Serina's POV
Cold water slams into my face.
I gasp and jerk awake. My head throbs. My whole body aches.
"Wake up, blood-thief."
I blink water from my eyes. Lord Corwen stands over me, holding an empty bucket. Behind him, Cassian and Liora watch with cold expressions.
We're not at the shrine anymore. This is somewhere underground. Stone walls. Iron bars. A prison cell.
"Where's Kai?" I try to stand but chains pull me back down. My wrists are bound to the wall. "You promised—"
"The boy is alive. For now." Corwen crouches down to my level. "Whether he stays that way depends on you."
Fear cuts through me sharper than any knife.
"What do you want?"
"Your cooperation." He pulls out a long silver needle. "We need your blood. Lots of it. The ritual to control the Dragon Sovereign requires ancient bloodline essence."
"You want to enslave Draeven's sister?" Horror fills me. "She's been dead for three thousand years!"
"Dead, yes. But not gone." Corwen's smile makes my skin crawl. "The sealing ritual didn't kill her. It trapped her soul in a crystal, waiting for the right sacrifice to bring her back under our control."
"You're insane," I whisper.
"I'm powerful." He grabs my arm roughly. "And you're going to help me become even more so."
The needle pierces my skin. I scream.
Blood flows into a glass vial. Dark red, almost black. Corwen watches it fill with greedy eyes.
"Fascinating. Your blood has dragon essence mixed in already. The bonding process is further along than I thought." He pulls out the needle and starts filling another vial. "This will make the ritual even stronger."
Pain shoots up my arm. The room spins.
"Stop," I gasp. "Please—"
"Keep her conscious," Corwen orders. "I need ten more vials."
Ten? That much blood loss will kill me.
Liora steps forward with a small bottle. "Drink this. It'll keep you alive. Barely."
She forces the liquid down my throat. It tastes like metal and rot. But warmth spreads through me, fighting off the dizziness.
They're going to bleed me dry slowly. Keep me alive just long enough to drain every drop.
"Why?" I look at Cassian. My childhood friend. "Why are you doing this?"
He doesn't meet my eyes. "You were always weak, Serina. In this world, the weak exist to serve the strong. That's just how it is."
"I trusted you." Tears burn my eyes. "I loved you."
"You were useful." He finally looks at me. His expression is blank. "Your rare blood. Your desperation. Your pathetic hope. All of it served a purpose."
Something inside me breaks. Not my heart—that broke long ago. This is different. Deeper.
It's the last piece of the girl I used to be, dying.
"Then I'll make you regret it," I say quietly. "All of you."
Cassian laughs. "With what power? You can barely control dragon fire without burning yourself. And your precious Draeven can't save you. The bond is incomplete. He's trapped in his realm."
He's right. I felt Draeven being pulled away at the shrine. Felt our connection stretch thin. He can't reach me here.
I'm alone.
Corwen fills the fourth vial. The fifth. My vision blurs.
Draeven, I think desperately through our bond. If you can hear me... Kai needs you. Save him. Forget about me, just save Kai.
Nothing. Just silence.
The sixth vial fills. Seventh.
I'm going to die here. And Kai will die too. After everything, I still failed him.
"Almost done," Corwen says. "Just three more—"
The temperature drops.
Frost spreads across the stone walls. Our breath comes out in white clouds.
"What—" Liora starts.
The torches flicker. Then go out.
We're plunged into darkness.
"Guards!" Corwen shouts. "Light the—"
A voice cuts through the black. Deep. Furious. Familiar.
"You dare hurt what is MINE?"
Golden flames explode to life in the center of the cell.
And there, burning with dragon fire, stands Draeven.
But something's wrong. He's translucent. Flickering like a candle flame. Not fully solid.
"Impossible," Corwen gasps. "The bond isn't complete! You can't manifest!"
"I can't fully manifest," Draeven agrees. His golden eyes lock onto me. Onto the blood dripping from my arm. Onto the chains holding me. "But I can manifest enough to kill you."
He moves faster than sight. One moment he's across the cell. The next, his hand is around Corwen's throat, lifting him off the ground.
"She called for me," Draeven growls. "Through our bond, through her pain, through her despair. And I answered."
Corwen chokes, clawing at Draeven's hand. But his fingers pass through the dragon's translucent arm. He can't fight what he can't touch.
"Let him go!" Cassian throws a fire spell at Draeven.
