Seraphina's POV
"No."
The word tears from my throat. Raw. Desperate. Broken.
"No, no, no, NO!"
I pour more light into Kael's chest. Everything I have. Everything I am. His body glows so bright it hurts to look at, but nothing changes.
He's still not breathing.
Still not moving.
Still dead.
"Seraphina, stop." Damien tries to pull me away. "He's gone. You're killing yourself for nothing."
"I don't care!" I scream. Tears blur my vision. "He can't be gone! He CAN'T!"
Through the bond, there's only silence. That terrible, empty silence that means I'm alone.
"There has to be something!" I look at Damien desperately. "You're a prince! You have ancient magic! There has to be a way!"
His gold eyes fill with pity. "I'm sorry. Void poison is absolute. Once it reaches the heart—"
"I don't accept that!" My hands glow brighter. "I refuse to accept that!"
My power explodes outward, wild and uncontrolled. It hits everyone nearby, knocking them back. Only Kael remains, still and silent in my arms.
"Please," I whisper, pressing my forehead to his. "Please don't leave me. I just found you. I just told you I loved you. You can't leave now. You can't."
Nothing. No response. No miracle.
Just a dead guardian and a broken bond.
Mira approaches carefully, hands raised. "Seraphina, I know you're in pain. But you need to let him go. His body—"
"His body is FINE!" I snap. "It's just the poison! If I can neutralize it—"
"You can't," she says gently. "No one can. Void poison destroys from within. Even divine magic can't—"
"Then I'll use something stronger than divine magic!" I stand, cradling Kael against my chest. "Damien, take us back to the castle. Now."
"What? Why?"
"Your advisor. Morgana. She uses shadow magic." Words tumble out frantically. "Shadow and void are related, right? Maybe she knows something. Maybe there's a way—"
"Seraphina—"
"NOW!" Power crackles around me. "Or I'll teleport us myself and probably kill us both trying!"
Damien's expression shifts to alarm. "Okay. Okay, we'll go. But you need to calm down. Your power is—"
"I don't care about my power!" Tears stream down my face. "I care about HIM!"
Damien shifts to dragon form. I climb on his back, still holding Kael's body. His skin is already going cold.
We launch into the air. The flight takes forever and no time at all.
When we land at Shadowpeak, Morgana is already waiting in the courtyard. She takes one look at us and her face goes pale.
"Void poison," she says flatly. "He's dead."
"Help him." I lay Kael on the ground gently. "Please. You know shadow magic. There has to be something."
Morgana kneels, examining him. Her hands glow dark purple as she scans his body. "The poison reached his heart eleven minutes ago. His soul is already departing."
"Then bring it back!"
"I can't. No one can. Death is—"
"I came back!" I grab her shoulders. "I died and came back! If I can do it, so can he!"
"You came back because a goddess personally intervened," Morgana says quietly. "That's not something I can do."
The words hit like physical blows. She's right. I know she's right.
But I can't accept it. Won't accept it.
"There has to be a way," I whisper. "There has to be."
Morgana studies me for a long moment. Then she glances at Damien. "There is one option. But it's forbidden. Dangerous. Probably fatal for everyone involved."
"Tell me." My voice is steel. "Tell me right now."
She sighs. "The Deathless Ritual. An ancient spell that can call a soul back from beyond the veil. But it requires three things: a willing sacrifice, a blood bond, and a piece of the person's essence captured before death."
My heart leaps. "I have a blood bond! Our guardian bond—"
"Is not the same as a blood bond," Morgana interrupts. "A blood bond requires literal blood exchange. Mixing life forces at the deepest level. It's intimate. Permanent. And you don't have one with him."
My hope crumbles. "Then it's impossible."
"I didn't say that." Morgana looks at Kael's body. "Your guardian bond is stronger than any I've ever seen. It might be enough. Might. But you'd still need his essence captured before death, and obviously—"
"Wait." I remember something. "When we closed the rift. I was inside it, burning from within. Kael jumped in after me. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out."
"So?"
"So we were both glowing. Our powers mixing. Our bond blazing so bright it lit up the whole village." I look at my wrist where the bond mark still glows faintly. "What if some of his essence is here? In the bond itself?"
Morgana's eyes widen. "That... that might actually work. If your bond captured even a fragment of his soul during that moment—"
"Then we can use it to call him back!" I finish.
"Maybe. If the ritual works. If your bond is strong enough. If his soul hasn't traveled too far." Morgana stands. "But there's still the sacrifice requirement. Someone has to offer their life force to fuel the spell. And given how far gone he is, it would take... a lot."
"Me." I don't hesitate. "Use me."
"Seraphina, no—" Damien starts.
"Use me," I repeat firmly. "I'll give whatever it takes. My life force. My power. My own life if necessary. He did it for me a hundred times. Now I do it for him."
Morgana and Damien exchange looks.
"If we do this," Morgana says slowly, "and it fails, you both die. Are you prepared for that?"
I look at Kael's still face. Remember his smile. His rare laughs. The way his eyes softened when he looked at me.
"I'm not living in a world without him," I say simply. "So yes. I'm prepared."
"Then we need to hurry." Morgana gestures to servants. "Bring him to the ritual chamber. Gather black candles, moonwater, and silver chains. Move!"
