Serina's POV
Three days pass in a blur of planning and hiding.
Mira brings me information about the noble families. Their schedules. Their secrets. Their crimes. Turns out, when you're invisible to rich people, you hear everything.
Kai recovers quickly. Too quickly. The dragon healing didn't just cure him—it awakened something. His magic is growing stronger every day. Yesterday, he accidentally set a cup on fire just by touching it.
"Rina, what's happening to me?" he asks, staring at his glowing hands.
"You're becoming what you were always meant to be," I tell him. "The poison Liora gave you was suppressing your real power. Now it's free."
The boy has Diamond-rank potential, Aelith says in my mind. Once properly trained, he'll be formidable.
"Did you hear that?" Kai asks suddenly.
I freeze. "Hear what?"
"A woman's voice. She said something about Diamond-rank." He looks around Mira's small shack, confused. "Where did it come from?"
Oh, Aelith sounds amused. The child can hear me. Interesting. His awakening magic must be making him sensitive to spiritual presences.
"Kai, this is going to sound strange," I start.
"Stranger than you glowing and having gold in your eyes?" He grins. "Try me."
So I explain. About Aelith. About her soul living in mine temporarily. About dragons and ancient magic and everything that happened.
Kai listens without interrupting. When I finish, he's quiet for a long moment.
Then he says, "So I have a dragon aunt now?"
I like this boy, Aelith laughs in my mind.
I can't help smiling. "Yeah. I guess you do."
"Cool." Kai goes back to practicing his fire magic like this is totally normal.
Maybe for us, it is now. Normal died the night I went to that shrine.
On the third night, I feel it. A pull in my chest. The bond warming.
Draeven is ready to return.
"I need to go," I tell Mira and Kai. "Stay here. Don't open the door for anyone."
"Where are you going?" Kai asks.
"To meet a dragon."
I slip out into the dark streets of the Undercity. The pull leads me back to the forest. Back to the shrine.
The building looks different now. The red glow is gone. The symbols are dark. It feels... empty. Like something that was sleeping here has finally woken up and left.
I step inside.
Golden flames erupt in the center of the room. Draeven materializes, solid and powerful. No flickering this time. He's fully here.
"Contractor." His golden eyes find mine. "You survived."
"You sound surprised."
"I'm not. You're stronger than you know." He walks toward me. "The bond is calling. The third trial is ready."
My heart pounds. "What is it? The third trial?"
"Truth." He stops in front of me. "You must discover and accept your real name."
"I told you, I know my name. Serina Ashveil."
"And I told you—is it?" His gaze is intense. "The family that raised you, the documents they gave you, the identity you've carried your whole life... all of it is a lie."
Cold fear washes over me. "Then who am I?"
"That's what you must discover. The trial won't complete until you accept the truth of your bloodline. Your heritage. Your true self."
He's right, child, Aelith says gently. I can feel it in your soul. The name Serina Ashveil was given to hide you. To make you invisible. But your real name carries power.
"How do I find it?" I ask.
"We start with your parents." Draeven raises his hand. Golden fire swirls, forming images in the air. "These are my memories from three thousand years ago. Before I was sealed."
I see a woman. Beautiful, with long dark hair and eyes that burn with golden fire. She stands beside a dragon—a massive silver beast.
"That's Aelindra," Draeven says quietly. "The mage who tried to save me and my sister. The one who fought against the other mages when they wanted to seal us away."
The image shifts. Shows a battle. Aelindra fighting desperately against dozens of mages. Losing.
"They killed her for her betrayal," Draeven continues. "But before she died, she had a daughter. That daughter had a daughter, and so on through the centuries. Your parents were her direct descendants."
He shows me another image. A man and woman I barely recognize. But my heart knows them.
"Mom? Dad?" My voice cracks.
"Your real parents. Not factory workers who died in an accident. They were mages. Powerful ones. And they were murdered because they discovered what the Crimson Circle was doing."
The image shows them being attacked. Fighting back. Protecting a small child.
Me.
"They hid you with a false name. Sealed your magic. Made you forgettable." Draeven's voice is gentle now. "They died to protect you. And their last words were your true name."
