Serina's POV
I scramble backward on the hot stone floor. "Stay away from me!"
Draeven tilts his head, studying me like I'm some kind of interesting bug. "You summoned me. You made a blood contract. And now you fear me?" He laughs, but it's not a mean laugh. It sounds almost... amused. "Humans are fascinating creatures."
"I didn't summon you!" My back hits a wall. Nowhere left to run. "I just wanted to save my brother!"
"And I will save him." Draeven crouches down to my level. This close, I can see that his eyes aren't just gold—they have flames dancing inside them. Real flames. "That was the bargain. Your blood for his life."
Hope flares in my chest. "You can really heal him?"
"Child, I am a dragon. Healing a simple illness is nothing." He waves one hand dismissively. "Consider it done."
"Just like that?" I can't believe it. After two years of desperately saving money, after watching Kai get weaker every day, the solution is just... done?
"Just like that." Draeven stands up. "But there's a problem."
Of course there is. Nothing is ever simple.
"What problem?" I ask.
"The contract between us is incomplete." He starts walking around me in a slow circle. "Right now, I can only appear in your world for a few minutes at a time. Enough to heal your brother, yes. But not enough to truly be free."
"Free from what?"
He stops circling and looks at me. Really looks at me. His expression is hard to read. "Three thousand years ago, human mages used my power to build their civilization. Then they feared what I could do and sealed me in that shrine. They trapped me in darkness for three millennia."
Three thousand years. I can't even imagine that much time. "That's... horrible."
Something flickers in his golden eyes. Surprise, maybe. "You pity me? A monster?"
"You're not a monster." The words come out before I can stop them. "Monsters don't keep their promises. You said you'd save Kai and you will. That makes you better than most people I know."
Draeven stares at me for a long moment. Then that sharp smile returns. "I like you, little flame. You have fire in you. Hidden, but there."
He walks back to his throne and sits down. "Here's what will happen. I will heal your brother tonight. The contract requires blood, so you'll need to give him this." He holds out his hand and a tiny golden flame appears, floating above his palm. "Have him swallow it. It will cure him completely."
"What's the catch?" I ask. Because there's always a catch.
"The catch is that you must complete three trials to finish our contract. Only then can I fully manifest in your world. Only then am I truly free."
"What kind of trials?"
"The first is Trust. You must learn to wield my power without fear. The second is Bond. You must accept a piece of my heart-fire into your own. The third is Truth. You must discover and accept your real name."
None of that makes sense to me. "My real name? I know my name. It's Serina Ashveil."
"Is it?" Draeven's smile is mysterious. "We'll see. But that's a problem for later. Right now, you need to return to your world and save your brother."
He snaps his fingers.
The world lurches. I'm falling again, but this time it's different. Gentler. The throne room fades away like smoke.
I land on my knees in wet grass.
I'm back in the forest. Back in my world. The Forbidden Shrine towers above me, but the red light is gone. Everything looks normal again. Ordinary.
Except for the small golden flame floating in front of my face.
It's warm. Not burning—just warm like sunshine. I carefully cup my hands around it. It doesn't hurt. It feels... safe.
I need to get to Kai. Now.
I run through the forest, clutching the flame carefully. The sun is setting. How long was I in Draeven's realm? It felt like minutes, but maybe time moves differently there.
I burst out of the forest and sprint toward the Undercity. My body aches from the beating. My hands still bleed. But none of that matters.
The Undercity is the poor part of town where people like me live. Tiny shacks made of wood and old metal. Dirt streets. No magic lights here—just regular fires in barrels for warmth.
I reach our shack and throw open the door.
"Mira!" I gasp.
My best friend jumps up from beside Kai's bed. Her eyes are red from crying. "Serina! Thank the gods! I thought—where did you—"
Then she sees the golden flame in my hands and her mouth falls open.
"What is that?"
"No time to explain." I rush to Kai's bedside.
My little brother looks terrible. His skin is gray. His breathing sounds wet and painful. He's unconscious.
"Kai?" I touch his forehead. He's burning with fever. "Kai, can you hear me?"
He doesn't respond.
"He's been like this for an hour," Mira whispers. "Serina, I think... I think he's dying."
"No." I bring the golden flame close to Kai's mouth. "No, he's not. Not today."
I remember what Draeven said. Have him swallow it.
But Kai's unconscious. How do I—
The flame suddenly moves on its own. It floats out of my hands and drifts to Kai's lips. Then it just... melts into his mouth. Disappears.
For three heartbeats, nothing happens.
Then Kai's whole body glows.
Golden light spreads under his skin like he swallowed the sun. It's so bright I have to shield my eyes. Mira screams.
The light pulses once. Twice. Three times.
Then it fades.
Kai takes a deep, clear breath. Color floods back into his face. His eyes flutter open.
"Rina?" he says. His voice is stronger than I've heard it in months. "What happened? I feel... good."
I burst into tears. Can't help it. I throw my arms around him and sob into his shoulder.
"You're okay," I choke out. "You're going to be okay."
Mira laughs and cries at the same time. She joins our hug, squeezing us both tight.
Kai sits up—actually sits up without help—and looks confused. "I don't understand. The medicine—"
"It's gone," I say. "But I found something better."
"What? How?"
Before I can answer, a voice speaks in my mind. Draeven's voice.
"Well done, contractor. The boy will live. Now rest. Tomorrow night, your first trial begins. And fair warning—it will hurt."
I freeze. Mira and Kai don't seem to hear the voice. It's just for me.
"What's wrong?" Kai asks, seeing my expression.
"Nothing," I lie. "Just tired."
But inside, my mind races. Tomorrow night. The first trial. What did I actually agree to?
And why do I get the feeling my life is about to change in ways I can't imagine?
Kai yawns and stretches. "I'm hungry. Really hungry. When's the last time I ate?"
Mira laughs. "That's the best thing I've heard all week!"
She rushes to our tiny kitchen area to find food. Kai chatters excitedly about how good he feels. How he wants to run. To play. To live.
I smile and nod, but part of my mind is somewhere else.
In a throne room of black stone and rivers of fire.
With a dragon whose golden eyes see too much.
A dragon who now owns a piece of my soul.
What have I done?