POV: Sera
I woke up screaming.
My hands were still glowing violet, or at least I thought they were until I blinked and realized it was just sunlight. Except it wasn't sunlight. The light was wrong—soft and purple and coming from everywhere and nowhere.
"You're safe."
I shot up in bed, my heart hammering. Kael sat in a chair beside me, watching with eyes that were no longer silver. They were amber now. Gold. Warm.
Beautiful.
"Where am I?" My voice came out hoarse. "What happened? Those people, they attacked us, and then I—my hands—"
"Breathed," he said calmly. "Before you panic."
"I'm past panic! I'm at full-blown freak-out!" I looked around wildly. The room was massive—bigger than my old apartment. The bed I was lying on could fit six people. The walls looked like they were made of crystal, reflecting that strange purple light.
"This is my palace," Kael said. "In the Eternal Court. My world."
"Your world?" I laughed, but it sounded hysterical. "Your world. Like another planet?"
"Like another dimension." He stood up and walked to the window. "Come. See for yourself."
I should have stayed in bed. Should have demanded answers before moving. But something about the way he said it—calm, patient, like he understood I was terrified—made me trust him.
Again.
I was really bad at this whole self-preservation thing.
I walked to the window on shaking legs. Looked out.
And forgot how to breathe.
The sky was purple and pink and orange all at once—like a sunset that never ended. Three moons hung in the air, each a different size. Buildings made of crystal and gold stretched as far as I could see, connected by bridges that looked like they were made of light itself.
"It's always twilight here," Kael said softly. "The Eternal Court exists between day and night. Between mortal time and immortal time."
"This isn't real." I pressed my hand against the glass. It was cool and smooth and definitely real. "I'm dreaming. Or dead. Or crazy."
"You're none of those things." He turned to face me. "You're in shock, which is understandable. You've had a difficult night."
"A difficult night?" I spun to face him. "My fiancé betrayed me, my sister stole my life, my father disowned me on national television, I got hunted through the woods, I saved a dying man who turned out to be an immortal emperor, my hands exploded with magic light, and now I'm in another dimension!" My voice got louder with each word. "So yeah, Kael. It's been a difficult night!"
He just watched me with those amber eyes. Patient. Curious.
"Are you finished?" he asked.
"No! I'm—" I stopped. Took a breath. "Maybe. I don't know."
"Would you like some water?"
The question was so normal, so human, that I almost laughed again. Here was this ancient immortal emperor offering me water like we were at a dinner party.
"Yes," I whispered. "Please."
He gestured, and a glass of water appeared on the table beside me. Just appeared out of thin air.
I grabbed it and drank, trying not to think about the impossible magic.
"You said I broke your curse," I said finally. "Explain that. Explain all of this."
Kael nodded slowly. "Three thousand years ago, I was arrogant. Cruel. I rejected my fated mate because she was beneath my status. She died saving my realm, and the gods cursed me for my cruelty."
"What kind of curse?"
"To live forever without feeling anything. No love. No joy. No pain. No emotion at all." His voice was flat, but his eyes held something that looked like old pain. "For three thousand years, I existed. Ruled. Made decisions with perfect logic. But I was empty."
I thought about my own emptiness tonight. How I'd felt nothing after leaving Luna's apartment. How I'd walked into those woods not caring if I lived or died.
"That sounds horrible," I whispered.
"It was." He took a step closer. "Until you. Your tears fell on my wound, and for the first time in millennia, I felt pain. Then I felt everything else—surprise, curiosity, anger, protectiveness." He stopped right in front of me. "I can feel again, Sera. Because of you."
"How? I'm nobody special. Just a human with weird eyes."
"Your eyes aren't weird. They're extraordinary." His hand reached up, and his fingers gently brushed my cheek. "And you're not nobody. You have power inside you. Ancient power. The kind that can break curses and make light explode from your hands."
I stepped back from his touch. It felt too good, too warm, and I couldn't trust good things anymore.
"I want to go home," I said.
His expression shifted. The warmth left his eyes, replaced by something colder. More imperial.
"To what home? The apartment they seized? Your father's house where you're not welcome? Your company where they're celebrating your destruction?"
Each word was a knife.
"I have a friend—"
"Luna Park. Defense attorney. Lives at 432 Madison Street." He said it casually, like he'd memorized my entire life. "She's currently being questioned by police about your whereabouts. If you go back, you'll lead them right to her."
"How do you know that?"
"I have my ways." He crossed his arms. "Here are your options, Sera Winters. Option one: I send you back to the mortal realm right now. You'll be arrested within the hour. Your trial will be quick—the evidence against you is overwhelming. You'll spend the next ten years in prison while everyone who betrayed you lives happily with everything you built."
