "To be released?"
He doesn't answer. But through the bond, I feel the truth—yes. And no. He's so tired of fighting, but fighting is all he knows. All he has.
"There." He points ahead.
A small building squats between the trees. Rough wood walls. Smoke rising from a chimney. A faded sign reads: "Crossroads Inn."
"Stay close," Kael warns. "Don't use your powers. Don't tell anyone what you are. If someone asks, you're my wife and we're traveling to visit family."
My face heats. "Your wife?"
"It's a cover story. Don't make it weird." He pushes open the door.
The inn is dim and smells like old wood and meat stew. A handful of travelers sit at tables, but they barely glance at us. The innkeeper—a heavy man with a scarred face—looks up.
"Room for the night," Kael says, dropping coins on the counter. "And food. Two meals."
The innkeeper's eyes linger on our wet clothes and Kael's blood-stained shirt. "Rough journey?"
"Fell in the river," Kael says smoothly. "We're fine."
"Uh-huh." The man slides a key across the counter. "Room three. Upstairs. No trouble."
"No trouble," Kael agrees.
We climb the creaky stairs. Room three is small—one bed, a washbasin, a chair by the window. One bed.
"I'll take the floor," Kael says immediately.
"You're hurt. You should take the bed."
"I've slept in worse places." He starts stripping off his wet armor. "Get changed before you catch fever."
I realize there are dry clothes laid out on the bed—a simple dress and undergarments. "Where did these come from?"
"Innkeeper's wife. She sells them to travelers." He turns his back. "Change. I won't look."
I do, quickly, acutely aware of him just feet away. When I'm dressed, I say, "Done."
He turns. His eyes sweep over me once, then away. But through the bond, I catch something—appreciation. He thinks I look pretty.
The thought makes my stomach flip.
Kael pulls on a dry shirt, moving stiffly. When he lifts his arms, I see the wolf claw marks clearly. They're deep. Infected.
"Those need to be cleaned," I say.
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. Sit down."
"Seraphina—"
"Sit. Down." I use the same commanding tone he uses on me.
To my shock, he sits.
I wet a cloth in the washbasin and kneel beside the chair. "This will hurt."
"I've had worse."
I press the cloth to his wounds. He doesn't flinch, but through the bond I feel the pain lance through him. "Sorry," I whisper.
"Don't apologize for helping." His voice is gentler than usual. "That's your nature. Healing. Caring. Don't let this life beat it out of you."
I look up at him. His silver eyes meet mine. For once, the walls are down. I see the real him—tired, lonely, so much sadder than anyone should ever be.
"What happened to you?" I ask softly. "What made you like this?"
For a long moment, he doesn't answer. Then: "I had a sister. Lila. She was eight when she got sick. The healers said she'd die within days."
My hands still on his wound. "What did you do?"
"I made a deal with the goddess. My life in exchange for hers. Eternal service if she'd just save my sister." His jaw clenches. "Elara agreed. But there was a price I didn't expect. Lila lived, but the magic made her forget I ever existed. Rewrote reality so I was never her brother."
"That's horrible," I breathe.
"That's divine magic. There's always a cost." He looks away. "I've watched her from a distance for three centuries. Watched her grow up, get married, have children, grow old, die. She never knew me. Never remembered the brother who loved her enough to sacrifice everything."
Tears blur my vision. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. It was my choice." He meets my eyes again. "But now you understand why I don't want this bond. Why I don't want to care about anyone. Everyone I've ever cared about either dies or forgets I exist. It's easier to stay alone."
"That's the saddest thing I've ever heard."
"That's life." He stands, ending the moment. "Get some rest. We leave at first light."
A knock at the door interrupts us. "Food," a voice calls.
Kael opens the door carefully. The innkeeper's daughter sets down a tray with two bowls of stew and bread. She leaves without a word.
We eat in silence. The stew is hot and thick and tastes like heaven after everything we've been through. I'm so hungry I barely taste it.
When we're done, Kael takes a blanket from the bed and spreads it on the floor. "Sleep. You're exhausted."
I climb into the bed. It's lumpy but clean. After sleeping on the ground—and nearly drowning—it feels like luxury.
But I can't relax. My mind replays everything. The burning. The goddess. The wolves. The Voidborn. Nearly drowning. The kiss—
I touch my lips, remembering. He said it was just to save me. But through the bond, I felt something else.
"Stop thinking so loud," Kael mutters from the floor. "I can feel your emotions through the bond."
