Sera's POV
Oracle Mara's dead eyes locked onto me, and every instinct I had screamed run.
But there was nowhere to run. Six Shadow Court members surrounded us, blocking every exit. Cassian's dragon snarled, electricity crackling between its teeth, but even a thunder dragon couldn't fight six trained dark tamers at once.
"Stand down, Duke Stormweaver," Mara said pleasantly, like she was asking him to pass the salt. "This doesn't concern you. We only want the Fusion cub."
"Over my dead body." Cassian moved in front of me, his hand on his sword.
Mara tilted her head. "That can be arranged."
No. The thought came from Kazuki, sharp and desperate through our bond. Not him. Not you. Not anyone else dying for me.
"You said you'd train us," I called out to Mara, stalling for time while my mind raced. "You said you'd help us survive. Was that all a lie?"
"Oh, child." Mara's smile was poison-sweet. "I do want to train the Fusion. Just not with you attached to him."
She raised one hand, and the air itself seemed to twist. A wave of dark energy slammed into Cassian's dragon, sending the massive beast crashing into a building. Cassian lunged forward, but another Shadow Court member caught him with some kind of binding spell. Glowing chains wrapped around his arms and legs, dropping him to his knees.
"Cassian!" The scream tore from my throat before I could stop it.
"Touching." Mara stepped closer, ignoring Cassian's struggles. "You still care for the man who betrayed you. How very human." Her dead eyes found me. "That's your weakness, girl. You feel too much. Care too much. It makes you soft."
Kazuki growled from my arms, silver flames erupting around his small body. Through our bond, I felt his rage burning hotter than I'd ever felt before.
She's wrong, he pushed the thought to me fiercely. Caring isn't weakness. It's what makes you stronger than all of them.
"The Fusion bond is remarkable, isn't it?" Mara continued, watching us with scientific interest. "You can feel each other's emotions, share thoughts, move as one being. But do you know what happens when we sever that bond?"
Ice flooded my veins. "What?"
"The beast goes mad from the sudden emptiness. The human falls into a coma they rarely wake from. And both souls are left broken, hollow things." Mara's smile widened. "Perfect for my purposes. A mindless Divine Beast is so much easier to control than one with annoying human attachments."
"You're insane," I breathed.
"I'm practical." Mara gestured, and two Shadow Court members moved toward me. "Your tiger isn't the first Fusion I've encountered, dear. The sixth one—the corrupted beast you met in the catacombs—was my first attempt at creating a controllable Fusion. I failed because I let it keep its bond, let it keep its emotions. I won't make that mistake twice."
Kazuki's terror spiked through our bond. Not fear for himself—fear for me. Fear of what would happen if they broke our connection.
I'd rather die than lose you, his thought came crystal clear.
Same, I thought back, and meant it with every fiber of my being.
"Last chance, girl." Mara extended her hand. "Give me the cub willingly, and I'll let you live. Keep fighting, and I'll rip him from your arms and destroy your mind in the process."
I looked down at Kazuki. Three months ago, he'd been a palm-sized cub I'd bought with my last coins. Now he was house-cat size, blazing with silver fire, and the most important thing in my life. He'd saved me from despair. Protected me from enemies. Given me a reason to keep fighting when everything else was taken away.
They wanted to turn him into a weapon. Wanted to break his mind and use his body like a puppet.
I'd die before I let that happen.
"Here's my answer," I said quietly, and channeled every bit of energy I had through our bond into Kazuki.
His silver flames exploded outward like a supernova. The Shadow Court members closest to us screamed and staggered back, their dark magic dissolving in the light. Even Mara raised her arm to shield her blind eyes.
"RUN!" Cassian's voice cut through the chaos. He'd somehow broken one of his binding chains and was wrestling with his captor. "Sera, GO!"
I ran.
Kazuki clung to my chest, his flames dying down as exhaustion hit both of us. That burst of power had drained us completely. My legs felt like lead, my lungs burned, but I kept running through the market stalls, dodging carts and people and animals.
