The abandoned building sat outside the city walls.
Serina and Kaelon had run for an hour straight before finding it. An old mill, lost and falling apart.
Safe. For now.
Serina fell against the wall, gasping for air. Her whole body ached. Her clothes were still damp from the drains.
Kaelon stood by the broken window, looking out at the city lights in the distance.
Through their bond, Serina felt his rage growing like a storm.
"This is impossible," he muttered. "What is?" Serina asked between breaths.
He spun to face her. His storm-grey eyes blazed. "The deal! It wasn't meant to do THIS!" "I don't understand—" "Of course you don't!" His voice rose. "Because this has NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!" Serina flinched at his shout.
Through the bond, his rage crashed into her. Hot and sharp and terrifying. "I've been making contracts for a thousand years," Kaelon said, walking like a caged animal. "A THOUSAND YEARS. And they always work the same way. Always! The human makes a dream. I grant it. I take their soul. Simple. Done. Finished." "But—" "But YOUR wish broke everything!" He waved wildly at the space between them. "Our souls didn't split. They united! They're tangled together like knots in rope. I can feel everything you feel. Every thought. Every feeling. Can you feel mine?"
Serina nodded slowly. "Yes." And she could. His anger burned in her chest. His confusion mixed with hers. It was like having two hearts beating at once. "This has never happened," Kaelon said again. "Not once in a thousand years."
Serina hugged herself. "Maybe because I'm a Null?" "Maybe. Maybe not. I don't KNOW!" He kicked at a piece of broken wood. "Your blood activated a seal that shouldn't have reacted to you at all. You freed me when you had no magic. And now our souls are bound in a way that's never existed before."
"So what does that mean?" "It means I don't know what happens next!" His voice echoed through the empty building. "I don't know how to fix this. I don't even know what's WRONG yet!"
Serina's chest tightened. Not from the bond. From fear.
"Can we... can we undo it?" "I don't know."
"Will it get worse?"
"I don't know." "Are we stuck like this forever?" "I. DON'T. KNOW!"
Silence fell between them.
Through the bond, Serina felt his anger like fire under her skin.
She stood up on shaky legs. "I need to check on Leo."
"What?" "My brother. The whole point of the wish was to heal him. I need to see if it worked."
Kaelon stared at her. "You can't go back to the city." "I have to! What if the dream failed because the contract broke? What if he's still dying?"
"The city is crawling with Mage-Knights looking for us!" "I don't care!" Serina moved toward the door. "Leo is all I have. I need to know he's—" Pain exploded in her chest.
She gasped and stumbled, grabbing the wall for support.
It felt like someone had wrapped chains around her heart and pulled.
Through the bond, she felt Kaelon's identical pain. "Stop!" he ordered.
Serina froze. The pain faded to a dull ache. "What was that?" she breathed.
Kaelon's face had gone pale. "Take another step. Slowly."
She did.
The pain came back, worse this time. Like her heart was being torn in half.
She stumbled backward. The pain disappeared. "No," Kaelon mumbled. "Please, no." "What? What's happening?"
He walked away from her. Ten steps. Twenty. Thirty.
Nothing happened.
He kept going.
Serina felt it when he got too far.
The pain started small. A tug in her chest. Then it grew. Sharper. Hotter. Like hooks pulling her apart from the inside. "Stop!" she cried.
Kaelon froze. The pain lessened but didn't go away totally.
He walked back toward her. The closer he got, the more the pain faded.
When he was about ten feet away, it vanished. "How far did you go?" Serina asked.
His jaw was clenched tight. "About a hundred feet."
The words hung in the air like a curse. "We can't be more than a hundred feet apart," Serina said slowly. "No. We can't." "For how long?"
"I don't know."
Serina felt tears burning behind her eyes. "So I'm your prisoner now?" "We're BOTH prisoners!" Kaelon's anger flared again. "Do you think I want this? To be chained to a normal girl who knows nothing about magic?"
His words stung.
Through the bond, she felt his instant regret. But it was too late. "I didn't ask for this either," Serina said softly. "I just wanted to save my brother."
"Well, you've saved him and doomed us both instead."
"That's not fair—" "Fair?" Kaelon laughed angrily. "I was imprisoned for a thousand years. Finally freed. And now I'm bound to you in a way I can't escape. Where's the fairness in that?"
Serina's hands balled into fists. "I'm sorry my desperate wish to save my dying brother inconvenienced you!" "That's not what I—" "You think I WANTED this? To be tied to some angry dragon who hates me?" "I don't hate you!" "You're doing a great job of showing it!"
They glared at each other across the dusty room.
Through the bond, feelings crashed between them like waves. Anger. Fear. Frustration. Regret.
Serina turned away, wiping her eyes. "I need to see Leo."
"I already told you—" "I don't care what you told me!" She spun back to face him. "He's my brother! He's TEN YEARS OLD! He was dying and I made a deal with you to save him! I need to know if it worked!" "Going back to the city right now would be suicide."
"Then I'll die!" Serina's voice broke. "At least I'll die knowing he's safe!" "And what about when the Mage-Knights catch you?" Kaelon stepped closer. "What happens to Leo when you're executed for freeing the World-End Dragon?"
Serina opened her mouth to argue. Closed it.
He was right.
