Kael's POV
I bit my own palm, tearing open the old scar tissue.
Blood welled up, hot and dark. I pressed my bleeding hand against Sera's mouth.
"Swallow," I commanded. "My blood will dilute the poison. Buy us time."
She was barely conscious, but her body obeyed on instinct. She swallowed, once, twice. Her throat worked weakly.
Through the bond, I felt the poison burning through both our systems. My own stomach cramped. My vision doubled.
We had minutes. Maybe less.
"Boss!" Riven burst into the cell with two healers. They took one look at Sera and went pale.
"Nightshade and bloodroot," the older healer said. "She's too far gone. There's nothing we can—"
"There is." I grabbed the healer by his collar. "You're going to perform a blood transfer. Now."
"A blood transfer?" He looked horrified. "That's forbidden magic! If the Emperor finds out—"
"The Emperor will find out I let someone poison a prisoner in my custody. Which do you think he'll punish more?" I released him roughly. "Besides, I'm already dead if she dies. So you're going to save her, or I'm taking you with me."
The healer looked at Riven for help.
"Do what he says," Riven said quietly. "I'll take responsibility."
The healers worked fast, setting up a blood transfer ritual. They laid Sera on a blanket and had me lie beside her. Using silver needles, they connected our arms with tubes, letting my blood flow directly into her veins.
"This is dangerous," the older healer warned. "You're both weak from the poison. Too much blood loss and you'll both die anyway."
"Then work faster," I growled.
As my blood entered her body, the bond flared bright. I felt everything—her pain, her fading consciousness, her body fighting the poison. But I also felt my own blood spreading through her, pushing back the darkness.
We were literally connected now. Blood to blood. Life to life.
Stay with me, I thought at her. You don't get to leave me stuck with this bond alone.
Her mental voice was barely a whisper. Bossy... even when... saving my life...
That's right. So you have to live, because someone needs to put up with me.
Through the bond, I felt her smile. It was weak, but it was there.
The transfer continued. My vision grayed at the edges. I'd lost a lot of blood—maybe too much. But Sera's color was returning. Her breathing steadied.
It was working.
"Enough," the healer finally said. "Any more and you'll both bleed out."
They disconnected the tubes and bandaged our arms. I tried to sit up and the room spun.
"Easy, boss." Riven caught me before I fell. "You need to rest."
"Can't. Someone tried to murder her. They'll try again."
"Not if we find out who first." Riven's face was hard. "I already have guards questioning the servant who brought her food. She claims she was just following orders from the kitchen master."
"And the kitchen master?"
"Claims he never sent any food to the cells."
So someone had impersonated kitchen staff to poison Sera. Someone with access to the Citadel. Someone who knew exactly which cell she was in.
Someone who wanted us both dead.
"Lord Theron," I said. "He has allies in the Citadel. He could have arranged this."
"But he doesn't know about your bond," Riven pointed out. "Why would he risk killing her in your custody? He'd know you'd investigate."
Good point. Unless...
Unless whoever poisoned Sera did know about the bond. And wanted to kill us both.
I looked at Sera, now sleeping peacefully on the cell floor. Her face was still too pale, but alive. Breathing.
I'd saved her.
I'd broken imperial law, used forbidden blood magic, and risked my own life to save a girl I'd met hours ago.
Why?
Because she's bonded to you, the logical part of my brain said. If she dies, you die. Self-preservation.
But I knew that wasn't the whole truth.
I'd saved her because feeling her die through the bond would have destroyed me. Because in just a few hours, this stubborn, brave girl had made me care about something other than survival.
She'd made me feel human again.
And I hated her for it. And I was grateful for it.
Both at the same time.
"Boss, there's something else," Riven said quietly. "The High Priestess Morvaine arrived while you were doing the transfer. She's demanding to see you immediately. She says she can sense dark magic in the Citadel and wants to investigate its source."
My blood went cold.
If Morvaine examined Sera, she'd discover the bond. She'd realize what we were—two people linked by blood magic, powerful enough to share life itself.
And she'd take us both to the Emperor.
"Tell her I'm conducting my own investigation. Tell her I'll report to her tomorrow."
"She won't accept that. She has the Emperor's authority to—"
"I don't care." I stood, ignoring the dizziness. "Sera stays in my custody. No one sees her, no one questions her, no one touches her without my permission. Understood?"
Riven nodded slowly. "Boss... you're getting attached."
"I'm protecting an asset. She's the only one who might know how to break this bond."
But through our connection, I felt Sera's sleeping mind stir at my words. Even unconscious, she heard my lie.
I wasn't just protecting an asset.
I was protecting her.
"Move her to the secure wing," I ordered. "The chambers next to mine. Post guards. No one gets in without my personal authorization."
The healers carefully lifted Sera. As they carried her out, I felt the bond stretch, pulling me to follow.
We really couldn't be separated.
I was about to follow when Riven touched my arm.
"Kael." His voice was serious. "That servant who brought the poisoned food? She killed herself before we could question her properly. Bit down on a poison tooth hidden in her mouth."
A chill ran down my spine. "An assassin."
"A trained one. Which means this wasn't just Lord Theron's revenge. Someone with resources sent her. Someone who wanted Sera dead badly enough to sacrifice an agent."
"And whoever it is, they're still inside the Citadel," I finished.
Riven nodded grimly. "You need to be careful. If they try again—"
"They'll be killing me too. I know."
I looked down at my bandaged arm, still feeling Sera's life pulsing through the bond. My blood was in her veins now. Hers was in mine.
We were more connected than ever.
And someone wanted us dead.
I headed toward my chambers, following the pull of the bond. Sera had been moved to the room next to mine. Through the wall, I could feel her sleeping, her heartbeat steady and strong.
I sat on my bed, exhausted but unable to rest.
Someone in the Citadel wanted Sera dead. Someone with enough power to plant assassins in the staff. Someone who either knew about our bond and wanted us both eliminated, or who was willing to risk killing an executioner's prisoner.
Either way, we were in danger.
I couldn't protect Sera if I didn't know who the enemy was.
And I couldn't break the bond if we were both dead.
Which meant I needed to do something I hadn't done in fourteen years.
I needed to trust someone.
Through the wall, I heard Sera cry out in her sleep. A nightmare. Without thinking, I sent calm through the bond, wrapping her in the mental equivalent of safety.
Her crying stopped. Her heartbeat slowed.
Through our connection, I felt her gratitude, even in sleep.
What have you done to me? I thought, not sure if she could hear. What have you made me become?
But I already knew the answer.
She'd made me care.
She'd made me want to live for something other than guilt and duty.
She'd made me dangerous.
Because now I had something to protect. Something to lose.
And I would kill anyone who tried to take her from me.
Even if that made me the monster everyone already thought I was.