POV: Kaelion
Ten seconds to decide between her brother's life and my freedom.
I watched Aldric's cruel smile widen as Serina's face crumbled. Through our bond, I felt her heart breaking into pieces. She was going to choose the boy. Of course she was. I'd seen enough of her memories to know she'd die before letting Finn suffer.
Which meant I was going back into that cursed seal.
A thousand more years of darkness. Pain. Torture.
No.
"Five seconds," Aldric sang, enjoying this.
Serina opened her mouth to speak—to surrender—but I moved first.
I shattered every window in the tower with a pulse of power. Glass exploded outward like deadly rain. Aldric threw up a shield, but I wasn't aiming for him.
I grabbed Serina and Finn, wrapped them both in black fire, and pushed through dimensions.
Space screamed as I tore through it. We materialized three districts away in an abandoned warehouse I'd marked earlier. The moment we landed, I threw up every concealing spell I knew.
Serina collapsed, gasping. Finn was unconscious from the rough teleportation.
"What did you do?" she choked out. "He has Finn! That image—"
"Was a lie," I cut her off. "A projection spell. Your brother was never captured. Aldric was bluffing, hoping you'd panic and obey before thinking clearly."
Her eyes went wide. She looked at Finn sleeping safely beside her, then back at me. "How did you know?"
"Because I invented that spell eight hundred years ago, and Aldric stole it from my memories while I was sealed." Rage burned through me. "He's been feeding on my power and knowledge for centuries. I know every trick he has."
Serina's hands were shaking. "He almost won. I almost—"
"But you didn't." I knelt in front of her, forcing her to meet my eyes. "Listen carefully. Aldric will try that again. He'll threaten everyone you love, play with your fears, manipulate you into surrendering. You need to learn to think through the panic, or he will win."
Tears streaked down her face. "I can't lose Finn. I can't—"
"Then get stronger!" My voice came out harsher than I intended. "Stop being weak. Stop letting emotions control you. Your brother is alive now, but he won't stay that way if you keep making foolish choices."
She flinched like I'd hit her.
Something twisted in my chest. That look on her face—pain and shame and desperate determination—it reminded me so much of her. Of Lyra. The Dragon-Keeper I'd loved and lost.
I stood abruptly, turning away. "Sleep. We move again at dawn."
"I can't sleep."
"Then watch your brother sleep. But stay quiet. I need to think."
For hours, I paced the warehouse while Serina sat with Finn. Through our bond, I felt her emotions churning—fear, anger, confusion. But underneath it all was something stronger.
Love.
She loved that boy so fiercely it burned like dragon fire. Pure and absolute and willing to sacrifice everything.
I hadn't felt love like that in centuries.
Finally, as dawn light crept through the broken windows, Finn woke up. He blinked at Serina, then smiled.
"You're still here," he said softly.
"Always," she whispered, hugging him tight.
The boy's eyes found me across the warehouse. "Thank you for saving me. From the curse."
I grunted, not knowing what to say. Children thanking me felt... strange.
"Are you really the World-End Dragon?" Finn asked. "The one from the scary stories?"
"Yes."
"Did you really destroy three kingdoms in one night?"
"Four, actually. But who's counting?"
Finn's eyes went huge. Serina glared at me.
"Don't scare him," she hissed.
"I'm not scared," Finn protested. "I think dragons are cool. Way cooler than stupid magisters who curse kids."
Despite everything, I felt my mouth twitch. This boy had spirit.
"Finn, go explore the warehouse," Serina said gently. "Stay where I can see you, but give us a minute."
Once the boy wandered off, Serina turned to me. "We need to talk. Really talk. Because I just bound myself to someone I know nothing about, and people are hunting us, and I'm apparently some kind of Dragon-Keeper reincarnation which makes zero sense—"
"Sit," I interrupted. "And I'll tell you everything."
She sat.
I took a breath, preparing to explain a thousand years of lies and betrayal. "The world you know is built on stolen power. Dragon power. My power."
Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"The magical hierarchy—the idea that some humans are born stronger than others—it's all fake. Real magic is rare. Most humans have barely a spark. But a thousand years ago, the first Grand Magisters discovered they could harvest dragon essence and transfer it to humans, creating powerful mages artificially."
Serina's face paled. "That's... that's impossible."
"Is it? Think about it. Why are the elite mages all connected to the Citadel? Why do their powers weaken if they leave for too long? Because they're not using their own magic—they're drawing from a source. From me. From my imprisoned body being drained like a well."
She looked sick. "All this time..."
"All this time, they've been parasites feeding on dragon blood." My hands clenched into fists. "When I discovered what they were planning, I refused. I told them dragons would never be their cattle. So they declared war."
"The Dragon Wars," Serina whispered. "We learned about them. They said dragons attacked first. That you tried to destroy humanity."
"More lies." The old rage burned hot in my throat. "We defended ourselves. But the magisters had prepared. They created weapons specifically designed to kill dragons—spells fueled by captured dragon heartblood, which meant our own power was used against us. We didn't stand a chance."
I forced myself to continue, even though the memories cut like knives.
"They killed my brothers and sisters. Every single dragon except me. They kept me alive because I was the strongest—the Dragon King—which meant I had the most power to drain. They built that seal to trap me and slowly bleed my essence for centuries. Every spell the elite mages cast, every miracle they perform, it's all stolen from me."
Serina was crying silently. "That's horrible."
"And you," I continued, my voice softer now, "are part of the reason they won."
Her head snapped up. "What?"
"Not you specifically. Your bloodline. Dragon-Keepers were humans born with the natural ability to bond with dragons as equals. We could share power, communicate perfectly, fight as one. My kind loved the Keepers. We protected them."
"Then what happened?"
"The magisters realized Keepers could command dragons through the bond. Absolute commands we couldn't refuse. So they captured Keepers, tortured them, forced them to order their bonded dragons to submit to being harvested. When some Keepers refused and died rather than betray us..." I swallowed hard. "The magisters just killed them all. Every Keeper, every child with Keeper blood, systematically murdered over decades."
"But I'm still alive," Serina said slowly. "If they killed everyone..."
"Your bloodline survived somehow. Probably by hiding, suppressing their power, living in the slums where magisters don't look. That weak magic you have? It's not weak. It's sealed. Deliberately locked away, probably by your ancestors to hide you from being detected."
She touched her chest where the dragon mark pulsed. "And now it's breaking. Because of our bond."
"Yes. Which means they'll hunt you even harder. A Dragon-Keeper is the one thing Aldric fears, because you could free the remaining sealed dragons and turn their own weapons against them."
"There are more?" Her voice rose with hope. "More dragons alive?"
"Barely alive. Sealed beneath the Citadel, being drained just like I was. If we free them..." I met her eyes. "If we free them, we could end this. Destroy the magisters' power source. Burn their empire to ashes."
"But I don't know how to be a Keeper! I can barely control my own magic, let alone command dragons—"
"Then I'll teach you." I stepped closer. "That's what happens now, Serina. I train you to survive. To fight. To unlock that sealed power inside you. Because they're coming, and when they find us, you need to be ready."
She was silent for a long moment. Then: "Why are you doing this? You could break our bond. Let me die. Find someone stronger to bind with."
I looked at this small, fierce girl who'd freed me without even knowing what she was doing. Who'd risked everything for her brother. Who cried when I told her about my murdered kin.
She reminded me so much of Lyra it hurt.
But she wasn't Lyra. She was Serina—stubborn and brave and terrifyingly selfless.
"Because," I said quietly, "you're the first human in a thousand years who didn't try to use me. You freed me to save your brother, not to gain power. And because..." I paused, surprised by the words coming out. "Because I'm tired of being alone."
Her eyes widened.
Before she could respond, I felt it—a pulse of foreign magic sweeping through the district. A detection spell.
"They found us," I snarled. "Get Finn. Now!"
