Serika's POV
Kai's coughing wakes me before the sun does. At first it is small and sharp, like he is trying to hide it. But then it grows louder. Wet. Heavy. A sound someone should never hear from a fourteen-year-old. I jump up from the floor where I sleep and rush to his side.
He is curled on our old blanket, shivering. His thin chest shakes again. Blood splashes onto his hand.
My heart drops so fast it hurts.
"Kai... no. Not again."
He tries to smile, even with blood on his lips. His smile is weak, like a candle about to die. "Sorry, Seri. Did I wake you?"
"You think I care about sleep right now?" My voice cracks. I grab the cracked bowl of water beside him and dab his face. His skin burns like fire, then chills like ice. "Stay with me. Please."
The coughing hits him again. He bites down on the blanket to muffle the sound. Outside, in the Unmarked District, guards hate noise this early. People have been beaten for less.
I hold his shoulders until the shaking stops. When he finally breathes again, it is slow and painful.
"Seri," he whispers. "It's getting worse."
I already know. I have known for days. But hearing him say it feels like a knife.
"I'll get medicine today," I promise. "Real medicine. The kind that works."
His eyes open a little wider. They are the same dark brown as mine, but his look duller every day. "But we have nothing to trade."
"We will. I'll find a way." I wipe the blood from his hand. "I swear on Mom and Dad's names."
His breath catches, like the memory hurts more than the sickness. The plague took our parents four years ago. It had come fast, cruel and magic-twisted. The healers said the sickness in the slums was different from what nobles got. Stronger. Deadlier. Unmarked bodies were weaker, they said. Disposable.
I push the memory away. I have no time for sadness. Kai needs help now.
He reaches for my wrist with a trembling hand. "Seri... it hurts. Everywhere."
I place my forehead against his. "I know. I know. Just hold on a little longer."
A heavy thud shakes the wall of our tiny shack. Kai flinches. I freeze. Sometimes guards smash doors this early to check if Unmarked people owe fines. But the footsteps fade away.
Kai exhales shakily. "I'm scared."
"I'm here," I whisper. "I won't let anything take you. Not sickness. Not guards. Not fate."
He tries to sit up but collapses with a soft cry. I grab him before he falls.
"Don't move. I'll get the medicine. I promise."
His eyes close, his chest rises and falls too slowly. I cover him with our thinnest blanket and stand, trying not to show my fear. If he sees me scared, he will get worse.
I step outside into the cold morning. The Unmarked District is already awake, even though the sky is still gray. People run around with empty baskets and tired eyes. Smoke drifts from broken chimneys. A stray dog limps past me, ribs showing.
I rush toward the healer's stall at the main square. I don't have real money, but maybe he will show pity. Maybe he will give me something cheap. Anything.
When I reach the stall, the healer is already shouting at an old woman. "I don't care if your grandson is dying. No coin means no medicine. Go cry somewhere else."
My stomach twists. If he treats her like that, what will he say to me?
Still, I step forward. "Please, sir. My brother is very sick. He's coughing blood. I need medicine."
He turns to me. His eyes look me up and down. Slum girl. Dirty clothes. No mark on my wrist. Nothing worth anything.
"What kind of medicine?" he asks in a bored voice.
"The red vial. The one for chest sickness."
He snorts. "Five gold coins."
My breath stops. Five gold. That is more money than I will ever see in my life.
"I... I only have three copper coins."
He laughs so hard his stomach shakes. People turn to look. My face burns.
"Three copper? Girl, that's not even enough for the cork of the bottle." He leans closer. "Come back when you're not wasting my time."
"I'm begging you," I say. My voice cracks. "He is all I have."
"Not my problem. Now leave before I call the guards."
I back away. My hands shake. My vision blurs. Five gold. For one small bottle. How am I supposed to get that?
A sudden crash cuts through the market. A cart of fruit falls over by itself. No one touched it. People scream as apples roll everywhere.
Then I feel something. A pulse under my skin. Like a spark. A whisper of heat. A pressure inside my chest that doesn't feel human. It scares me. It excites me. It makes the air around me tremble.
I grip my arm. The faintest golden light flickers under my skin for half a second... then fades.
No. Not now. I can't deal with strange magic when Kai is dying. I push the feeling away and run. I don't stop until I reach the old fountain at the edge of the square. My mind races.
I need money. Gold. Something impossible.
Unless...
There is one place where people like me can get gold fast. Not by begging. Not by working. Not by praying.
By stealing.
My heart pounds hard. My parents always warned me never to go near the noble district. Thieves there get punished in ways too cruel to imagine.
But I don't care. Not anymore. Kai is dying. No one else will help us.
I take a deep breath. My hands won't stop shaking. My fear tries to choke me. But love is stronger than fear.
And then it hits me.
A voice. Not from outside. From inside. A deep whisper. Soft and ancient.
"Serika."
I spin around, but no one is there. The market is loud, but this voice feels like it is under my skin.
Another whisper. "Your blood is waking."
I press my palm to my chest. The golden glow sparks again. Warm. Powerful. Dangerous.
"What are you?" I whisper.
No answer. Just one more word, echoing in my bones.
"Choose."
My breath shakes. I know what I must do.
I run home. Kai is still on the floor, barely breathing. I kneel beside him and take his cold hand.
"I will get the medicine," I say. "I swear. I'll do anything."
His lips move. "Seri... stay safe..."
But I can't promise that.
I step outside again. My legs are weak but I force them to move. Toward the noble district. Toward danger.
Then I freeze.
A poster hangs on the broken wall across the street. Fresh ink. Fresh warning.
A drawing of a girl. A girl with dark hair. Sharp eyes.
A girl who looks exactly like me.
The poster reads: "WANTED for attempted theft. Reward: ten gold."
My heart slams so hard it hurts.
Someone thinks I already tried to steal.
A guard looks at the poster, then looks straight at me.
His eyes widen.
"YOU."
He grabs his horn and blows it loud.
People scream.
Guards run my way.
Kai is dying.
Magic is waking.
And now the whole district thinks I am a criminal.
My blood turns to ice.
Then the guard shouts the words that strike straight into my soul.
"Catch her alive. The Emperor wants this girl."
I run.