Behind us, Mara's voice echoed with dark amusement: "Run all you want, child. There's nowhere in this city we won't find you. The Shadow Court has eyes everywhere."
A hand grabbed my arm.
I spun, ready to fight with my bare fists if needed—and found myself staring at a girl about my age with bright purple hair and the biggest smile I'd ever seen.
"This way!" she said cheerfully, like we were old friends. "Master Fenton sent me to fetch you. Name's Lyric, by the way. Nice to meet you!"
"I don't—"
"No time for introductions!" Lyric dragged me into a side alley I'd never noticed before. A hidden passage, just like the one Fenton had used three months ago. "Master said you'd probably be running from dark cultists about now. He's so good at predictions, it's honestly creepy."
We plunged into darkness. Behind us, I heard the Shadow Court members searching the market, their voices growing fainter.
"Who are you?" I gasped as we ran through the tunnel.
"Told you—I'm Lyric! Master Fenton's apprentice. Well, one of them. You're about to be another." She glanced at Kazuki with sparkling eyes. "Ooh, your tiger is so cute! Can I pet him?"
I like her, Kazuki's thought came through our bond, exhausted but amused. She's weird.
"Master Fenton is waiting at the old sanctuary," Lyric continued. "He said it's time for your real training to begin. Also, you should probably know—that whole thing with Duke Stormweaver telling you he was forced to betray you?"
"What about it?"
"It's true. Every word." Lyric's expression turned serious for the first time. "Master Fenton did some digging. Cassian's father really did threaten to kill you. The Duke's been protecting you from the shadows for months, blocking assassination attempts you never even knew about."
My heart twisted. Cassian had been telling the truth. He'd never wanted to hurt me.
But before I could process that revelation, we burst out of the tunnel into what looked like an underground training arena. Master Fenton stood in the center, his expression grave. And next to him—
My breath caught.
Prince Dorian Ashenblade, the realm's crown prince, stood with his arms crossed. His Void Beast—a massive creature that seemed to absorb light itself—loomed behind him.
"Miss Whitstone," Dorian said formally. "We need to talk about why the Shadow Court wants your tiger so badly." His eyes found Kazuki, and something like recognition flickered across his face. "And why the Imperial family has been searching for a Fusion for three generations."
Fenton stepped forward. "Sera, what I'm about to tell you will change everything you think you know about this world. About Divine Beasts, about Fusions, and about why your bond with Kazuki might be the only thing standing between the empire and total destruction."
"What do you mean?"
"The corrupted Fusion in the catacombs?" Fenton's voice went deadly serious. "It's not the only one. There are three more sealed across the continent, and all three are beginning to wake up. When they do, they'll destroy everything—unless we can train your Fusion to be strong enough to stop them."
The ground beneath us suddenly trembled. Dust rained from the ceiling.
Lyric's cheerful expression vanished. "That's not good."
"What's happening?" I demanded.
Prince Dorian's face went white as he pulled out a communication crystal. The voice that came through made my blood freeze:
"Your Highness! The western seal has broken! The second corrupted Fusion has escaped! It's heading toward the capital—estimated arrival in six hours! Casualties are already in the thousands!"
Fenton cursed. "We're out of time."
He turned to me, and I saw genuine fear in his ancient eyes. "Sera, I need you to make a choice right now. We can try to evacuate the city and hope the Imperial Guard can slow the corrupted Fusion down. Or..." He looked at Kazuki. "Or we can attempt the Forbidden Resonance—a technique that will either make your tiger strong enough to fight a corrupted Fusion, or kill you both in the process."
Through our bond, Kazuki's determination burned clear and bright.
We fight. Always.
I looked at the prince, at Fenton, at Lyric's worried face. Then I looked at my tiger—my partner, my friend, my reason for surviving this far.
"Tell me what we need to do."