Sera's POV
The soldier was dying.
I pressed my hands against the gash in his chest, but blood kept pumping through my fingers. Too much blood. His eyes rolled back, his breathing turning into horrible gasps.
"Stay with me," I whispered, even though I knew it was hopeless.
I'd barely slept after finding that mysterious note. Third floor. Midnight. Come alone—or people die. The words had haunted me all night. And now, on my first real day working in the medical wing, I was already watching someone die.
"Move aside."
I jumped. Kade stood right behind me—so close I could feel the heat radiating from him. When had he arrived? I hadn't heard a single footstep.
"I'm trying to help him," I said, not moving.
"You're failing." Kade's voice was flat. "He's already gone."
"No." The word came out fiercer than I intended. "I can save him."
The soldier's pulse flickered under my fingertips—faint, fading, almost nothing. Around us, other healers worked on wounded men, but they'd already given up on this one. Written him off.
Something hot stirred in my chest. The same feeling I'd had when I'd healed that bird in the forest. That dangerous, forbidden warmth.
Don't, I told myself. Don't you dare.
But the soldier was someone's son. Someone's friend. And he was dying right in front of me.
"Sera." Kade's hand closed around my wrist. "Step back."
I yanked free—and the warmth exploded through my palms.
Golden light flared beneath my hands for just a heartbeat. The soldier gasped, his eyes flying open. The bleeding slowed, then stopped. Color rushed back into his face.
No, no, no.
I jerked my hands away, my heart slamming against my ribs. What had I done? The light was already gone, so quick maybe nobody saw it. Maybe—
When I looked up, Kade was staring at my hands.
His dragon eyes blazed with something I couldn't read. Shock? Anger? Recognition?
"How did you do that?" His voice was deadly quiet.
"Do what?" I tried to sound confused. "I just—pressure on the wound, that's what my grandmother taught me—"
"Don't lie to me."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop. Other healers glanced our way, then quickly looked down. Even half-conscious soldiers knew better than to attract the Dragon Lord's attention.
I forced myself to meet his gaze. "I'm not lying. Basic medicine, that's all."
We stood frozen, locked in a silent battle. His eyes searched mine, looking for the truth. Looking for proof of what he'd seen.
Finally, he stepped back. "Clean him up. Then meet me in the training yard."
He walked away, leaving me trembling.
The soldier I'd saved grabbed my hand. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "I saw... I saw light..."
"You saw wrong." I pulled free gently. "You were dying. People see strange things."
But we both knew what had happened.
The rest of the morning was torture.
Kade appeared everywhere. When I bandaged a wounded arm—there he was, watching from the doorway. When I mixed medicine for infections—he stood behind me, silent as a shadow. When I helped set a broken leg—his gaze burned into my back.
"Where did you learn to mix that paste?" he asked as I worked on a fever patient.
"My grandmother." The lie came easier now. "She was a healer before the war."
"What was her name?"
My mind went blank. I hadn't prepared for that. "Margaret. Margaret Chen."
"Strange." Kade circled me like a predator. "I knew most of the healers in the southern villages. I don't remember anyone named Margaret."
Because I just made her up, I thought, panic rising.
"She kept to herself," I said. "Didn't like attention."
"How convenient."
A commotion at the door saved me. Three soldiers burst in, carrying a man who screamed in agony. His leg bent at an impossible angle, bone jutting through skin.
"Dragon attack during patrol," one soldier panted. "He needs help now."
The head healer, an older woman named Mira, rushed over. She took one look and shook her head. "The leg is too damaged. We'll have to cut it off."
"No!" The injured soldier thrashed. "Please, I'll lose everything—"
"You'll lose your life if we don't," Mira said firmly.
I looked at the horrible wound. She was probably right. Probably. But something in me rebelled against giving up.
"Let me try," I heard myself say.
Mira frowned. "Child, this isn't a scratch. This is—"
"Let her try."
Everyone turned. Kade stood in the corner, arms crossed. That strange expression was back on his face—the one I couldn't read.
"My lord, she's too inexperienced," Mira protested.
"Then she'll learn from failing." His eyes locked on mine. "Won't you, Sera?"
It was a test. A trap. He wanted to see what I could do. Wanted to see if that golden light would appear again.
"I'll do my best," I said carefully.
I knelt beside the soldier, my heart racing. His leg was a mess of torn flesh and shattered bone. There was no way to fix this with normal medicine. No way at all.
Unless...
Don't use magic, I told myself. He's watching. He's waiting for you to slip.
But the soldier was crying, begging me to save his leg. And I had the power to help him. The warmth stirred in my chest again, eager to be released.
I took a deep breath and placed my hands on the wound.
"Just regular healing," I muttered, starting to clean the injury. "Regular, normal, non-magical healing."
My hands trembled as I worked. The warmth pushed against my control, wanting out. I gritted my teeth, forcing it down. I could do this the normal way. I could—
The soldier screamed and passed out from pain.
In that split second, my control wavered.
Golden light flickered across my palms—barely visible, but there.
Bone shifted. Flesh knitted. The leg straightened.
I yanked my hands back, breathing hard. Had anyone seen? Had—
Kade's hand clamped down on my shoulder.
"Interesting," he murmured in my ear. "Very interesting."
Before I could respond, a messenger burst into the medical wing.
"My lord! Emergency in the throne room. It's about the prisoner from last night—she's escaped."
My blood turned to ice. Lyra.
Kade's grip tightened on my shoulder. "What prisoner?"
"The rebel spy, my lord. The one we caught trying to break into the tower. Guards found her cell empty ten minutes ago."
The world tilted. They'd caught Lyra. Last night, after she left my room. And now she'd escaped, which meant they'd be looking for accomplices. Looking for anyone who might have helped her.
Looking at me.
Kade's fingers dug into my shoulder as he pulled me closer. His breath was cold against my ear.
"Tell me, little baker," he whispered. "Did you have a visitor last night?"