Serina's POV
I run through the dark streets, my heart pounding so hard it hurts.
Kai's face won't leave my mind. Gray skin. Wet breathing. Dying.
The golden flame is gone. It worked—Kai is healed and sleeping peacefully. But Draeven's words echo in my head: Tomorrow night, your first trial begins. And fair warning—it will hurt.
I should feel happy. Kai is alive. The nightmare is over.
So why do I feel like I just stepped into something much worse?
I slow down as I reach the edge of the Undercity. Beyond the last shacks, there's nothing but darkness and dead trees. And somewhere out there in that darkness is the Forbidden Shrine of Calamities.
The place where I made my deal.
I need answers. What did I actually promise Draeven? What are these trials? And why does he keep calling me "little flame" like he knows something about me that I don't?
My feet move before my brain catches up. I'm walking toward the forest. Toward the shrine.
"This is stupid," I whisper to myself. "You should go back. Stay with Kai."
But I keep walking.
The forest is worse at night. Every shadow looks like a monster. Every sound makes me jump. I'm still hurt from the beating the guards gave me. My ribs ache with each breath. My hands are bandaged, but blood is seeping through.
I don't care. I need to know what I've done.
The shrine appears suddenly, like it's been waiting for me. Red symbols glow faintly on the old stone walls. They pulse like a heartbeat. The heavy wooden doors are open.
I know I closed them when I left.
"Hello?" My voice sounds small and scared.
No answer. Just wind through dead trees.
I step inside.
The moment I cross the threshold, the doors slam shut behind me. The red symbols explode with light, so bright I have to shield my eyes.
"No, no, no—" I spin around and pull on the doors. They won't budge. I'm trapped.
"Looking for me, contractor?"
I whirl around. Draeven stands in the center of the shrine, exactly where the altar used to be. But he looks different now. More... real. More solid. His golden eyes glow in the darkness.
"You came back," he says, sounding pleased. "I thought you might run."
"I want answers." I force my voice to stay steady. "What are these trials? What did I agree to?"
Draeven tilts his head, studying me. "You agreed to complete our bond. Three trials. I told you already."
"You didn't explain what they actually are!"
"The first trial is Trust." He starts walking toward me slowly. "You must learn to use my power without fear. Right now, you're terrified of me. Of what I am. That fear will kill you if you don't overcome it."
I press my back against the door. "I'm not scared of you."
"Liar." He stops a few feet away. "Your heart is racing. Your hands are shaking. You can barely look at me."
He's right. I hate that he's right.
"How do I pass this trial?" I ask.
"You already started." Draeven raises one hand. Golden fire appears, dancing along his fingers. "When you took my flame to heal your brother, you used my power. But you didn't control it. You just hoped it would work."
The fire in his hand grows larger, brighter. It forms into a sphere of pure golden light.
"This is dragon fire. The most destructive force in existence. It can heal or destroy, create or consume. And now, a piece of it lives inside you."
"What?" My eyes go wide. "Inside me?"
"The contract bound us, Serina. My power flows through your veins now. Weak and untrained, yes. But it's there." He holds out the fire sphere. "Prove it. Take this flame without burning yourself."
I stare at the fire. It's beautiful and terrifying.
"I can't. I'm just Copper-rank. I can barely light a candle—"
"Stop." Draeven's voice cuts like a knife. "Stop lying to yourself. You were never Copper-rank. Your magic was sealed. Suppressed. Hidden."
My breath catches. "What are you talking about?"
"Your family. Your real family. They were dragon-bonded mages, the strongest bloodline that ever existed. But powerful people feared them. Hunted them. Killed them." His eyes burn into mine. "Someone sealed your magic when you were a baby. Made you weak. Made you forgettable. Made you suffer."
Tears sting my eyes. "You're lying."
"Am I?" He steps closer. "Think, Serina. Think about your parents. How did they really die?"
"Factory explosion. Everyone said—"
"Everyone lied." Draeven's voice is soft now, almost gentle. "They were murdered. And you were supposed to die too. But you survived. You hid in plain sight, so weak no one bothered to finish the job."
My legs give out. I sink to my knees on the cold stone floor.
"Why?" The word comes out as a sob. "Why would someone do that?"
"Because your bloodline is the key to freeing dragons like me. To ending the magical slavery that built this world's civilization." He kneels down in front of me. "The people who rule your city, your country, your world—they need dragons to stay trapped. We're too powerful. Too dangerous. Too free."
I look up at him. His golden eyes are blazing, but not with anger. With something else. Something that looks almost like... pain.
"Your parents tried to fight back," Draeven continues. "They tried to expose the truth. So they were eliminated. And you—their precious daughter—were turned into a powerless nobody."
"But the Corwen family—"
"Are part of it. All of it." His smile is sharp and cold. "Lord Corwen didn't adopt you out of kindness. He needed someone to experiment on. Someone to blame if his crimes were discovered. Someone with ancient blood who didn't know what she was."
The world tilts. Everything I thought I knew is wrong.
"Cassian..." I whisper. "Did he know?"
"Yes."
That single word breaks something inside me.
Draeven reaches out and wipes a tear from my cheek. His touch is surprisingly gentle. "They used you, little flame. Drained your blood for their experiments. Kept you desperate and weak. Stole everything from you."
Rage floods through me. Hot and fierce and sharp.
"I'll kill them," I say quietly. "All of them."
Draeven's smile widens. "Good. But first, you need to be strong enough to do it." He holds out the fire sphere again. "Take the flame. Trust me. Trust yourself. Pass the first trial."
I stare at the golden fire. It should terrify me. It should make me run.
Instead, I reach out.
The moment my fingers touch the flame, the world explodes with light. Power rushes through me like a tidal wave. I scream—not from pain, but from the overwhelming sensation of everything flooding my senses.
I can feel Draeven's emotions. His rage at the humans who betrayed him. His grief for his dead sister. His loneliness after three thousand years of darkness.
And underneath it all, something else. Something warm and fierce and possessive.
He's been waiting for me. Not just anyone with my bloodline.
Me.
The fire doesn't burn. It settles into my chest, right next to my heart. It pulses with warmth.
When the light fades, I'm standing. My hands glow with golden fire.
"Impossible," I breathe.
"Nothing is impossible for you anymore." Draeven's voice is thick with satisfaction. "You passed the first trial. The bond is stronger now. Which means..."
He suddenly tenses. His head snaps toward the door.
"What?" I ask. "What's wrong?"
"They're coming." His eyes narrow. "They felt the power surge. They know what you are now."
"Who's coming?"
Before he can answer, the shrine doors explode inward.
Figures pour inside—guards in black armor, mages with glowing hands, and leading them all...
Lord Corwen.
His face is twisted with rage. "The Ashveil girl lives. And she's awakened."
Behind him, Cassian and Liora step into view.
Cassian's eyes lock on mine. For a second, something flickers across his face. Surprise? Fear?
Then his expression hardens. He raises his hand, magic crackling around his fingers.
"Kill her," Lord Corwen commands. "Before the bond completes."
Everything happens at once.
The mages attack. Draeven moves in front of me, his form beginning to shift. The golden fire in my chest explodes outward.
And in that moment, I realize the terrifying truth:
This isn't the first trial.
This is war.