Serina wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
The anger came rushing back.
"This is your fault," she said.
Kaelon turned from the window. "Excuse me?" "You heard me." She stood up, facing him across the dark room. "If you hadn't made that stupid contract in the first place, none of this would've happened!" "I didn't make you break into that shrine!" "You're the one who offered the deal!"
"Because that's what the contract DOES!" Kaelon's voice rose. "I didn't force you to accept it!" "My brother was dying! What choice did I have?"
"You could've found another way!"
"There WAS no other way!" Serina's fists clenched. "Do you think I wanted to sell my soul? Do you think I CHOSE this?" "Well I didn't choose it either!"
They glared at each other in the darkness.
Through the bond, their anger crashed together like waves hitting rocks. "You're a dragon," Serina said angrily. "A powerful, magical creature who's lived for a thousand years. And you're blaming ME?" "You're the one who broke the contract!"
"I didn't break anything! I just made a wish!" "A wish that somehow destroyed a thousand-year-old magical system!" Kaelon threw his hands up. "Do you have ANY idea how impossible that is?" "No! Because I'm just a stupid Null who doesn't know anything about magic!" "Clearly you know enough to ruin everything!"
Serina felt fresh tears burning. "I was trying to save my brother!"
"And instead you've killed us both!"
The words hung in the air like poison.
Through the bond, Serina felt Kaelon's instant regret.
But it was too late. "You don't know that," she whispered. "I know that broken contracts don't end well."
"Then FIX IT!" "I don't know how!" "Then what good are you?" Serina shouted. "You've been alive for a thousand years! You've made hundreds of promises! But you can't fix ONE broken bond?"
Kaelon's jaw clenched. "This has never happened before."
"You keep saying that! But it doesn't HELP!" "What do you want me to say?" His voice dropped low and dangerous. "That I have all the answers? That I can wave my hand and make everything perfect? I CAN'T!"
"Then we're both going to die because of YOUR contract!" "MY contract that YOU activated!" "To save Leo!" "Who you can't even check on because we're STUCK TOGETHER!"
Serina screamed in anger.
The sound echoed through the empty building.
She grabbed a piece of broken wood and threw it across the room.
Through the bond, Kaelon felt every bit of her rage and fear and desperation.
It hit him like a punch to the chest. "I just wanted to save him," Serina said, her voice breaking. "That's all. I didn't want power. I didn't want adventure. I just wanted my little brother to live."
Kaelon said nothing.
Through the bond, she felt his anger begin to fade. "He's ten years old," Serina continued. "He's never hurt anyone. Never done anything bad. But he was dying because he had magic in his blood and we couldn't afford doctors. Do you know what that's like? Watching someone you love waste away and being totally helpless?"
Through the bond, something flickered.
A memory.
Not Serina's memory.
Kaelon's.
It hit her like a wave.
A woman with silver hair. Her smile warm and bright. She's laughing at something Kaelon said.
Then darkness. Fire. Screams.
The woman falling. Blood on stone.
Kaelon screaming in grief and rage.
Serina gasped, stumbling backward.
The memory faded, but the pain lingered. "What was that?" she breathed.
Kaelon's face had gone pale. "Stay out of my head."
"I didn't mean to—" "I said STAY OUT!"
But through the bond, more memories leaked through.
Kaelon in dragon form, huge and terrible, breathing fire across a battlefield.
But he's not fighting. He's protecting.
Humans hide behind him while monsters charge forward.
He fights until his wings are torn and his scales run with blood.
He fights until every person is safe.
Another flash.
Kaelon standing before a group of guys in ornate robes.
Mage-Kings. "You have too much power," one says. "You threaten our rule."
"I protect the balance," Kaelon says. "Nothing more." "You protect chaos. We bring order." "You bring control. There's a difference."
The Mage-Kings raise their hands. Magic erupts.
Kaelon fights back, but there are too many.
They trap him. Bind him. Seal him away.
As darkness closes in, he sees a woman watching.
She looks sad. Guilty.
She turns away as he screams her name.
Serina's knees buckled.
The memories stopped, but her head spun.
"You weren't evil," she whispered.
Kaelon turned away. "I told you to stay out of my head."
"The bond is doing it. I can't stop it."
"Try harder."
"You were trying to protect people." Serina's voice shook. "The Mage-Kings lied about you." "It doesn't matter now."
"Yes it does! They made everyone think you were a monster! But you were a guardian!" "And look where that got me." His voice was bitter. "A thousand years in a prison."
Through the bond, Serina felt his pain.
Not just anger anymore.
Grief. Loneliness. Betrayal.
A thousand years of darkness and silence. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "For what?" "For calling you evil. For blaming you. For... everything."
