POV: Sera
"Run!"
Kael's power exploded outward, creating a shield of light between us and the doorway. The bloody messenger flew backward, and the door slammed shut with a sound like thunder.
"What are you doing?" I shouted. "She came to warn us!"
"She came to distract us." His amber eyes glowed brighter. "The attack started three minutes ago. I felt it the moment the barriers fell."
"You felt it? How—"
Another explosion rocked the palace. The crystal walls shook, and cracks spider-webbed across the ceiling.
Kael grabbed my hand and pulled me toward a different door. "This way. My private chambers have stronger protections."
We ran through hallways that twisted and turned like a maze. Immortals rushed past us, some in armor, some wounded and bleeding. Everyone stared at me as we passed.
"The mortal girl!" someone shouted. "She's the one they want!"
"Don't look at them," Kael ordered. "Keep moving."
We burst through another door into a room even bigger than the last. Kael waved his hand and the walls shimmered, turning solid as stone.
"That won't hold Morvana forever," he said, "but it'll buy us time."
I bent over, trying to catch my breath. "Time for what? She has an army! You have—what? A palace full of people who look at me like I'm a monster?"
"They look at you like you're valuable. There's a difference." He moved to a cabinet and pulled out what looked like ancient weapons. "And I have more than you think."
"Like what? Magic swords?"
"Among other things." He turned to face me, and his expression was serious. "Listen carefully. Morvana won't actually burn down the palace. She needs it intact to claim the throne. What she will do is try to isolate you. Capture you. Use you."
"Use me how?"
"Soulweavers can manipulate fate. If she controls you, she controls everything—who lives, who dies, who rules." His jaw clenched. "She could force you to make me love her. Or kill me. Or worse."
My stomach twisted. "I don't even know how to use this power! I can't control it!"
"Which is exactly why you need to stay close to me." He crossed the room in two long strides and gripped my shoulders. "I can teach you. Protect you. But you have to trust me."
"I barely know you!"
"You know I saved your life. You know I haven't lied to you yet. You know—"
The walls exploded inward.
Kael threw himself in front of me as debris flew everywhere. When the dust cleared, three warriors stood in the opening, weapons drawn.
But they weren't looking at Kael.
They were looking at me.
"The Soulweaver comes with us," the largest one said. "Morvana's orders."
"Morvana can try to collect her corpse," Kael replied coldly. His power gathered around him like a storm. "If she's brave enough."
The warriors attacked.
What happened next was too fast to follow. Kael moved like lightning, his power throwing the warriors back before they could even swing their weapons. But more kept coming through the hole in the wall.
Too many.
"Sera, behind me!" Kael shouted.
But I wasn't fast enough. A hand grabbed my arm, yanking me backward. I screamed as one of the warriors dragged me toward the broken wall.
"Got her!" he yelled.
Kael roared—an actual roar that shook the room. His power exploded outward, and the warrior holding me flew backward, his grip breaking.
But I was already falling through the hole in the wall, nothing but empty air beneath me.
I screamed.
Strong arms caught me mid-air. Not Kael's arms—different. I looked up into a face I didn't recognize. Handsome. Scarred. Silver eyes like Kael's used to be.
"I've got you," the stranger said. He landed gracefully on a balcony below, setting me on my feet. "Don't scream. I'm on your side."
"Who—"
"Theron. Kael's second-in-command." He had a kind smile despite the chaos around us. "And the only person in this court besides him who thinks keeping you alive is a good idea."
"Theron!" Kael appeared on the balcony in a flash of light, looking furious and relieved at the same time. "You're late."
"I was busy saving your guest from falling to her death. You're welcome." Theron turned to me. "Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, too shocked to speak.
More explosions echoed through the palace. Fire bloomed in the distance.
"We need to move," Theron said. "Morvana's forces have breached the inner sanctum. They'll be here in minutes."
"Then we fight," Kael said.
"With what army? Half our warriors are loyal to Morvana. The other half don't know who to trust." Theron looked at me. "No offense, but most of them think handing over the Soulweaver might stop the attack."
"They're wrong," Kael said flatly. "Morvana won't stop until she has the throne and the girl. Giving her one just makes it easier to take the other."
"I know that. You know that." Theron gestured to the burning palace. "But they're scared. Morvana is offering amnesty to anyone who helps her capture the mortal."
I felt sick. "So I'm the problem. If I leave—"
"You'll die," Kael interrupted. "Morvana will hunt you across every realm. At least here, I can protect you."
"How? Your own people want to hand me over!"
"Not all of them." A new voice spoke from the shadows.
I spun around to see a young boy—maybe sixteen—step onto the balcony. He had pointed ears and eyes that sparkled like stars.
"Finn!" Theron smiled. "I was wondering where you disappeared to."
"Gathering information." Finn looked at me with open curiosity. "So you're the Soulweaver everyone's fighting over. You don't look that dangerous."
"She is not dangerous," Kael said firmly. "She's under my protection."
"Yeah, I heard. Everyone's heard. The Undying Emperor suddenly feels emotions and declares a mortal girl untouchable." Finn grinned. "It's very romantic. Also very inconvenient timing."
"Finn," Theron warned.
