Serina's POV
Black fire consumed the temple.
"GO!" Kael's roar shook the walls as he threw up a barrier of red flames between us and the masked figures. "Serina, RUN!"
I didn't want to run. Didn't want to leave him facing twelve enemies alone. But the sealing chains were already forming—glowing symbols that made the dragon mark on my chest scream with pain.
Kael shoved me toward the back wall. "They can't capture me if you're not here! The bond—they need you to complete the seal!"
"But—"
"MOVE!"
I moved.
Crashing through the gap Finn had used earlier, I burst into an alley behind the temple. Behind me, explosions rocked the building. Red fire met black fire met sealing magic, and the sound was like the world breaking.
I ran until my lungs burned. Ran until the explosions faded to distant rumbles. Ran until I collapsed in a heap between two garbage bins, gasping and shaking and trying not to throw up.
The mark on my chest pulsed with each heartbeat. Through it, I felt Kael—his fury, his power, his absolute refusal to be caged again. But I also felt something else.
Strain. He was fighting hard. Maybe too hard.
"Please be okay," I whispered to the night. "Please."
Footsteps echoed in the alley.
I scrambled upright, fire gathering in my palms—
"Easy!" A figure stepped into the dim light, hands raised. Not a guard. A boy about my age with messy brown hair and a crooked smile. "I'm a friend. Name's Darius."
"I don't have friends," I spat, not lowering my hands. "Especially not ones who sneak up on me in alleys."
"Fair." He leaned against the wall like we were having a casual chat, not like I was seconds from setting him on fire. "But you do have enemies. Lots of them. And my sources tell me you could use some help."
"Your sources can—"
Another explosion shook the district. Closer this time. Red light flashed above the rooftops, followed by screams.
"That's the temple," Darius said, suddenly serious. "Your dragon friend won't hold them forever. The Council's seal squad are specialists. They've captured demons, ancient spirits, even a phoenix once." His eyes met mine. "They'll get him eventually. Question is—what will you do about it?"
My chest tightened. "I don't know you. Why should I trust anything you say?"
"You shouldn't." He pushed off the wall. "But in about five minutes, more guards will flood this area. They'll search every building, every shadow, every rat hole. And when they find you alone and exhausted?"
He didn't finish. Didn't need to.
"So what," I said bitterly, "you want to help me out of the goodness of your heart?"
"Gods, no. I want to help you because you're useful." His grin returned. "See? I'm honest. That's refreshing, right?"
Despite everything, I almost smiled. Almost. "Useful how?"
"You have a dragon bond. You survived the Crimson Wastes. You've got the Magic Council terrified enough to send their elite squad after you." Darius counted on his fingers. "Plus, you set Vivienne Solace's pride on fire, which frankly is worth supporting just for the entertainment value."
"You know about that?"
"Everyone knows about that. It's all over the underground markets." He gestured down the alley. "Speaking of which, that's where we should go. Right now. Before the guards arrive."
I hesitated. Every instinct screamed this was a trap. But Kael was fighting. Finn was hidden but not safe. And I was alone in a kingdom that wanted me dead or in chains.
Sometimes you had to choose between bad options and worse ones.
"Fine," I said. "But if you try anything—"
"You'll set me on fire. Yeah, I got it." Darius started walking. "Come on. Stay close and stay quiet."
We moved through the slums like ghosts, taking paths I didn't know existed. Hidden doors. Secret passages. Routes that avoided main streets and guard patrols. Darius moved with practiced ease, like he'd done this a thousand times.
"You're good at this," I muttered.
"I've had practice." He glanced back. "My family disowned me when I started helping rankless people. Called me a traitor to my class. So now I do it full-time just to spite them."
"Your family's noble?"
"Was. I gave up the title when I gave up their bullshit." He ducked under a low beam. "Turns out being Lord Darius Kieran wasn't worth keeping if it meant stepping on people like you."
I didn't know what to say to that. In my experience, nobles didn't give up anything willingly. They just took and took until there was nothing left.
"Why do you care?" I finally asked. "About rankless people, I mean."
Darius stopped at a heavy metal door set into a wall. "My younger sister was born rankless. My parents tried to hide her, then tried to 'fix' her with dangerous magic experiments." His jaw tightened. "She died when she was eight. And I realized the system that killed her was worse than any monster."
He knocked on the door—a complex pattern that sounded almost musical. "So yeah. I care. And I fight back the only way I know how."
The door swung open, revealing darkness and stairs leading down. Way down.
"Welcome to the Underground Market," Darius said. "Try not to stare at anything too illegal."
The stairs seemed to go on forever. Down, down, down into depths that shouldn't exist under the slums. Finally, we emerged into a massive cavern lit by hundreds of glowing crystals.