They carry Kael inside. I follow, never taking my eyes off him.
Please work, I pray to whoever's listening. Please let this work.
The ritual chamber is underground—a circular room carved from black stone. Symbols cover every surface, glowing faintly in the darkness.
They lay Kael in the center. Morgana arranges candles around him, chanting in a language I don't understand.
"Stand here." She positions me at Kael's head. "When I give the signal, place your hands on his heart. Channel everything through your bond. Don't hold back. Don't hesitate. Give him everything."
"I will."
"The ritual will hurt. Badly. Your life force will be ripped out and poured into him. If you let go, you both die. Understand?"
"I understand."
Morgana begins chanting. The candles flare. Shadows dance across the walls.
Power builds in the room—ancient, terrible, forbidden power that makes my skin crawl.
"Now!" Morgana shouts.
I place my hands on Kael's chest.
Pain explodes through me. It's like being burned alive all over again. My life force tears free, flowing through my hands into his body.
I scream but don't let go.
Through the bond, I reach into the darkness. Searching. Calling.
Kael! Can you hear me? Come back! Please come back!
Nothing. Just empty void.
More pain. More of my life flowing out. I'm dimming. Fading.
But I keep pushing. Keep calling.
I love you! Did you hear me? I LOVE YOU! So you have to come back! You have to—
Something flickers in the darkness.
A presence. Distant. Confused.
Seraphina?
Relief floods through me so intense I sob. Yes! It's me! Follow my voice! Follow the bond!
I can't. I'm too far. Too lost.
Then I'll come get you!
I push deeper into the void. My physical body is failing—I can feel it dying—but I don't care.
I find him. His soul, floating in darkness, slowly dissolving.
There you are, I breathe.
You shouldn't be here. His presence is weak. Fading. This place... it's death. You need to leave.
Not without you.
Seraphina—
I didn't give up everything just to lose you now! My soul wraps around his, anchoring him. We're going back. Together.
It's too late. I'm already—
I DON'T CARE!
I pull. Pour every ounce of will I have into dragging his soul back toward life. Toward our bond. Toward me.
The void fights back. Tries to keep him. Death doesn't give up its prizes easily.
But I fight harder.
You're mine, I tell him fiercely. Mine to protect. Mine to love. And I'm not letting death have you!
Our souls begin rising. Slowly. So slowly.
In the physical world, Morgana's chanting reaches a crescendo. The candles explode with black flame.
Reality tears open.
Kael and I slam back into our bodies at the same moment.
I collapse across his chest, gasping. Every nerve screaming. Vision blacking out.
But beneath my hands, I feel it—a heartbeat.
Weak. Stuttering. But real.
"He's alive!" Damien shouts. "It worked! She actually—"
I don't hear the rest. Darkness swallows me completely.
---
I wake to someone holding my hand.
"About time," a familiar rough voice says. "You've been out for three days."
My eyes fly open. Kael sits beside my bed, very much alive. Pale and tired-looking, but alive.
"You're okay," I breathe.
"Thanks to you." He squeezes my hand. "Though I hear you nearly died bringing me back. Again with the reckless self-sacrifice."
"You would have done the same."
"I know. That's why we're perfect for each other. Both idiots." His silver eyes are warm. Alive. "Thank you. For not giving up on me."
"Never." I try to sit up. Pain shoots through my body and I gasp.
"Easy." Kael helps me, his touch gentle. "You burned through most of your life force. Morgana says you need weeks to recover."
"What about you?"
"I need weeks too. So I guess we're stuck resting together." He smiles. Actually smiles. "Could be worse."
I'm about to respond when the door slams open.
Damien stands there, his face pale. "We have a problem. A huge problem."
"What now?" Kael sighs.
"The Voidborn King. He knows what you did. Knows you brought a guardian back from death using forbidden magic." Damien's gold eyes are filled with fear. "And he's declared war. Not on the kingdoms. On you two specifically."
He holds up a scroll. "This is his message. He's offering a reward to anyone who brings him the Lightbearer and her guardian. Alive or dead. The bounty is..." He pauses. "It's enough gold to buy a kingdom."
My blood runs cold. "How much?"
"Ten million gold pieces. Each."
Silence falls over the room.
"Every assassin, mercenary, bounty hunter, and desperate person in five kingdoms will be coming for you," Damien continues. "You can't hide. Can't run. Everyone knows what you look like now."
Kael's hand tightens on mine. Through our bond, I feel his determination mixed with dread.
"There's more," Damien says quietly. "The King isn't just sending hunters. He's coming himself. Personally. To end you both."
"When?" I ask, though I'm not sure I want to know.
Damien's expression is grim. "He's already left his realm. According to our spies, he'll reach the mortal world in seven days."
"Seven days," Kael repeats. "To prepare for the most powerful being in existence who wants us dead."
"Not just dead," Damien corrects. "Destroyed. Unmade. He wants to erase you from reality itself. Make it so you never existed."
He looks between us. "I'm sorry. But in seven days, the Voidborn King arrives. And when he does, everyone you've ever known, everyone you've ever loved, everyone in these kingdoms..."
He doesn't finish. Doesn't need to.
In seven days, the world ends.
Unless we can stop it.