The flames pass right through him. Draeven doesn't even flinch.
"You cannot harm me," Draeven says. "But I can harm you."
He squeezes. Corwen's face turns purple.
"Draeven, stop!" I shout. "Don't kill him! We need him to tell us where Kai is!"
The dragon pauses. Looks at me. His expression is terrifying—pure rage barely contained.
Then he throws Corwen across the cell. The man crashes into the wall and crumples.
"Where is her brother?" Draeven's voice could freeze fire.
"I'll never—" Corwen starts.
Draeven raises one hand. Golden flames dance along his fingers. "I am three thousand years old. I have perfected six hundred ways to make humans suffer. Would you like to experience one?"
Cassian steps in front of Corwen. "The boy is in the ritual chamber. Top floor of the Crimson Tower. But you'll never reach him in time." He smiles coldly. "The second trial of the ritual is already beginning. By dawn, the boy's soul will be used to anchor the Dragon Sovereign's resurrection."
My heart stops. "No..."
"You see?" Cassian's smile widens. "You were never meant to save him. You were always meant to be the bait. To awaken your dragon. To make the bond strong enough to lure out the real prize."
"What are you talking about?" I demand.
"We don't just want Aelith's soul," Liora says. "We want yours too. A dragon-bonded mage, awakened and powerful. Your soul combined with Kai's life force will give us complete control over both Dragon Sovereigns."
Horror washes over me. "This was all a trap. From the beginning."
"From the moment we let you 'escape' to the shrine, yes." Corwen struggles to his feet, rubbing his throat. "Did you really think you could just stumble into the Forbidden Shrine and summon the World-End Dragon by accident? We let you. We wanted you to bond with him."
Draeven's flames burn brighter, hotter. "You used her. Manipulated her. Hurt her. All to trap me."
"And it worked." Corwen laughs despite his injuries. "You care about her. You came when she called, even though it weakens you. Even though every moment in this realm drains your power. Look at yourself—you're already fading."
He's right. Draeven is becoming more transparent. Less solid.
"We have to go," I tell him. "We have to save Kai—"
"You're not going anywhere." Cassian pulls out a black crystal. "This is a soul trap. One word from me, and it drains both of you. The dragon returns to his prison. You die. And we use your corpse for the ritual anyway."
Draeven moves toward him, but stumbles. He's fading faster now.
"The incomplete bond is killing you," I realize. "Being here, manifesting without full power—it's too much."
"I don't care." His voice is weaker. "I won't leave you."
"You have to." I look into his golden eyes. "Save Kai. Please. That's my order as your contractor."
"Serina—"
"Please." Tears stream down my face. "Save my brother. That's all I want. That's all I've ever wanted."
Draeven stares at me for a long moment.
Then he vanishes.
The cold disappears. The cell fills with torchlight again.
I slump against the chains, exhausted and empty.
"Touching." Corwen walks toward me with the needle again. "Now, where were we? Ah yes. Three more vials."
The needle pierces my skin.
But this time, I barely feel it.
Because something else is happening. Something inside me.
The dragon fire in my chest pulses. Once. Twice.
And I hear Draeven's voice in my mind:
Trust me, little flame. I'm not saving just your brother. I'm saving both of you. But you need to survive until I return. Can you do that?
New strength flows through me. Not my strength. His.
He's sharing his power through the bond. Keeping me alive.
Yes, I think back. I can survive. I'll survive anything if it means we both get our revenge.
His approval radiates through our connection. Good. Because when I come back, we're going to burn this entire tower to the ground.
I smile despite everything. Despite the pain, the blood loss, the chains.
Because Draeven just made me a promise.
And dragons always keep their promises.
"Why are you smiling?" Liora asks nervously.
I look up at her. At Cassian. At Lord Corwen.
"Because you just made a terrible mistake," I say softly.
"What mistake?" Corwen demands.
"You assumed the dragon cares more about me than revenge." My smile grows. "You're wrong. He cares about both equally."
Corwen's face pales. "What did you do?"
"I set him loose on your tower. On your ritual. On everyone you care about." I laugh, and it sounds slightly insane. "You wanted the World-End Dragon awakened? Congratulations. Now you get to see why they call him that."
Somewhere above us, an explosion rocks the building.
Then another.
Then screaming starts.
Draeven has reached the ritual chamber.
And he's brought the end of their world with him.