And it was packed.
People everywhere—buying, selling, arguing, laughing. Stalls sold everything from weapons to potions to things I couldn't even identify. The air smelled like smoke and spices and magic.
"This is impossible," I breathed. "How is this here? Right under the Council's nose?"
"Magic has blind spots," a woman's voice said. "If you know where they are."
I turned to see a young woman approaching us. She had sharp eyes, sharper smile, and an air of someone who knew everyone's secrets.
"Serina, meet my sister," Darius said. "Well, my other sister. Lady Mira Kieran."
"Just Mira." She extended her hand, and I shook it cautiously. "I've heard interesting things about you."
"Let me guess—that I'm a thief who doesn't deserve dragon power?"
"Actually, I heard you told Vivienne Solace to shove her ice magic where the sun doesn't shine." Mira's grin was fierce. "I like you already."
Despite myself, I laughed. Actual laughter, after the nightmare of the day. It felt strange.
"Come on," Mira said, linking her arm through mine like we were old friends. "Let's get you some real food and talk business."
She led us to a corner table away from the main crowd. Within minutes, food appeared—actual good food, not the moldy scraps I was used to. My stomach growled loudly.
"Eat," Darius said. "You look half-starved."
I didn't need to be told twice. As I ate, they talked.
"The Council's mobilizing," Mira said, her playful tone gone. "The seal squad attacking means they're serious. They'll tear the slums apart looking for you."
"Let them," I muttered around a mouthful of bread. "I'm done running."
"Good." Darius leaned forward. "Because we have a proposal. Join our network. We protect people the Council wants to destroy. In exchange, you help us fight back against the rank system that's crushing thousands."
I stopped chewing. "You want me to join a rebellion?"
"We prefer 'reform movement,'" Mira said dryly. "Sounds less treasonous."
"It's still treason."
"So is existing with a dragon bond, apparently." Darius shrugged. "Might as well commit treason for a good cause."
I looked between them. Brother and sister, rebels, nobles who'd given up everything to fight for people like me. It sounded too good to be true.
"What's the catch?" I asked.
"No catch." Mira's expression turned serious. "But understand—if you join us, you become a symbol. The rankless girl with legendary power. People will look to you. Hope will look to you. And the Council will want you dead more than ever."
"They already want me dead."
"True. But this way, you're dead for something that matters." Darius met my eyes. "Your choice, Serina. Fight alone and maybe survive. Or fight with us and maybe change things."
A month ago, I would've said no instantly. I'd learned the hard way that caring about anyone beyond Finn only led to heartbreak. But a month ago, I was powerless. Nobody. Invisible.
Now I had dragon fire in my veins and enemies who actually feared me.
Maybe it was time to stop surviving and start fighting back.
"I'm in," I said. "But I need help with something first."
"Name it," Mira said.
"The Grand Trial. I need to win it." I clenched my fists. "And I need to do it in three weeks."
They exchanged glances.
"That's... ambitious," Darius said carefully.
"That's suicide," Mira corrected. "You're going up against the kingdom's best combat mages."
"I know. But if I win, the Council has to acknowledge my right to the dragon bond. It's my only shot at real freedom." I looked at them both. "Can you help me or not?"
Darius grinned. "Oh, we can help. Mira here is a tactical genius. She's been studying the Grand Trial for years."
"Every competitor, every fighting style, every possible matchup." Mira pulled out a notebook filled with dense writing. "I can tell you exactly how to beat each one. Well. In theory."
"Theory's better than nothing."
"There's still the problem of your dragon," Darius said. "Where is he, anyway?"
As if on cue, the dragon mark on my chest flared with heat. Power flooded through me—not mine, Kael's—and I gasped.
Through our bond, I felt him. Alive. Angry. And coming closer.
The cavern's entrance exploded with red light.
Everyone in the Underground Market froze. Conversations died. Weapons were drawn. And into the sudden silence walked Kael, looking like death in human form.
His clothes were torn. His silver hair was wild. Blood—black blood that couldn't be human—dripped from a cut on his cheek. But his eyes burned with unholy light, and power crackled around him like a storm about to break.
He locked eyes with me across the cavern. "We need to leave. Now."
"What happened?" I jumped up. "The seal squad—"
"Dead." His voice was flat. "Not all of them. But enough to make the Council understand what hunting me truly costs."
Horrified whispers rippled through the market. Someone had actually killed Council mages. That was beyond treason. That was war.
Darius stood slowly. "You're Kaelthar. The World-End Dragon."
"Correct." Kael barely glanced at him. "And you're the rebel playing revolutionary with your underground network. I know what you are, Lord Kieran."
"Not a lord anymore."
"Once a noble, always a noble." Kael's lip curled. "Though I admit, giving up power to fight tyranny shows more spine than most of your kind possess."
