Serina's heart pounded so hard it hurt.
The World-End Dragon. She'd freed the World-End Dragon.
"I didn't mean to," she whispered, her voice shaking.
Kaelon turned to face her fully. His storm-grey eyes studied her like she was a problem he couldn't solve. "Clearly," he said. "You didn't even know what you were releasing."
"I was looking for gold." Serina forced herself to stand taller, even though her legs trembled. "Something to save my brother."
"There is no treasure here." Kaelon pointed to the empty chamber. "Only me. And now I'm free."
Free. The word hung in the air between them.
He was free because of her. Because her blood had broken the seal.
An thought sparked in Serina's desperate mind.
"You're free because of me," she said.
Kaelon's eyelid lifted. "Yes."
"Then you owe me."
Something that might have been amusement flickered across his face. "You want payment for accidentally freeing me?" "My brother is dying." The words came out harsh, raw. "Mage-Rot. He has days left. Maybe less." She stepped toward him. "You have magic. Power. You could heal him."
"I could," Kaelon agreed. "But why would I?"
"Because I freed you from a thousand years of imprisonment!"
"You broke an ancient seal you didn't understand." His voice was cold. "You freed something you thought was treasure. That's not heroics. That's foolishness."
Anger flared hot in Serina's chest, burning away some of her fear. "Fine. Then what do you want? Name your price. There has to be something."
Kaelon was quiet for a long moment.
Then he lifted one hand.
Golden light bloomed in his palm. Soft at first, then brighter. It swirled and twisted, making patterns Serina had never seen before. "There is a way," he said slowly. "An ancient pact bound to my imprisonment. The Contract of Unmaking."
The light formed figures in the air between them. They glowed and shifted, writing words in a language Serina didn't know.
"What is it?" she asked. "A bargain." Kaelon's grey eyes locked onto hers. "I can grant one wish. Any wish your heart wants."
Hope burst in Serina's chest like sunrise. "Anything?" "Anything." The golden light pulsed brighter. "In exchange for your soul."
The hope died as fast as it had come. "My soul?" Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "Your energy. Your life force. Everything that makes you who you are." The symbols spun faster around them. "I give your wish perfectly. And I take your soul as payment."
Serina's stomach twisted. "What happens to me?" "Your body continues to live. To breathe. To move." Kaelon's face was unreadable. "But you'll be empty inside. A shell with nothing left. No thoughts. No feelings. No you."
It was worse than death.
At least in death, you stopped living. This way, she'd still be walking around, but with nothing inside. Just an empty thing that looked like her.
"That's not a deal," Serina said, her voice shaking. "That's murder."
"It's the price." Kaelon didn't look away. "One dream for one soul. Those are the terms of the Contract of Unmaking. They've lived for over a thousand years. They cannot be changed."
Serina's hands curled into fists.
This was impossible. She couldn't do this. Couldn't give up her life. Couldn't become an empty body.
But then Leo's face flashed in her mind.
Leo puking up black blood this morning. Leo so weak he could barely sit up. Leo telling her with that sad little smile that it was okay if he died because he didn't want her to suffer.
Her baby brother. The only family she had left.
He was ten years old. He deserved to live. To grow up. To have a future.
And this was his only chance.
No doctor would help a Null's brother. No doctor would waste their time. The world had already decided Leo didn't matter.
But he mattered to her.
He was everything to her. "I accept," Serina whispered.
Kaelon's eyes widened slightly. "You should think carefully—" "I accept!" The words came out stronger now. Serina stepped forward, thrusting out her injured hand. "I wish for my brother Leo to be completely healed. Cure his Mage-Rot. Make him healthy and whole. Forever."
"Girl—" "That's my wish!"
Kaelon stared at her for a long moment. Something flickered across his face. Surprise, maybe. Or respect. "You would truly give everything for him," he said softly. It wasn't a question.
"Yes."
For three heartbeats, neither of them moved.
Then Kaelon reached out slowly and took her hand.
The moment their skin touched, the golden light burst outward.
It wrapped around both of them like chains made of pure magic. Serina gasped as heat flooded through her body. It rushed through her veins like liquid fire, burning but not painful. Not yet.