Kaelon's shoulders tensed. "You didn't know." "But I should've asked. Should've listened."
Through the bond, something shifted between them.
The anger faded. The blame dissolved.
What remained was understanding.
Kaelon felt it too.
He turned to look at her. "Your brother. Leo. You really love him."
"More than anything."
Through the bond, Kaelon felt the truth of it.
Her love for Leo wasn't just words. It was everything.
It rushed through her like a heartbeat. Strong and constant and steadfast.
She'd do anything for him. Sacrifice anything.
Even her soul. "I had someone like that once," Kaelon said softly. "Someone I'd have given everything to protect."
"The woman in your memory?"
He nodded. "My sister. The Mage-Kings killed her to get to me."
Serina's heart squeezed. "I'm so sorry." "It was a long time ago."
"That doesn't make it hurt less."
Through the bond, Kaelon felt her real sympathy.
No pity. No judgment.
Just understanding.
Because she knew what it was like to fear losing the person you loved most.
They stood in silence for a long moment.
The anger between them had burned out, leaving something different in its place.
"We need to stop fighting," Serina said finally. "Agreed." "This bond... whether we like it or not, we're stuck with it."
"For now."
"So we should work together." She took a step toward him. "Find a way to fix the deal. Make sure we both survive."
Kaelon studied her face. "And then what?" "Then I check on Leo. Make sure he's safe."
"And me?" "I don't know." Serina met his eyes. "What do you want?"
Through the bond, she felt his answer before he spoke it.
Freedom.
He wanted to be free.
Not just from the prison. Not just from the deal.
But from a thousand years of pain and loneliness and being hunted for something he didn't do. "I want to live," Kaelon said simply. "Really live. Not just survive."
"Then we'll figure this out together."
She held out her hand.
Kaelon looked at it. Then at her face.
Through the bond, she felt his hesitation.
He'd been cheated before. Trapped. Hurt.
Trusting someone again was dangerous.
But through the bond, he also felt her earnestness.
She meant what she said.
Slowly, Kaelon reached out and took her hand.
The moment their skin touched, the link flared bright.
Power surged between them.
Serina gasped as more memories flooded through.
Kaelon soaring through open air, free and wild.
Kaelon laughing with his sister under stars.
Kaelon fighting beside people against darkness.
And Kaelon felt her memories too.
Young Serina cuddling baby Leo for the first time, promising to protect him.
Serina working three jobs, exhausted but driven.
Serina crying alone at night, afraid her brother would die.
The memories faded, but the link remained.
They stood there, hands joined, feeling everything the other felt. "This is strange," Serina said. "Very." "But maybe it doesn't have to be bad."
Through the link, Kaelon felt hope.
Not his dream.
Hers.
And somehow, it made him feel hopeful too. "We'll find a way to fix this," he said. "Together?" "Together."
They let go of each other's hands, but the bond stayed strong.
No more fights. No more blame.
Just two people trying to escape an impossible situation.
Serina moved to the window, looking out at the faraway city lights.
"Leo's out there somewhere," she said softly.
Through the bond, Kaelon felt her worry. "The wish worked," he assured her. "I'm certain of it."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because I felt the magic complete. Your brother is healed."
Relief washed through Serina so strong that Kaelon felt it too.
"Thank you," she whispered. "For what?" "For telling me that. For... for trying."
Kaelon moved to stand beside her, keeping that careful space.
Together they looked out at the sleeping city.
Somewhere out there, answers waited.
Answers about the link. About why it broke. About how to fix it. "We should rest," Kaelon said. "Tomorrow we'll figure out our next move."
"What's the next move?"
"First, we need to understand this link better. Find out why it broke. Then we can figure out how to fix it."
"And Leo?"
Through the bond, she felt Kaelon's strife.
He wanted to help her. But he also knew going back now was too dangerous. "Once we understand the bond," he said carefully, "once we know we're not going to die from it... then we'll find a safe way to check on him."
It wasn't the answer Serina wanted.
But through the bond, she felt his truthfulness.
He was trying. Really trying.
"Okay," she said softly. "We'll do it your way."
"Our way," Kaelon amended. "We're partners now. Remember?"
Despite everything, Serina almost smiled.
Partners.
With a dragon.
A few days ago, she would've laughed at the thought.
Now it was her only hope of survival. "Get some sleep," Kaelon said. "I'll keep watch." "You need rest too." "I'll rest when you wake up."
Serina wanted to fight, but exhaustion pulled at her.
She settled down against the wall, wrapping her arms around herself.
Through the bond, she felt Kaelon's steady presence.
Watchful. Protective.
Maybe this could work.
Maybe they could figure this out together.
Her eyes drifted closed.
And for the first time since making the wish, Serina felt something she hadn't expected.
Hope.