What woke her was someone throwing her down onto hard stone.
It tore her out of the dark as her cheek scraped against carved grooves.
Her mind latched onto that single detail.
Throne room. She knew the pattern.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Dex's voice roared through the haze, furious and feral.
More voices followed, all muffled, like they were under water.
She was caught between consciousness and not, drifting in and out. Her body felt heavy, distant, slow to respond. Silver burned into her skin where the cuffs bit deep.
A boot caught her ribs, kicking her flat onto her back.
Her arm flared, pain detonating so violently it stole what little breath she had.
A roar thundered in the distance. Velkaris.
Even through the fog clouding her mind, the connection snapped tight.
He wanted to help her. She felt him and knew he did.
Heat formed around her hands, melting the silver cuffs wrapped around her wrists. The metal hissed, dripping to the floor in molten ribbons.
Her senses were still dulled, ears ringing, but her vision sharpened. The throne room came back into focus.
Still laying on the floor, she turned her head toward noises. She saw there were many people cuffed. But Dexmon is what her vision narrowed to.
Silver chains wrapped around his wrists, neck, chest, and legs, searing flesh. His eyes were on her, face full of concern.
Serena wanted to sit up and move to him, but her body wasn't cooperating.
Voices shouted.
"WHERE ARE HER CUFFS!"
"THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE!"
"KILL HER. NOW."
Serena noticed someone moving towards her.
She was aware enough to know she should be afraid, but she felt like a spectator, watching herself.
Her hand lifted on its own.
Flame shot straight for him. She turned her head back up to the ceiling, not fully aware that he was burning alive. Instead, she noticed spots in her vision.
A sword lifted and came down in one clean swoop. A head rolled across the ground.
Then it swung for her.
Serena rolled to her side, the blade missing her by an inch, and she drove her heel into his crotch. Hard.
She tried to move away, but her body was delayed.
The attacker swung his blade again straight for her neck. She watched herself catch it with both hands by some miracle.
He pressed it toward her with his full body weight. Her hands bled and arms shook, pushing against him.
She heard herself let out a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream.
The mark on her arm seared hot at that exact moment.
You would think she would be used to that pain by now, but she was not.
The man shrieked as his sword became too hot to hold.
He let it go and went straight for her throat. Choking her.
She fought to pull him off. But he was stronger. She felt herself slipping from consciousness, unable to breathe. Her forearm boiled hotter and hotter, bringing her back to awareness.
He let go abruptly and screamed in a disturbing cadence of agony.
Serena wheezed desperately, her windpipe crushed. The wheezes broke into gasps and choking coughs until, finally, air forced its way back into her lungs.
Then she noticed her hand was on fire.
How interesting, she thought, still detached.
Another masked attacker ran into the room, sword drawn.
Still laying flat, she raised her hand.
Not guided this time. No, she finally understood how this worked.
Flame burst from her palm and hit the man like a power shot.
He screamed in agony. She barely heard it.
More attackers came in. They thought she was on fire.
Burned. Dead.
They were wrong.
They were hit just as brutally.
Then she felt something vibrate. She glanced down at her other hand and saw the ring Dex had given her.
She slid it off her finger and felt a warm sensation in her core. Almost like she'd done this before and was meeting a familiar, old friend.
The ring rolled on its own.
Across the throne room, Hyran watched as it rolled into flames from a burning body.
In the flames, molten metal rose and twisted, spiraling upward into a dragon.
The molten dragon slammed fire into the other attackers, moving with purpose.
More entered, and the dragon killed them on sight.
After a few minutes, once every attacker was reduced to ash, it collapsed back into itself and reformed into a ring, dropping next to Serena.
She did not reach for it. She lay dazed, coughing, the room spinning around her. She felt herself going in and out of consciousness.
A voice slid into her mind.
Hyran:Serena. Channel into Dex.
Serena did not respond. She wanted to but everything felt distant, like the world was slightly out of reach.
Dex:Serena, I am here. But I am cuffed and cannot get to you, baby. Try what Hyran said. Channel into me.
She heard him. She opened her eyes.
Then Hyran's presence slid back into her mind. Not gentle.
Hyran:Serena. Focus.
This was his coaching voice. She knew it well. He didn't coddle.
Hyran:Find that energy inside you and focus on your matebond. It will go on its own.
She did feel it. A new energy humming inside her, deep and hot. It was where the flames came from.
There was no need for it to go on its own.
She shoved it.
A molten dragon appeared in her peripheral vision. Dex's ring.
Hyran:Yes. Channel to King Tiberon now.
She heard shouting somewhere, but her ears were still ringing, everything distant.
Hyran:Tiberon's energy is identical to Dex's. He is next to Dex in this room. Identify. Push. Do not think.
By the time he finished the mindlink, she was already channeling into Tiberon, along with Hyran, Hale, Alaric, and Gavriel. She could somehow sense that they were able to take it.
They did.
More commotion broke out in the throne room. Wolves shifted. Swords clanked. Commands were given.
Hyran:Exactly like that. Do not stop.
Everything else was muffled, distant, but Hyran's mindlink was clear.
Only then did she realize she was lying across three throne steps, diagonal, her body at an awkward angle.
Have I been here the whole time? She wondered to herself.
She blinked and stared up at the ceiling again, dizzy.
She noticed she'd been pressing her hand to her stomach. She lifted her hand and saw blood.
A lot of it.
Red and gold, old and new, slicking her palm and fingers.
A wave of nausea rolled through her. Then chills. Her arm still felt like it was on fire, but her body shivered uncontrollably.
Only then did she register her breathing.
It was wrong. Desperate, uneven gasps that would not fill her lungs no matter how hard she tried.
But it wasn't her windpipe from earlier. This was different. The stab wound from Elara did not just tear open, it was worse than before. She felt something else on the other side of her chest. Was she stabbed twice?
Panic fluttered sharp in her chest.
Hyran: Serena, you're losing consciousness. Focus. You are not finished.
She opened her eyes to see a second figure hovering over her. A healer pushed magic into her. She felt warmth throughout her body. The wound closed, bruises softened. Her head stopped pounding. Immediately she felt better.
She took a full breath. The ringing in her ears started to fade.
Arms went around her, lips on hers. Dex.