If she died, who would take care of Leo? "I hate this," she whispered.
Through the bond, she felt Kaelon's anger lessen. Just a little. "I know," he said quietly. "I'm not happy about it either."
"What are we going to do?" "Right now? We rest. We find out this bond. Then we find a way to check on your brother safely."
"But—" "Listen to me." Kaelon's speech was firm. "You're tired. You nearly drowned tonight. You used magic you didn't know you had. Your body is shutting down. I can feel it through the link."
Serina wanted to fight. But he was right.
Now that she'd stopped running, tiredness crashed over her like a wave. Her legs felt like they'd give out any second.
"A few hours," Kaelon said. "That's all. We rest for a few hours. Then we plan our next move." "What if Leo needs me?"
"The wish worked. I felt it complete when you made it. He's healed."
"You're sure?"
Through the bond, she felt his certainty. "I'm sure."
Serina sank down onto the dusty floor. She pulled her knees to her chest. "I just wanted to save him," she said to no one in particular.
Kaelon stood by the window, keeping that careful distance. Not too close. Not too far.
"I know," he said.
Through their bond, she felt something shift in him.
The anger was still there. But underneath it was something else.
Understanding, maybe.
Or the beginning of it. "Get some rest," Kaelon said. "I'll keep watch." "You need to rest too."
"Dragons don't tire as easily as humans."
"But you're connected to me now. If I'm tired, doesn't that affect you?"
Through the bond, she felt his surprise.
She was right. "Fine," he mumbled. "A few hours. Then we figure this out."
Serina closed her eyes, leaning her head against the wall.
Through the bond, she felt Kaelon's presence. Steady. Angry. Confused.
But there.
Always there now.
For better or worse, they were stuck together.
She dreamed of Leo. Of his smile before he got sick. Of the way he'd laugh at her bad jokes.
Please be okay, she thought. Please let this nightmare be worth it.
A few hours later, Serina woke with a jolt.
The building was dark. Night had fallen while she slept.
Kaelon was standing by the window, looking out at the city lights in the distance.
Through the bond, she felt his restless energy. He hadn't slept at all.
Serina stood up. Her body still ached, but she felt stronger.
"I'm going to check on Leo," she stated.
Kaelon's head snapped up. "What?" "My brother. I need to see him. Make sure he's okay."
"Absolutely not."
"I wasn't asking permission."
She walked toward the door.
Pain flared in her chest as she neared the hundred-foot mark, but she kept going. "Stop!" Kaelon jumped to his feet.
Serina grabbed the door handle, gritting her teeth against the pain. "Come with me or don't. I'm going."
"You'll get yourself killed!"
"I don't care!"
Kaelon crossed the room in three long steps. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back from the door.
The pain in her chest disappeared. "Let go of me!" Serina tried to twist free. "No!" His grip tightened. "Listen to me—" "YOU listen to ME!" She spun to face him. "Leo is my brother! He's all I have in this world! I made a deal with you to save him, and I need to know if it worked!" "The city is filled with Mage-Knights!" "I don't care!"
"Well I do!" Kaelon's eyes blazed. "Because if you get caught, I get caught too! Or did you forget we're stuck together?"
"Then stay here!"
"I CAN'T! We can't be more than a hundred feet apart, remember?"
They glared at each other, both breathing hard.
Through the bond, feelings crashed between them. Her desperation. His anger. Her fear for Leo. His fear for their safety. "Please," Serina's voice cracked. "I just need to know he's okay. Just for a few minutes. That's all I'm asking."
"And I'm telling you it's suicide!"
"He's ten years old! He was dying! What if the wish didn't work because the deal broke? What if he's still sick?"
"The wish worked. I felt it complete."
"You don't know that for sure!"
"I know more about contracts than you do!"
"Then why is ours broken?" Serina shot back.
Kaelon's jaw clenched. Through the bond, she felt him fighting for an answer he didn't have. "Exactly," Serina said. "You don't know everything. So I need to see him with my own eyes."
"Not today. Not while every guard in the city is looking for us."
"Then when?"
"I don't know! But not NOW!"
Serina felt tears burning behind her eyes. "You don't understand." "I understand perfectly. You love your brother. You're worried about him. But getting yourself killed won't help him!"
"I'm going." She reached for the door again.
Kaelon moved between her and the exit. "No. You're not." "Move." "No." "MOVE!"
"Make me."
They stood there, locked in a fight of wills.
Through the bond, Serina felt everything he felt. His determination. His worry. His absolute unwillingness to let her leave.
And underneath it all, something else.
He was protecting her.
Not just because their souls were linked. Not just for self-preservation.
But because somewhere in the chaos of the last few hours, he'd started to care. "I hate you," Serina whispered, tears spilling down her face.
Through the bond, Kaelon felt the lie. "I know," he said quietly. "But you're not leaving. Not today."
Serina sank to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest.
She cried for Leo. For herself. For this difficult situation.
Kaelon stood by the door, keeping watch.
Through their bond, she felt his tension. Part of him wanted to comfort her. Part of him wanted to stay angry.
But he didn't move.
And she didn't stop crying.
Outside, darkness covered the city.
The night stretched ahead of them, long and tense.
And somewhere in the slums, Leo was either healing or dying.
Serina had no way to know which.
Because Kaelon wouldn't let her go.