SERA'S POV
I slap the woman's hand away.
"You're not my mother."
"Aren't I?" She smiles, and it's Mother's smile—the one she used to give me when I was being stubborn. "I have her face. Her voice. Her memories of tucking you in at night and singing you lullabies."
"My mother is dead. I watched them bury her."
"You watched them bury a body." The woman circles me slowly. "But was it really her? Did you actually see her face in the coffin, or did your father insist on a closed casket?"
My stomach drops. It was closed. Father said Mother looked too peaceful to disturb.
"Who are you?"
"I'm a messenger. From someone who loved your mother very much. Someone who's been watching over you your entire life." She stops in front of me. "Your real father. The dragon who gave you that blessed blood running through your veins."
"Duke Ashwood is my father—"
"Duke Ashwood is the man your mother married to hide her shame." The woman's expression softens. "She loved a dragon, Sera. Truly loved him. But their relationship was forbidden. When she got pregnant, she had to marry quickly. Ashwood needed money. She had a secret to hide. It was convenient for both."
"I don't believe you."
"Then explain your blood. Explain how you have dragon-blessed abilities when Ashwood's line is entirely human. When your mother's official bloodline shows no dragon ancestry." She leans closer. "You didn't inherit this from nowhere, child. You got it from your father. A dragon lord who's been searching for you for twenty-three years."
"Why now? Why reveal this now?"
"Because you're about to bond with the wrong dragon." Her voice turns urgent. "Dravyx isn't your mate, Sera. He can't be. You already have a bond—a blood bond with your true father. If you complete the mate bond with Dravyx, it'll interfere. Corrupt both bonds. You could die anyway, or worse, drive Dravyx mad."
"You're lying. Trying to stop the bond."
"I'm trying to save your life!" She grabs my shoulders. "Come with me. Meet your real father. Let him explain everything. Then, if you still want to go through with this suicidal bonding attempt, at least you'll know the truth."
I pull away from her. "If my real father cared so much, why didn't he come himself?"
"He can't enter this palace. Dravyx's territory is protected by ancient wards. Only those Dravyx permits can cross them." She moves toward the window. "But I can take you to him. Right now. We'll be back before dawn. Dravyx will never even know you left."
Every instinct screams this is wrong. That it's a trap.
But what if she's telling the truth?
What if there really is a dragon out there who's my father? What if bonding with Dravyx will kill me not because of the curse, but because of some other complication?
"How do I know you're not just working for Scorvath?"
"Scorvath wants you dead. If I worked for him, you'd already have a knife in your back." She extends her hand again. "I'm offering you answers, Sera. The truth about who you are. Isn't that worth an hour of your time?"
I look at her hand. At her face—Mother's face.
"If you're really a messenger from my father," I say slowly, "prove it. Tell me something only my mother would know. Something private."
The woman smiles. "When you were six, you fell from a tree and broke your arm. Your mother healed you with magic—dragon magic she'd learned from your father. She made you promise never to tell anyone because healing magic was supposed to be impossible for humans." Her smile widens. "But it's not impossible for someone with dragon-blessed blood. She was protecting your secret."
My breath catches. That happened. Exactly like that. I never told anyone about the magic, not even Father.
"How—"
"Because your father told me. Because he was there, watching from the forest. He's always been watching. Always protecting you from a distance." She gestures to the window. "Come. Meet him. Learn the truth."
I should refuse. Should run to Dravyx and tell him everything.
But I need to know.
If there's even a chance this is real, I have to know.
"Fine. One hour. But if this is a trap—"
"It's not." She climbs onto the window ledge. "Hold onto me. Tightly."
I take her hand. She pulls me onto the ledge with her.
And then she jumps.
We plummet toward the ground, wind screaming past us. I want to scream too, but no sound comes out.
Twenty feet from the ground, she transforms.
Her body shifts, grows, sprouts wings. Suddenly I'm riding on a silver dragon, soaring away from the palace into the night.
We fly for what feels like forever. The mountains pass below us. The palace becomes a distant glow.
Finally, we descend toward a clearing in the forest. Silver moonlight illuminates a circle of ancient stones.
The dragon lands and shifts back to human form. "He's waiting inside the circle. Go ahead."
I walk toward the stones slowly. My heart pounds.
A figure stands in the center. A tall man with silver-white hair and eyes that glow pale blue. He's elegant, beautiful in an otherworldly way.
When he sees me, his face transforms with emotion.
"Sera." His voice is deep and gentle. "My daughter. Finally."
I stop at the edge of the circle. "Are you really my father?"
"I am. My name is Kaelithus. I loved your mother with everything in me." He takes a step closer. "And when she died—really died, not the fake death that woman told you about—I thought I'd lost my last connection to her. Until I sensed your power awakening. Until I realized you'd survived. That I still had you."
"Why didn't you come for me? When I was being treated like dirt by my stepmother? When I was chained in a cellar?"