"What? I'm just saying—" Another explosion cut him off. Closer this time. "Okay, we really need to go. Like, right now."
"Where?" I asked. "If half the palace wants me dead and the other half wants to trade me to Morvana—"
"There's a safe house," Kael said. "In the lower city. Only Theron and I know about it."
"And me," Finn added. "I know everything."
"How comforting," Kael muttered. He turned to me, and his amber eyes were intense. "Sera. I need you to make a choice right now. Trust me and come with us. Or try to run on your own."
"That's not much of a choice!"
"It's the only one I can give you." He held out his hand. "I swear on my immortal life—I will protect you. I will find out who framed you. I will help you get your life back. But I need you to stay close to me. Help me understand these emotions I'm feeling. Teach me how to—" He paused, looking frustrated. "How to be alive again."
"Why me?" I whispered. "Why do you care so much?"
"I don't know!" He ran his hand through his white hair. "I haven't felt anything in three thousand years. Now I feel everything, and it's overwhelming and confusing and terrifying. But when I think about you getting hurt, I want to destroy the entire world to keep you safe. That's not logical. It's not rational. It's just... true."
Theron raised his eyebrows. "Wow. That was actually honest."
"Shut up, Theron."
"I'm just saying, for someone who hasn't had emotions in three millennia, you're doing pretty well at the whole 'feelings' thing."
Another explosion. The balcony shook beneath our feet.
"Sera," Kael said urgently. "Please. Choose."
I looked at his outstretched hand. At his amber eyes that used to be cold silver. At this impossible immortal emperor who'd saved me twice already.
I thought about Marcus's betrayal. Vivienne's cruelty. My father's silence.
But I also thought about how Kael threw himself in front of me when the wall exploded. How he promised to protect me even when his own court wanted me gone. How he'd been honest about everything, even when the truth was uncomfortable.
I took his hand.
His fingers closed around mine, warm and strong, and relief flooded his face.
"Thank god," he breathed. "I mean—thank the gods. Or—is that an expression? I haven't used expressions in—"
"Kael," Theron interrupted. "Save the cute emotional crisis for later. We need to move."
Kael nodded, but he didn't let go of my hand. His thumb brushed across my knuckles—soft, wondering, like he was memorizing the feeling.
"Stay close to me," he said quietly. "Always."
Before I could respond, Finn shouted, "They're coming! South tower—at least twenty warriors!"
"Go!" Kael pulled me against his chest. To Theron and Finn he said, "Meet at the safe house. Take the shadow paths."
"What about you?" Theron asked.
"I'll take the direct route." Kael's power gathered around us. "Hold on, Sera."
"I really hate when you say that—"
The world exploded into light.
We shot through the air, and I buried my face in Kael's chest, trying not to scream. Wind whipped past us. Magic crackled.
Then we were falling.
Kael twisted mid-air, his arms tight around me, his body taking the impact as we crashed through a roof and landed hard on a wooden floor.
I groaned. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"Opposite of that, actually." He rolled off me carefully. "Are you hurt?"
"Everything hurts. Where are we?"
"The safe house. Or what's left of it." He helped me sit up, and I looked around.
We were in a small room with broken furniture and boarded-up windows. Dust everywhere. Definitely not a palace.
"This is your safe house?" I asked.
"It's well hidden. That's more important than luxury right now." He moved to the window and peered through a crack in the boards. "We should be safe here for a few hours. Long enough to plan."
"Plan what?"
"How to stop Morvana. How to clear your name. How to—" He stopped, his body going rigid. "No."
"What? What's wrong?"
He turned to me, his face pale. "The attack on the palace. It wasn't just about capturing you."
"Then what—"
"It was a distraction." His hands clenched into fists. "While we were busy running, Morvana was doing something else. Something worse."
Fear crawled up my spine. "What did she do?"
Kael's amber eyes met mine, and I saw real terror in them for the first time.
"She opened a portal," he whispered. "To the mortal realm. To your city."
My blood turned to ice. "Luna. My friend Luna—"
"Morvana knows about her. Knows she's important to you." His voice was hollow. "And she just sent her warriors to capture her."
I stopped breathing. "No. No, no, no—"
"There's more." Kael looked like he might be sick. "She left a message. Said if you don't surrender yourself by dawn, she'll kill everyone you've ever cared about. Starting with Luna Park."
The room spun. Luna. My best friend. The only person who believed in me. Who stood by me when everyone else betrayed me.
And now she was going to die because of me.
"We have to go back," I said, standing on shaking legs. "We have to save her!"
"It's a trap," Kael said quietly. "She wants you to come. The moment you show yourself—"
"I don't care! I'm not letting Luna die because I was too scared to—"
The door exploded inward.
But it wasn't Morvana's warriors.
It was Luna.
My best friend stood in the doorway, her hands bound, her mouth gagged. Blood ran down her face from a cut on her forehead. Her eyes were wide with terror.
Behind her stood a woman I'd never seen before—beautiful, cold, with eyes like ice.
"Hello, Sera," the woman said with a cruel smile. "I'm Morvana. And I believe you have something that belongs to me."
She pressed a knife to Luna's throat.
"Your move, Soulweaver."