POV: Sera
Move faster, the guard orders, shoving me down the fortress stairs.
My mind races as they march me through dark hallways. I need a plan. I need to escape. I need to warn Cain that Aldric's here.
But three armed guards surround me, and I have nothing but my mother's journal hidden in my dress.
We descend into a part of the fortress I've never seen deep underground where the air grows cold and damp. Torches flicker on stone walls. Strange symbols glow faintly in the darkness.
Finally, we stop in front of massive iron doors.
The lead guard pounds his fist against them three times. We have the girl.
The doors swing open, revealing a chamber lit by dozens of black candles. And standing in the center, wearing his white priest robes like armor, is High Priest Aldric.
But he's not alone.
My father stands beside him.
Father? The word escapes before I can stop it. Hope flares in my chest maybe he's here to rescue me, maybe he finally believes I'm innocent
Then I see his face. Cold. Guilty. Resigned.
He's not here to save me. He's here with Aldric.
Hello, Sera, Aldric says, his voice smooth as silk. Thank you for coming so quickly.
I didn't have a choice, I snap. Your guards threatened to kill Cain.
Aldric smiles. The Guardian is quite valuable. We can't have him dying just yet. He gestures to my father. Marcus, would you like to explain to your daughter why she's here?
Father won't meet my eyes. Sera, you need to understand what we're doing is for the greater good.
What you're doing? Ice floods my veins. You helped Aldric frame me. You let them send me here to die.
Not to die, Aldric corrects. To fulfill your purpose. Just like your mother before you.
My hands curl into fists. My mother tried to break Cain's curse. She died trying to save him.
Is that what you think? Aldric laughs a cold, cruel sound. Your mother was a fool. She came here planning to break the curse, yes. But when I explained what I truly needed, she refused to help. So I had to... convince her.
The words hit me like a physical blow. You killed her.
She killed herself, Aldric says calmly. I simply gave her a choice: help me strengthen the Guardian's curse, or watch me destroy everything she loved. She chose death instead of cooperation. Quite dramatic.
Tears burn my eyes. You monster.
I'm a realist, Aldric says. The Guardian's curse is the most powerful source of magic in this entire region. His suffering generates energy that I've been harvesting for years. It powers our city's barriers, our temples, our very way of life.
Horror crashes over me. You've been feeding off his pain? For how long?
Ever since I became High Priest twenty years ago, Aldric says proudly. I discovered the curse was a renewable resource. As long as the Guardian suffers, I have unlimited power. But lately, the curse has been weakening. I need it reinforced. Permanently.
And that's where I come in, I whisper.
Exactly. Aldric steps closer. Curse-breakers have a unique gift. You can touch cursed magic without being destroyed by it. Your mother could have made the curse unbreakable, binding the Guardian forever. But she refused.
He pulls out a knife long and sharp, etched with glowing symbols.
You're going to finish what she started. You're going to use your curse-breaker blood to seal the Guardian's chains permanently. And in return, I'll let your father keep his fortune and his life.
I look at Father. You agreed to this? You sold me to save yourself?
He finally meets my eyes, and what I see there breaks my heart. Guilt. Shame. But also resignation.
I'm sorry, Sera, he says quietly. But I can't lose everything. Not again.
You already lost everything that mattered, I say. You lost me.
Aldric claps his hands. Enough family drama. Guards, bring the Guardian.
What? I spin toward him. No, leave him alone
The iron doors open again. Four more guards drag Cain into the chamber. He's barely conscious, his wrists bound with real chains this time, not just shadow ones. Blood drips from fresh wounds on his arms and chest.
CAIN! I lunge toward him, but guards grab me.
His silver eyes find mine. Even beaten and bleeding, there's defiance in his gaze. Don't do it, he rasps. Whatever he wants, don't
A guard hits him across the face. Cain's head snaps to the side.
Stop! I scream. Don't hurt him!
Then cooperate, Aldric says simply. He holds up the ritual knife. This blade is designed to channel curse-breaker magic. You'll use it to cut your palm, let your blood flow onto the Guardian's chains, and speak the words I give you. Your blood will bind the curse permanently. Simple.
And if I refuse? I demand.
Aldric signals to a guard. The man draws his sword and presses it against Cain's throat.
Then we kill him slowly, Aldric says. And I find another curse-breaker. There's always someone desperate enough to help me eventually.
Cain's eyes meet mine. Let them kill me, he says. I've lived three hundred years in chains. I'm tired, Sera. Let it end.
No, I whisper. Tears stream down my face. I won't let them kill you.
Then you doom me to suffer forever, Cain says, and there's such sadness in his voice it breaks me. Either way, I lose.
He's right. Aldric has trapped us perfectly. Save Cain's life by making his curse permanent, or let him die to prevent it.