It might've been the closest thing to a compliment I'd ever heard from Kael.
"We were just discussing the Grand Trial," Mira said, stepping forward despite the danger radiating from Kael. "Serina wants to compete."
"Serina is insane," Kael replied. "But I've already agreed to train her."
"Then you need allies," Darius said. "The Council will stack every rule, every matchup, every judge against her. You can't fight the entire system alone."
"I've been fighting systems for a thousand years."
"And look how well that worked out." Darius gestured at the cavern around us. "These are people who've been crushed by the Council's system. People who'd follow a rankless girl with dragon fire if she gave them hope." He paused. "People who could make sure Serina survives long enough to reach the arena."
Kael studied him for a long moment. Then, surprisingly, he nodded. "Very well. An alliance. But understand—if any of you betray her, I'll burn this cavern and everyone in it to ash."
"Fair enough," Mira said cheerfully, like people threatened mass murder every day. "Shall we discuss strategy?"
"Later." Kael's hand closed on my shoulder. "First, we move Serina to a safe house. The Council knows about this place now."
"How?" I demanded. "How could they—"
"Because I led them here." Kael's smile was sharp and cold. "I needed to see who your new allies were. Congratulations—they passed."
Darius cursed. "You used us as bait?"
"And you proved you value her life over your own safety." Kael's eyes glowed. "That's rare. Hold onto it."
He started pulling me toward another exit I hadn't noticed. "Come. We have much to discuss and very little time. The Council just declared you an enemy of the state, Serina. Every guard, every mage, every bounty hunter in the kingdom is now hunting you."
My stomach dropped. "They what?"
"And," Kael continued calmly, "they've taken your brother."
The world stopped.
"What?" The word came out as a whisper. "Finn? They have Finn?"
"They raided Mrs. Chen's house an hour ago. Took the boy as leverage." Kael's expression was grim. "The message was clear—surrender yourself, or they kill him."
Red fire exploded from my body before I could stop it. The dragon mark burned white-hot. Power roared through me, wild and furious and absolutely beyond control.
"WHERE IS HE?" I screamed.
"The Council fortress," Mira said quietly, her face pale. "The most heavily guarded building in the kingdom."
"I don't care." Tears streamed down my face as rage and terror warred inside me. "They took my brother. They took the only family I have left!"
Kael gripped my shoulders, his touch somehow cooling the fire. "Then we get him back."
"How? You said it yourself—it's the most guarded place in the kingdom!"
"It is." Kael's smile turned predatory. "Which is why they'll never expect us to attack it directly."
I stared at him. "You want to assault the Council fortress?"
"I want to teach them what happens when they touch what's mine." His eyes blazed. "They think holding your brother gives them power over you. Let's show them their mistake."
Darius stepped forward. "We're in. My network can create diversions, clear escape routes—"
"No." I wiped my eyes, forcing myself to think through the panic. "You'll die. The Council's elite guard will slaughter anyone who attacks."
"Probably," Darius agreed. "But your brother's worth dying for, isn't he?"
Something cracked in my chest. These people—strangers who owed me nothing—were willing to die for Finn. For me.
"Why?" I asked. "Why would you risk everything?"
Mira smiled sadly. "Because someone needs to stand up to them. Might as well be us."
The dragon mark pulsed with heat and power and terrible choice. Save my brother by leading people to their deaths. Or abandon him to save everyone else.
No. There had to be another way.
"Wait," I said. "The Grand Trial. Vivienne said if I compete and win, the Council has to acknowledge my rights. What if—what if we use that?"
"Explain," Kael said.
"I challenge them. Publicly. In front of everyone." My mind raced. "I demand they release Finn as a show of good faith. If they refuse, the kingdom sees they're afraid of a fair fight. If they agree, we get Finn back."
"And if they agree but plan to kill you during the trial?" Darius asked.
"Then at least Finn's safe first." I met Kael's burning eyes. "And I'll have three weeks to train. To get strong enough to win."
"Or die trying," Mira muttered.
"I'm already trying to die." I laughed, high and wild. "Might as well make it count."
Kael studied me. Then, slowly, he nodded. "Very well. We do this your way. But understand, Serina—the moment you issue that challenge, there's no turning back. Win or lose, live or die, your fate will be decided in that arena."
"I know." I squared my shoulders. "So let's make sure I win."
The cavern erupted in chaos as Darius's network sprang into action, preparing for the most audacious challenge in the kingdom's history.
And I stood at the center of it, a rankless girl about to declare war on the most powerful institution in the world.
For my brother. For myself. For everyone the Council had crushed beneath their perfect, terrible system.
Let them come. Let them try to break me.
I had dragon fire in my veins and nothing left to lose.