The symbols in the air blazed brighter, spinning faster. They cut themselves into the space between Serina and Kaelon, writing the contract in light.
Ancient words filled Serina's mind. Words in a language she'd never learned, but somehow she understood them perfectly.
One wish fulfilled. One soul claimed. The pact is made.
Kaelon's words rang out, formal and binding. "By the Contract of Unmaking, I accept your terms. Leo, brother of Serina, will be healed fully. His Mage-Rot will be fixed. He will be healthy and whole."
The golden light shot toward Serina's chest like an arrow.
She screamed.
Pain tore through her. Not physical pain—something worse. It felt like something deep inside her core was being ripped away. Like her very soul was being pulled out through her ribs.
The light flowed from her chest toward Kaelon, taking her soul with it.
She could feel it going. Feel herself becoming less with every second.
This was it. This was the end of Serina.
But Leo would live.
The thought gave her peace even as the pain tore her apart.
Then something went horribly wrong.
The light stuttered.
Flickered.
Instead of flowing easily from her to Kaelon, it sparked and jumped like broken lightning. Like something was stopping it. Fighting it.
Kaelon's eyes went wide with shock. "What—" The magic exploded.
Pure power exploded between them, violent and chaotic. The force of it threw them both backward like rag dolls.
Serina hit the stone floor hard. The blow drove all the air from her lungs. Every nerve in her body screamed.
Pain. Everywhere. Like being torn apart and put back together all at once. Like her insides were being scrambled and reorganized.
When she could finally see again, Kaelon was on his knees across from her. One hand pressed to his chest. His face was twisted in shock and agony. "Impossible," he gasped. "That's not—that can't—" Serina tried to speak but her throat wouldn't work. Her whole body felt wrong. Different. Like something basic had changed at her core. "The contract," Kaelon choked out. "It didn't finish. It started to take your soul, but—" He stopped, looking at his hands.
They were glowing with uncertain golden light. Pulsing. Flickering.
Serina looked down at her own hands.
They glowed too. The exact same beat as Kaelon's. Like two hearts beating as one. "What happened?" she managed to whisper. "The contract broke." Kaelon pushed himself to his feet, swaying dangerously. "Instead of taking your soul and giving it to me—instead of the normal exchange—"
His face went pale. Actually pale, like he'd seen something that scared even him. "Our souls merged together," he finished, his voice barely audible. "What?" Serina's mind couldn't understand the words. "That's impossible. Souls can't just—"
Emotion crashed into her like a physical wave.
Rage. Ancient and cold, burning like ice fire.
Loneliness so deep and wide it felt like drowning in an endless ocean.
Pain that went on and on with no end in sight, no relief, just eternal pain.
Fear. Sharp and quick. Of what had just happened. Of what it meant.
None of it was hers.
She gasped, pressing her hands to her head. "What is this? What's happening to me?"
Kaelon stumbled backward, his face horrified. "You're feeling my emotions." "How is that possible?" "The bond." His jaw clenched so hard she could see muscles jumping. "Our souls are connected now. Merged. Linked." He pressed both hands to his chest. "I can feel yours too."
And through that strange new connection, Serina suddenly felt what he was feeling from her.
Her desperate, fierce love for Leo.
Her fear at what had just happened.
Her confusion and pain and crushing fear.
And underneath it all, her determination to live no matter what. "This can't be real," she whispered.
A sound cut through the room.
Deep. Resonant. Echoing from somewhere far above them.
A bell. Tolling once.
Then another bell joined it.
And another.
And another.
Within seconds, dozens of bells were ringing. Hundreds. The sound built and built until it was deafening even down here in the depths beneath the city.
Alarm rings. Ringing throughout the full city of Aethelburg.
Every tower. Every guard post. Every watch station.
All of them yelling the same warning.
Serina's blood turned to ice. "What's happening?" "They felt it." Kaelon's voice was grim. "Every mage in this city felt the contract trigger. Felt the huge surge of magic when it broke."
The bells rang louder. More joined the chant every second. "They know,"
Kaelon said quietly, his grey eyes meeting hers.
"Know what?" "That the World-End Dragon is free."