There's no winning.
I look at my father one last time. If I do this, I never want to see you again.
He nods, unable to speak.
I turn to Aldric. Give me the knife.
Triumph flashes across his face. Excellent choice.
He places the ritual knife in my hand. It's cold and heavy, the symbols glowing brighter as they sense my curse-breaker blood.
Now, Aldric says, cut your palm and
Wait. I interrupt him. I want to see the spell first. I need to know exactly what I'm doing.
Aldric narrows his eyes. Why?
Because my mother was a curse-breaker, I say carefully. And curse-breaking magic is unpredictable. If I say the wrong words or use the wrong intention, the whole spell could backfire. I need to read it myself to make sure it works.
It's a lie, but it's a good one. Aldric considers for a long moment.
Finally, he pulls a scroll from his robes and hands it to me. Read it. But quickly. My patience is limited.
I unroll the scroll with shaking hands. Ancient words cover the parchment, written in a language I barely recognize. But as I read, my curse-breaker instincts translate them automatically.
And what I read makes my blood run cold.
This isn't just a spell to strengthen Cain's curse. It's a spell to transfer it.
Once I speak these words and use my blood, the curse won't just bind Cain forever it'll bind ME too. We'll both be trapped, both suffering, both feeding Aldric's power for eternity.
He never planned to just use me once. He planned to use me forever.
I look up at Aldric. This spell
Will make the curse permanent, yes, he says smoothly. Exactly as I promised.
He's lying. And he knows I know. But what can I do? If I refuse, Cain dies. If I agree, we both become Aldric's eternal prisoners.
The knife feels impossibly heavy in my hand.
Sera, don't, Cain pleads. Please. Just let me die.
But I can't. I won't. My mother gave her life trying to save him. I won't let her sacrifice be for nothing.
I press the knife to my palm, and
A deafening CRASH echoes through the chamber.
The iron doors explode inward. Guards go flying. Black smoke pours in, thick and choking.
Through the smoke, a figure appears. Small, purple-haired, with eyes that glow like stars.
Miss me? Nyx grins, her sharp teeth flashing. Because I really hate it when people hurt my friends.
She raises her hands, and the entire chamber fills with wild magic.
RUN! she screams at me. SERA, RUN NOW!
Guards rush toward her. Aldric shouts orders. Everything descends into chaos.
I don't think. I just move.
I drop the knife and run to Cain. I grab his chains and pull, using every ounce of strength I have. Get up! We have to go!
I can't Cain gasps.
YES, YOU CAN! I scream at him. Golden light bursts from my hands again, melting through his chains. I am not letting Aldric win! Move!
Something in my voice reaches him. He staggers to his feet.
Nyx throws more magic at the guards, creating a barrier of purple fire. The east passage! she shouts. Go, go, GO!
We run. Cain leans heavily on me, barely able to walk. Behind us, I hear Aldric screaming.
Find them! Kill the spirit! Bring me the girl ALIVE!
We stumble through dark hallways, Nyx's magic lighting our way. Finally, we burst out into the central courtyard.
Keep going! Nyx pants. Get to the
An arrow whistles through the air.
It hits Nyx in the shoulder. She cries out and falls.
NYX! I scream.
More guards pour into the courtyard. At least twenty of them, all armed, all blocking our escape.
We're surrounded.
And Aldric emerges from the fortress, the ritual knife glowing in his hand.
Enough games, he says coldly. Sera Ashford, you will complete the ritual. Or I'll kill everyone you care about. Starting with your little spirit friend.
He raises the knife toward Nyx's throat.
NO! I shout. Okay, okay! I'll do it! Just don't hurt her!
Aldric smiles. I knew you'd see reason.
He advances toward us, guards closing in from all sides.
Cain grips my hand. Sera, he whispers urgently. Listen to me. The curse it recognizes you. Your mother got close to breaking it because she had curse-breaker blood. But you're stronger than her. I can feel it. If you're going to use that knife anyway
Don't, I beg. Don't ask me to
Break it, Cain says fiercely. Don't strengthen it. Break it. Even if it kills us both, at least we'll die free.
My hands shake. I don't know how.
Yes, you do, Cain says. Trust your instincts. Trust your mother's legacy. Trust me.
Aldric is ten feet away now. Five feet. Three.
I make my choice.
I grab the ritual knife from Aldric's hand and slash my palm in one quick motion. Blood wells up, glowing gold instead of red.
No! Aldric lunges for me.
Too late.
I press my bleeding palm against Cain's shadow chains and scream the spell but not the one Aldric gave me.
I scream the words my mother wrote in her journal. The ones she never got to finish.
By curse-breaker blood and willing heart, I claim this curse and tear it apart!
The world explodes with golden light.
And everything goes black.