Serina scrambled to her brother. Outside, I heard marching feet. Lots of them.
I moved to the window and looked out. My blood turned cold.
At least fifty Citadel guards surrounded the warehouse, all armed with anti-dragon weapons. And leading them was Commander Drace—Aldric's personal hunter.
But that wasn't what made my heart stop.
Behind the guards stood a woman in blood-red robes. Lady Isadora, Aldric's protégé. And she was holding something that made my scales try to emerge in pure rage.
A cage. A small, glowing cage.
With a baby dragon inside.
"Kaelion!" Isadora's voice rang out, magically amplified. "I know you're in there. Come out peacefully, or I kill this hatchling. Slowly. While you watch. You have sixty seconds to decide."
Through our bond, I felt Serina's horror.
The baby dragon was crying—actual tears—and beating tiny wings against the cage bars.
"She's bluffing," Serina whispered desperately. "Like before. It's another trick—"
"It's not a trick." My voice came out broken. "That's Azura. The last dragon egg that hadn't hatched when I was sealed. She's real. She's alive. And she's about to die because of me."
Serina grabbed my arm. "We'll save her. We'll—"
"Thirty seconds!" Isadora called sweetly. She pressed a knife against the cage, and the baby dragon screamed.
Every instinct in my body demanded I surrender. That was dragon-kin. The last hatchling. I couldn't let her die.
But if I gave myself up, Aldric would re-seal me. Use me to power his empire for another thousand years. And eventually kill Serina and Finn too.
"Kaelion," Serina said urgently. "What do we do?"
I looked at her. At this impossible girl who'd woken something in me I thought was dead.
Then I made the hardest choice of my immortal life.
"We run," I said.
"What? No! We can't leave her—"
"If I surrender, we all die anyway. Including that hatchling eventually. Our only chance is to get you strong enough to actually fight back. To free her and the others."
"Ten seconds!" Isadora's voice was gleeful now.
Tears streamed down my face—the first I'd cried in centuries. "I'm sorry, Azura," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."
I grabbed Serina and Finn, preparing to teleport.
"Time's up!" Isadora raised her knife.
And then something impossible happened.
Serina's hand shot out, glowing with silver light. "STOP!"
The word wasn't just spoken—it was a command. A Dragon-Keeper command that bypassed our bond and hit me like a physical force.
My body froze. I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
Through our bond, I felt her panic and confusion. She hadn't meant to do that. The power had just exploded out of her.
But the command didn't just affect me.
Every weapon in the guards' hands shattered simultaneously. The cage around Azura burst open. And Isadora was thrown backward by invisible force, slamming into a wall.
Serina stood there, glowing like a star, power pouring off her in waves.
Her sealed magic hadn't just cracked.
It had detonated.
And standing behind the stunned guards, smiling like he'd planned this all along, was Grand Magister Aldric himself.
"Perfect," he purred. "The Keeper has awakened ahead of schedule. This makes everything so much easier."
He raised both hands, and I felt ancient magic gathering—the kind that could bind dragons permanently.
"Serina," I gasped, finally able to speak. "Run! Take Finn and—"
"I, Grand Magister Aldric Veyron, holder of the First Seal, command all dragons present to SUBMIT AND KNEEL!"
The words hit like a hammer made of stars.
And to my absolute horror, I felt my body moving without permission, dropping to my knees, my dragon nature responding to the ancient command.
But worse—far worse—I watched as little Azura, barely hatched, collapsed to the ground, crying and struggling against magic she was too young to fight.
Aldric smiled at Serina. "Now then, Dragon-Keeper. You have a choice. Bind yourself willingly to me, give me control of your dragons, and I'll let your brother live. Or refuse, and watch me kill both dragons right here, right now, while you stand helpless."
He gestured, and guards grabbed Finn, holding a knife to his throat.
Serina looked at me, then at Azura, then at Finn.
Three lives in her hands.
And I felt her absolute terror through our bond as she realized the truth:
No matter what she chose, someone she loved was going to die.