"Sorry."
Silence. Then: "Try to sleep. Tomorrow we start your real training."
I close my eyes. Exhaustion pulls at me like a heavy blanket. Within minutes, I'm drifting...
Flames everywhere. Smoke choking me. The crowd screaming "Witch! Burn her!" Father turning his back. Callista's smile. The heat consuming me. Pain beyond words. Can't breathe can't breathe can't—
"NO!"
I bolt upright, screaming. My hands glow with wild golden light. The bed is on fire—actual fire, started by my panic.
Suddenly Kael is there. He grabs my shoulders. "Seraphina! Look at me!"
I can't. Can't see anything but flames.
"Look at me!" His voice cuts through my panic. "You're safe. You're not burning. You're here. With me."
His silver eyes lock onto mine. Through the bond, I feel his calm. His strength. His certainty.
The flames die. My glow fades. I'm left shaking and crying.
"I'm sorry," I sob. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
"Shh." His hands gentle on my shoulders. "It's okay. Nightmares are normal after trauma. But you need to control your powers even while asleep, or you'll hurt yourself."
"How?"
He hesitates. Then he sits on the edge of the bed, hand still on my shoulder. "Close your eyes. Focus on the bond between us. Feel it?"
I do. That silver thread connecting us. Pulsing with shared energy.
"When you panic, you pull on your own power," he explains quietly. "Instead, pull on mine. Use the bond to ground yourself. I've got control. Let me anchor you."
"That won't hurt you?"
"I can handle it." Something in his voice makes my chest tight. "I'll keep you safe. Even from yourself."
I close my eyes. Focus on the bond. On his steady presence. Slowly, my breathing calms. The fear recedes.
"Better?" he asks.
"Better." I open my eyes. "Thank you."
He should leave now. Go back to the floor. Put distance between us.
Instead, he stays. His hand still on my shoulder. Silver eyes watching me in the darkness.
"Kael?"
"Hmm?"
"You said you don't want to care about anyone. But you already care about me, don't you?"
Through the bond, his emotions spike—panic, denial, and underneath it all, truth.
He does care. He's trying so hard not to, but he does.
"Get some sleep," he says roughly, pulling his hand away. "That's an order."
He returns to his blanket on the floor. Lies down with his back to me.
But through the bond, I feel him staying awake. Standing guard even while pretending to sleep. Protecting me.
I drift off feeling safer than I have since before the burning.
I wake to whispers.
For a moment, I'm confused. The room is dark. Kael's still on the floor.
But someone else is here. Multiple someones.
My eyes adjust. Three figures in black stand by the door. One leans over Kael with a knife raised high.
They're going to kill him.
"KAEL!" I scream.
Everything happens at once.
Kael rolls. The knife misses by inches. He kicks out, sending one attacker crashing into the wall.
The other two lunge for me.
I throw up my hands. Golden light explodes from my palms—wild, uncontrolled. It hits one attacker square in the chest. He flies backward through the door, screaming.
The third attacker grabs my arm. Cold metal presses against my throat. A blade.
"Move and she dies," he hisses at Kael.
Kael freezes, sword half-drawn. His eyes meet mine across the room.
Through the bond, I feel his calculation. He's weighing options. Looking for an opening.
But the blade digs into my skin. I feel blood trickle down my neck.
"Drop your weapon," the attacker commands.
Kael's jaw clenches. Slowly, he lowers his sword.
The man smiles. "Good. Now—"
The window explodes inward.
A massive black wolf lands in the center of the room. But this one is different from the rogues—its fur gleams like silk, its eyes shine intelligent gold.
It's not here to kill us.
It's here to save us.
The wolf lunges at my attacker. The man screams, releasing me. I stumble forward. Kael catches me, pulling me behind him.
The wolf tears through all three attackers in seconds. Efficient. Brutal. Final.
Then it turns to face us.
Kael raises his sword. "Stay back."
The wolf's form shimmers. Shifts. And suddenly a man stands where the wolf was—tall, dark-haired, with those same intelligent gold eyes.
"Well," he says, brushing off his clothes. "That was exciting."
Kael's expression goes flat. "Prince Damien. Of course."
The stranger—Prince Damien?—grins. "Hello, old friend. Miss me?"
He looks at me. His smile widens. "And you must be the new Lightbearer everyone's trying to kill. Pleasure to meet you." He executes a mocking bow. "I'm here to kidnap you."