Kaelen stood at the edge of the vortex, Alyssandra's scream still ringing in his ears. His Nullborn mark throbbed, the black hourglass etched into his wrist leaking sand.
"She's in there," he muttered. "With *him*."
The dagger's glow dimmed. Kaelen tightened his grip and stepped into the mercury storm.
---
**The Vortex**
Time fractured.
Kaelen fell through timelines—Alyssandra as a child, her laughter bright; Alyssandra as a queen, her throne cracking; Alyssandra as a dragon, scales blackened, eyes empty.
A voice cut through the chaos: *"The Nullborn dares?"*
The Maw's presence pressed on his bones. Kaelen gasped, his Nullborn blood resisting the decay.
"Let her go!" he shouted.
The vortex laughed. *"She's home."*
---
**The Reunion**
Alyssandra stood at the Maw's core, her human hand gripping the dragon's chain. The Crown's gem pulsed in her chest, its light warping the cavern.
"Kaelen," she said, her voice a mix of relief and despair. "You shouldn't have come."
The Maw's dragon form loomed—a decaying beast with Alyssandra's violet eyes. *"He's here to *feed*,"* it rumbled.
Kaelen's dagger flared. "No. I'm here to *break*."
Alyssandra's mark burned. "Break what?"
"The oath," he said. "The Crown's lie."
---
**The Truth**
Seraphine emerged from the shadows, her body whole but her eyes still hollow.
"You think the Crown's a prison?" she asked. "It's a *bridge*. Between the Maw and his mate."
Alyssandra's dragon wings snapped open. "I'm not his mate."
Seraphine smiled. "You're his heir. His blood. His *key*."
Kaelen stepped forward. "The key to what?"
"The Maw's freedom," Seraphine said. "And the Dominion's end."
The dragon's chain tightened around Alyssandra's wrist.
---
**The Bond**
Alyssandra's dragon form flickered.
"Kaelen," she whispered, human again. "The Crown's using my blood to weaken the Maw's chains. If I stop—"
"—he'll escape," Kaelen finished.
Alyssandra nodded. "But if I keep going… I'll become him."
Kaelen's hand brushed her cheek. "Then we rewrite the rules."
The Maw roared. *"Pathetic. You think love can defy eternity?"*
---
**The Battle**
Sandreaver hybrids swarmed the cavern, their mercury tongues lashing. Kaelen summoned his wolves, their obsidian fur glowing blue. Alyssandra's fire incinerated the first wave, but the Maw's chains yanked her back.
"Focus!" she yelled. "The chain's weak point—"
A Sandreaver's tail struck Kaelen, aging his arm to bone. Alyssandra screamed, her dragon form erupting.
*"Enough,"* the Maw hissed. *"You'll kill him."*
"Better him than the worlds," Alyssandra snarled.
But her claw hesitated.
---
**The Twist**
Seraphine lunged, grabbing Kaelen's dagger.
"You're both blind," she said. "The Nullborn's blood isn't fuel—it's a *counterweight*. To balance the Crown's power."
Alyssandra's eyes widened. "What?"
"The Maw needs a mate to escape," Seraphine said. "But the Crown needs a Nullborn to contain him. *You* choose which side wins."
Kaelen's blood boiled. "And you?"
Seraphine's smile was sad. "I chose long ago."
---
**The Sacrifice**
Alyssandra's dragon form shuddered.
"Let me go," she pleaded. "Before I hurt you."
Kaelen's voice was steady. "I'm not leaving."
The Maw's chain snapped. Alyssandra's fire engulfed the cavern, but Kaelen's Nullborn mark absorbed the brunt. His skin cracked, aging decades.
"Stop!" Alyssandra cried.
*"Why?"* the Maw taunted. *"He's *supposed* to break."*
---
**The Choice**
Alyssandra's human hand gripped Kaelen's aged one.
"I saw your future," she whispered. "You ruling. Me… gone."
Kaelen's laugh was weak. "I'd rather die than rule without you."
The Crown's gem flared. Alyssandra's dragon eye glowed.
*"Then die together,"* the Maw roared.
---
**The Hook**
Alyssandra's magic surged—a fusion of dragon fire and Nullborn blood.
The cavern collapsed. Seraphine's final whisper echoed: *"The Crown's true heir isn't her. It's *you*."*
Kaelen's mark consumed the light. Alyssandra's scream faded as the world dissolved.