SERA'S POV
Aldric's hand blazes with divine fire. The heat hits my face even from across the cell.
"Thirty seconds," he says.
My heart pounds so hard it hurts. Complete memory erasure or death. Those are my choices. Lose everything I just remembered or die right here.
"Wait!" Caspian steps forward, putting himself between me and the Council Head. "You can't execute her without a proper trial. Divine law requires—"
"Divine law?" Aldric laughs, cold and terrible. "Boy, your family serves us. You don't quote law to us."
Caspian's whole body goes stiff. I see something glow beneath his shirt—something bright and painful-looking.
"The girl decides now," Aldric says. "Or I decide for her."
"I—" My voice shakes. I don't want to forget. I just learned the truth about Luminara, about who I was, about everything. But I don't want to die either.
Then Caspian makes a sound like he's being hurt.
He grabs his chest, his face going white with pain. The glow under his shirt gets brighter, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Stop!" I scream. "Whatever you're doing to him, stop!"
"I'm not doing anything," Aldric says. "He's fighting a direct command. Foolish boy."
Caspian drops to one knee, gasping. His hand clutches his chest where the light shines through the fabric. Sweat runs down his face.
"What command?" I demand. "What are you making him do?"
Aldric smiles. "I ordered him to restrain you. To hold you still so I can perform the memory erasure. But he's refusing. His curse is punishing him for disobedience."
Horror crashes through me. Caspian is being tortured because he won't help them erase my mind.
"Caspian, don't," I say desperately. "Just do what he says. I can't watch you suffer for me."
"No," Caspian forces out through gritted teeth. The light from his chest is so bright now I can see the actual shape of it—some kind of mark or symbol burned into his skin. "I won't... help them... hurt you."
"How noble," Aldric says, sounding bored. "Ten seconds, Seraphina. Choose."
But I'm not looking at him. I'm staring at Caspian as he shakes with pain, fighting his own curse to protect me.
This man kept me in chains. But he also brought me books and blankets. He helped me remember even though it went against his orders. He's been trying to free us both.
And now he's dying to protect me.
"I choose..." I start to say.
Then Caspian's shirt tears from the force of the light. I see it clearly now—the mark on his chest.
It's a brand. Not a tattoo or a birthmark. An actual brand, like someone pressed burning metal into his skin. The symbol is ancient and terrible, all sharp angles and cruel curves. It glows with divine power that makes the air shimmer.
Around the edges, his skin is red and blistered. Fresh burns. The curse is literally burning him from the inside.
"You bastards," I whisper. "This is what you do to the families who serve you? You brand them like cattle?"
"We ensure loyalty," Aldric says calmly. "Now, your choice. Five seconds."
Caspian looks up at me. His gray eyes meet mine, and I see everything in them—pain, regret, determination, and something else. Something that makes my breath catch.
He's looking at me the way someone looks at a person they'd die for.
"Don't choose erasure," he says, his voice rough. "Sera, please. I've watched you wake up as yourself these past hours. Don't let them take that away."
"But you'll die," I say. Tears run down my face. "If I refuse, he'll kill me, and you'll have fought your curse for nothing."
"Worth it," Caspian gasps out. "You're worth it."
The brand flares brighter. He screams—actually screams—and collapses completely. The smell of burning flesh fills the cell.
"Time's up," Aldric says. "Since you can't decide, I'll—"
"I choose death," I say quickly. Loudly. "I won't let you erase my memories. Kill me if you want, but I die knowing the truth about what you are."
Aldric raises his burning hand.
Then Caspian does something impossible.
He stands up. Somehow, through the agony of his curse, through the brand trying to burn him alive, he stands up and throws himself at Aldric.
A mortal man attacking a divine being should be laughable. But Caspian is a Keeper. His family has fought fallen gods for centuries. He knows exactly where to strike.
His fist connects with Aldric's throat.
The Council Head stumbles backward, surprised. The divine fire in his hand flickers and dies.
Caspian grabs my chains and yanks hard. The metal groans. Once. Twice.
On the third pull, they shatter.
My wrists are free.
"Run," Caspian tells me. His brand is still burning. His whole body shakes. But he's smiling—actually smiling. "Sera, run. Now."
"I'm not leaving you—"
"RUN!"
Aldric recovers. Divine power explodes from him in a wave that sends Caspian flying across the cell. He hits the wall hard and doesn't get up.
"You'll both die for that," Aldric says. His voice isn't bored anymore. It's furious.
I should run. My chains are broken. The door is open. I could escape.
But Caspian is crumpled against the wall, the brand on his chest still glowing, still burning him. He sacrificed everything to free me.
I can't leave him.
Power surges inside me. The same power I felt in the library when the assassin attacked. My skin starts glowing with golden dawn light.
"You want to kill me?" I say to Aldric. "Try it. But I'm not running. Not anymore."
Aldric raises both hands. Divine fire springs to life in his palms, bigger and hotter than before.
Then the cell door slams shut behind him.
We both turn.
Standing in the doorway that shouldn't be there—because that door just closed—is Kieran. The rogue mage grins, and his hands glow with purple magic.
"Sorry I'm late," he says. "Traffic in the divine realm is murder."
He throws something at Aldric. A crystal. The same kind he used to show me my memories.
When it hits the Council Head, it explodes.
The whole manor shakes. The walls crack. And through the smoke and chaos, I hear Kieran yell:
"Grab the boyfriend and run, goddess! This place is coming down!"