Sera's POV
I wake up to the smell of pine trees and wood smoke.
My eyes snap open. I'm lying on soft furs in a room made of logs. Sunlight streams through a window. Birds chirp outside.
I'm alive.
I sit up fast too fast. My head spins and I almost fall over. Strong hands catch my shoulders.
Easy, a deep voice says. You've been unconscious for six hours.
I turn and see him. The man from the griffin. He's sitting on a chair beside the bed, watching me with dark, intense eyes. He's maybe twenty-seven, with black hair pulled back and a scar running along his jawline. Something about him feels dangerous like a wolf pretending to be a dog.
Who are you? My voice comes out scratchy.
Kael Shadow thorn. He hands me a cup of water. And you're Sera Luminhart, the girl who broke prophecy chains and survived a fall into the cloud-sea.
I drink the water in three huge gulps. Where's Cassian? Where's the prince?
The prince is fine. Angry that I grabbed you instead of him, but fine. One of my people caught him separately.
I sag with relief. I'm still furious at Cassian, but I don't want him dead.
Where am I? I look out the window and see mountains covered in trees. Small wooden houses dot the landscape. People walk between them normal people in simple clothes, not nobles or guards.
Sanctuary, Kael says. A place for people the kingdom threw away.
Before I can ask what that means, the door bursts open. A woman with curly red hair rushes in and practically tackles me with a hug.
Sera! Oh gods, Sera, you're alive!
I know that voice. Lyra?
My best friend pulls back, tears streaming down her face. Lyra worked with me in the archives two years ago then she disappeared one night without explanation. I thought she was dead.
You're here? I'm crying too now. How are you here?
I ran away, Lyra says, wiping her eyes. My prophecy said I'd marry a cruel man who would beat me. I couldn't accept that. So I fled to Sanctuary, where Kael protects people like us.
People like us?
Kael stands up. People with prophecies they refuse to accept. People the kingdom calls defective or troublesome. People who want to choose their own futures. He looks at me with those intense eyes. We've been watching you for months, Sera. Waiting to see if you'd be the one.
The one what?
The one who could save us all.
A chill runs down my spine. I can't save anyone. I don't even understand what I am.
You're the first person born without a prophecy, Kael says. That makes you immune to fate-magic. And somehow, it gives you power over prophecy itself. You can see the threads that bind people to their destinies. You can break those threads. He leans closer. Do you understand what that means? You could free everyone.
I think about the guard whose thread I snapped. His scream. His face when he realized his future was gone.
I hurt that guard, I whisper. When I broke his thread, he was in pain.
Because he'd spent his whole life chained to his destiny, Lyra says gently. Freedom hurts at first when you're not used to it. But it's worth it, Sera. I promise it's worth it.
Someone knocks on the door. Kael opens it and speaks quietly to whoever's outside. Then he turns back to me.
The prince is demanding to see you.
My stomach twists. I don't want to see him.
He says he won't eat or sleep until you do. Kael's expression is neutral, but something in his voice suggests he doesn't like Cassian much. He's been pacing outside for three hours.
Part of me wants to let Cassian suffer. But a bigger part the part that kept his letters safe even in prison needs to see him.
Fine, I say. Five minutes.
Kael nods and leaves. Lyra squeezes my hand. I'll be right outside if you need me.
Then I'm alone.
The door opens slowly. Cassian walks in looking terrible hair messy, dark circles under his eyes, dirt on his shirt. He stops three feet away like he's afraid to come closer.
Sera. He says my name like it hurts.
Five minutes, I say coldly. Talk.
I broke my magical oath. He holds up his hand, and I see a black mark burned into his palm. It nearly killed me, but I shattered it. I can speak freely now. I can act freely now.
Good for you. Too bad you didn't do it before they sentenced me to death.
You're right. His voice cracks. You're absolutely right. I was a coward. I chose my position and my father's approval over you. I'll regret it for the rest of my life. He takes a shaky breath. But I'm here now. I've left the palace. Left my title. Left everything. I'm here to help you.
I don't need your help.
Then I'll help anyway. His eyes are desperate. I'll prove I've changed. However long it takes. I'll earn your forgiveness, Sera. I swear I will.
Before I can respond, alarm bells start ringing outside. Not the gentle bells from the village harsh, urgent warning bells.
Kael crashes through the door. Temple guards. At least fifty of them, coming up the mountain road.
My heart stops. They found us already?
They're not looking for us, Kael says grimly. They're looking for you. And they brought someone to make sure you surrender.
He hands me a small crystal that shows a magical image like a video screen. I see the temple square back in the capital city. High Prophet Maren stands on a platform. Kneeling in chains beside her are fifteen people. I recognize some of them workers from Sanctuary who must've been captured.
But it's the person in the center that makes my blood freeze.
Lyra gasps behind me. No. No, they didn't.
It's my father. Lord Theron Luminhart. The man who disowned me. The man who stood in council and said I should die with dignity.
But now he's chained and bleeding, with a sword pressed to his throat.
Maren's voice comes through the crystal, magically amplified so the whole kingdom can hear: Sera Luminhart, you have until sunset to surrender yourself, or these sixteen prisoners die. Starting with your father.
The crystal shows my father's face. He looks old and scared and broken. His eyes fill with tears.
Sera, he whispers. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. Don't come for me. Run. Please run
A guard hits him, cutting off his words.
The crystal goes dark.
I stare at the empty crystal, my hands shaking.
Everyone's watching me, waiting to see what I'll do.
Cassian speaks first. It's a trap. If you go back, they'll kill you.
She knows it's a trap, Kael says quietly. But those are her people. And her father.
He betrayed her! Cassian snaps.
He's still her father, Lyra whispers.
They're all right. It's obviously a trap. My father chose the council over me. I should let him face the consequences.
But I see his face in my mind old and scared and sorry.
I stand up. My legs shake but hold.
How long until sunset? I ask.
Kael checks the sun through the window. Four hours.
Then we have four hours to plan a rescue that won't get us all killed. I look at each of them. I'm not letting innocent people die because of me. Not anymore.
Sera, this is suicide, Cassian says desperately.
Then don't come. I meet his eyes. I'm done letting other people decide what I should do. I'm done being powerless. Those people are in chains because I escaped. I'm getting them out.
You're not going alone, Kael says firmly. Sanctuary has warriors. We've been preparing for a fight with the temple for years.
I'm coming too, Lyra says.
Cassian looks at me for a long moment. Then he nods. Where you go, I go.
Something in my chest tightens. Despite everything, despite my anger, I believe him.
Good, I say. Then let's save some people and show the temple what happens when you threaten the Void-Born.
But even as I say it, I see something through the window that makes my blood turn to ice.
The sky is changing. Dark clouds gather overhead, swirling in unnatural patterns. Lightning flashes, but it's not normal lightning it's golden, the color of prophecy magic.
Kael sees it too. His face goes pale.
What is that? I whisper.
That, says a new voice from the doorway, making everyone jump, is the gods taking notice.
A man stands there beautiful and terrible, with silver eyes that don't look human. He's smiling, but it's not a friendly smile.
Hello, Sera, he says softly. The gods sent me to kill you. But I think instead, I'm going to help you destroy them.
He steps into the room as thunder crashes overhead, and I realize the real danger isn't the temple guards.
The gods themselves are coming.