My stomach twisted.
"Or?" I whispered.
"Option two: You stay here as my guest. I'll use my resources to investigate who really framed you. I'll find proof. Clear your name. Destroy everyone who hurt you." His amber eyes burned into mine. "In exchange, you stay close to me. Help me understand these emotions I'm feeling. Teach me how to be... alive again."
"That's not fair. You're basically blackmailing me."
"I'm giving you a choice. Fair has nothing to do with it." He moved closer again, and I felt trapped between him and the window. "But I'll be honest with you, Sera. Even if you choose to leave, I'm not sure I can let you go."
"What?"
"You're the most interesting thing that's happened to me in three thousand years. You make me feel. You have power you don't understand. And someone in my court tried to kill me to get to you—which means you're in danger whether you stay or leave." His voice dropped lower. "At least here, I can protect you."
"You can't just keep me prisoner!"
"I'm not. You can leave right now if you want. I'll even open a portal back to your world." He gestured, and a swirling circle of light appeared near the door. "Go ahead. Face your arrest warrant. Spend ten years proving your innocence while Marcus and Vivienne enjoy your life."
I stared at the portal. At freedom. At prison.
At everything I'd lost.
"Why do you care?" I asked. "You don't even know me."
"I don't know." He sounded frustrated. "Before you, I didn't care about anything. Now I care about everything. It's overwhelming and confusing and I don't understand it. But when those warriors tried to hurt you, I wanted to destroy them. When Morvana said she wanted to capture you, I wanted to burn down the entire court." He grabbed my shoulders—gently, but firmly. "I don't know why you matter. But you do."
His amber eyes were so intense, so honest.
This was insane. All of it. I should walk through that portal and take my chances.
But Kael was right. With the evidence Marcus had planted, I'd never prove my innocence alone. I'd spend years in prison while they destroyed everything my mother built.
"If I stay," I said slowly, "you promise to help me clear my name?"
"I swear it on my immortal life."
"And I can leave whenever I want?"
He hesitated. "If you truly wish to leave, I won't stop you. But I'll try very hard to convince you to stay."
"That's not reassuring."
"I'm trying to be honest. It's new for me." He almost smiled. "So? What's your choice?"
I looked at the portal. At my old life of betrayal and loss.
Then I looked at Kael. At this impossible man with amber eyes who'd saved me from hired killers and promised to help me.
"I'll stay," I whispered. "For now."
The relief on his face was obvious. "Good. I'm—" He paused, touching his chest like something hurt. "I'm glad. Is this what happiness feels like?"
Despite everything, I almost smiled. "Yeah. That's happiness."
"Strange. It hurts and feels good at the same time." He waved his hand, and the portal disappeared. "Come. You should eat. Then we'll discuss your training."
"Training for what?"
"For the power inside you." He opened the door. "The light that exploded from your hands? That was just the beginning. You need to learn to control it before—"
He stopped mid-sentence, his entire body going rigid.
"Before what?" I asked.
His face had gone pale. "Before Morvana finds out what you really are."
"What I really am? Kael, what are you—"
"The bloodline she mentioned. I've been thinking about it." He turned to me, and for the first time, he looked afraid. "Sera, when was your mother killed?"
"Fifteen years ago. Car accident. Why?"
"Not an accident." His jaw clenched. "The last Soulweaver died fifteen years ago. Murdered by those who wanted her power."
My blood ran cold. "What's a Soulweaver?"
"Someone who can manipulate the threads of fate itself. Someone who can change destiny, break curses, alter reality." He gripped my arms. "Someone incredibly rare and incredibly hunted. The bloodline was supposed to be extinct."
"You think my mother was—"
"I think your mother was a Soulweaver. Which means you are too." His amber eyes burned with intensity. "And if Morvana realizes that, she won't just want to capture you."
"What will she want?"
A scream echoed through the palace. Then another. Shouts of alarm.
Kael's head snapped toward the door.
"She'll want to drain every drop of power from your body," he said quietly. "Even if it kills you."
The door exploded inward.
A woman stood there—not Morvana, but someone else. Blood dripped from a wound on her head. Her eyes were wild with terror.
"Your Majesty," she gasped. "The court is under attack. Morvana has returned with an army. And they're asking for the girl."
She pointed at me.
"They know what she is," the woman continued. "They're saying they'll burn the entire palace down unless you hand over the Soulweaver."
Kael's hand found mine, squeezing tight.
"They can try," he said coldly.
Then he pulled me close as the sound of battle erupted through the palace.
And I realized my difficult night had just become an impossible war.