Pain flashes across his face. "I couldn't. Ashwood's estate has wards against dragons. I could only watch from a distance. It destroyed me, seeing you suffer." He holds out his hands. "But now you're free. Now I can finally protect you."
"By taking me away from Dravyx?"
"By saving you from a bond that will kill you." His expression turns serious. "Sera, the curse on Dravyx isn't what you think. It doesn't kill women who aren't his mate. It kills any woman who tries to bond with him, period. Morgath made sure of it. There is no 'true mate' loophole. Just death."
No. That can't be right.
"Lyria said—"
"Lyria doesn't know the full truth. Neither does Dravyx." Kaelithus moves closer. "Morgath didn't curse him to find his mate. She cursed him to be alone forever. Every bride dies. Every single one. Including you."
"Then why would the bond be forming? Why can I feel his emotions?"
"Because dragon-blessed blood creates a false bond. It mimics true mate bonds so perfectly that even ancient dragons can't tell the difference." His voice fills with urgency. "You feel connected to him because your blood is reacting to his. But it's not real. And when the third night comes, you'll burn just like the others."
I stumble backward. "You're lying. You have to be lying."
"I'm trying to save you!" He reaches for me. "Come with me. I'll take you somewhere safe. Somewhere Scorvath and Dravyx and all of them can't hurt you. You can learn to control your power. Learn who you really are. And maybe, someday, find your actual mate."
"My actual mate is Dravyx."
"No. He's not." Kaelithus's eyes flash. "You've known him for one day, Sera. One day. Are you really willing to die for a bond that might be false? For a dragon you barely know?"
"I—" I stop. He's right. It's only been a day. How can I be sure?
But when I think about Dravyx, about his pain and his kindness and the way he looks at me, something in my chest aches.
"The bond is real," I whisper. "I know it is."
"You know nothing." Kaelithus's voice turns cold. "You're a child playing with fire. You'll burn, and Dravyx will watch, and it'll be your own fault for being too stubborn to listen."
"Then let me make my own mistakes!" I step back toward the dragon who brought me. "Take me back to the palace. Now."
"I can't do that." Kaelithus signals to someone in the shadows.
Guards emerge. Human guards in dragon-slayer armor.
My blood turns to ice.
"What is this?"
"This is me protecting you from yourself." Kaelithus's expression is sad but firm. "I won't let you die, Sera. Even if you hate me for it."
"You lied. You're not my father. This whole thing was—"
"Oh, I am your father. That part is true." He waves his hand, and the guards move toward me. "But I'm also Scorvath's ally. We want the same thing—to stop this bond. He wants to keep Dravyx weak. I want to keep my daughter alive. It's convenient."
I summon silver fire to my hands. "Stay back!"
"That won't work here." Kaelithus gestures to the stone circle. "These stones suppress dragon magic. Both yours and mine. We're just human-level strength inside this circle."
He's right. I can feel my power dimming, fading.
The guards grab my arms.
"Let me go!"
"You'll stay with me until after the third night passes," Kaelithus says. "Once the deadline is gone, Dravyx will have to find another bride. You'll be safe. And eventually, you'll forgive me."
"Dravyx will come for me!"
"He doesn't know where you are. And even if he did, he can't leave the palace for the next two nights. Council law. He has to remain in his territory during the bonding period." Kaelithus moves toward me. "I'm sorry, daughter. But this is for your own good."
He reaches toward my face.
I spit at him.
He wipes it away calmly. "You have your mother's fire. Good. You'll need it in the years to come." He nods to the guards. "Take her to the holding chambers. Make sure she's comfortable but can't escape."
They drag me away from the circle toward horses waiting in the trees.
I scream. I fight. But without my powers, I'm just a weak human girl against trained warriors.
They throw me onto a horse and tie my hands.
As we start to ride away, I look back at Kaelithus one last time.
"He'll know," I shout. "The bond—he'll feel that I'm gone! He'll come for me!"
"Perhaps." Kaelithus doesn't look concerned. "But by the time he figures out where you are, it'll be too late. The third night will have passed. And you'll still be alive. That's all that matters."
We ride into the forest, deeper and deeper into darkness.
And all I can think is: Dravyx. Can you feel this? Can you feel me being taken away?
Please. Feel me.
Come for me.
Back at the Obsidian Palace, Dravyx shoots up in bed.
His chest is on fire. The bond—something's wrong with the bond.
He can feel Sera's fear. Her anger. Her terror.
She's in danger.
He transforms and crashes through his window, roaring so loud the entire palace shakes.
Every dragon emerges to see their king in full dragon form, eyes blazing with fury.
"SERA!" His roar echoes across the mountains. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
But he gets no answer.
Just the fading sensation of the bond stretching. Breaking.
She's being taken beyond his reach.
And he has less than two nights to find her.
Or lose her forever.