The image shows my mother, bleeding, whispering something to my father. He nods, then carves symbols into a small stone—a pendant I recognize. The same one that was around my neck when the Corwen family "found" me as an orphan.
"The pendant," I gasp. "Lord Corwen took it when they adopted me. Said it was worthless."
"It wasn't worthless. It contains your true name, sealed in dragon script. Only someone with your blood can read it."
And you've been bonded with dragon heart-fire, Aelith adds. You can read it now.
"Where is it?" I demand. "Where's the pendant?"
"In Corwen's vault. In his manor." Draeven's smile is sharp. "Which is exactly where we're going tonight."
My pulse quickens. "We're breaking into Corwen Manor?"
"Breaking in. Finding your pendant. And burning everything he loves to the ground." Draeven's eyes blaze. "Unless you'd rather wait?"
"No." Rage floods through me. "I'm done waiting. I'm done hiding. They took everything from me—my name, my parents, my power, my life."
I look up at Draeven. "Let's take it all back. Starting with my name."
He grins. "That's my contractor."
We leave the shrine together. But as we walk through the forest, something feels wrong. The trees are too quiet. No birds. No wind.
"Draeven—"
Figures step out from behind the trees. Twenty of them. All wearing the black armor of Crimson Circle guards.
And leading them is Cassian.
"Hello, Serina." His smile is cold. "Did you really think we wouldn't be watching the shrine? Waiting for your dragon to return?"
My heart sinks. They were ready for us.
"We can't fight them," I whisper to Draeven. "There's too many, and—"
"And they have these." Cassian holds up a handful of black crystals. "Soul traps. One for each of us. The moment your dragon attacks, we activate them. He goes back to his prison. Forever."
Draeven tenses beside me. I feel his rage through the bond.
"What do you want?" I ask.
"Your surrender. Both of you." Cassian steps closer. "Come with us peacefully. Lord Corwen has a new offer. Work for the Crimson Circle. Use your power to serve us. And we'll let your brother live."
"You're lying."
"Maybe. Maybe not." His smile widens. "But are you willing to risk Kai's life to find out?"
Ice floods my veins. They know where Kai is. They know where Mira lives.
It's a trap, Aelith warns. Whatever you choose, they'll betray you.
I know, I think back. But if there's even a small chance Kai stays safe...
"Ten seconds to decide," Cassian says. "Then we kill the boy."
Draeven looks at me. "Your choice, contractor. I'll follow your lead."
Ten seconds. My brother's life. My freedom. My revenge.
Everything I've suffered for comes down to this moment.
I take a breath.
"Okay," I say quietly. "We'll come with you."
Cassian's smile turns triumphant. "Smart girl. Guards—"
"On one condition," I interrupt.
"You're not in a position to make conditions."
"Yes, I am." I meet his eyes. "Because I'm the only thing keeping Draeven from slaughtering all of you where you stand, soul traps or not."
Several guards shift nervously. They should be nervous.
"What condition?" Cassian asks through gritted teeth.
"Let me see Kai first. Proof he's alive and safe. Then I'll go wherever you want."
Cassian considers. Then nods. "Fine. He's at the manor. We'll take you there." He signals the guards. "Bind them both."
Cold iron chains wrap around my wrists. They burn—enchanted metal designed to suppress magic.
They try to chain Draeven too, but the metal passes through him like smoke.
"Dragon fire can't be bound by human metals," he says with dark satisfaction.
"Then we'll just kill you if she resists," Cassian snaps.
We're marched through the forest. Toward Corwen Manor. Toward whatever trap they've prepared.
You have a plan, right? I think at Draeven.
Several, he responds. None of them end well for anyone but us.
Good.
You're learning, little flame.
We reach the manor gates. They swing open. Inside, I see Lord Corwen waiting with fifty mages.
And beside him, unconscious and chained, is Kai.
My brother. My reason for everything.
They're using him to control me. Just like always.
But this time is different.
This time, I'm not powerless.
This time, I have a dragon.
And we're about to show them what a terrible mistake they made.
"Welcome home, Serina," Lord Corwen says with a cruel smile. "Let's discuss your future. What's left of it."
The gates slam shut behind us.
We're trapped.
Or they are.
Guess we'll find out which.