Aria's POV
I'm dying.
I know it the moment my eyes flutter open. Everything hurts my chest, my throat, my head. It feels like fire is eating me from the inside.
She's awake! someone shouts. Lyra's voice, high with panic.
Faces swim into view above me. Kassian, his ice-blue eyes wide with fear. Elder Mira, her wrinkled hands glowing with healing magic. Theron, looking grim.
The poison is spreading, Mira says urgently. I'm slowing it down, but I can't stop it. This is old blood magic specifically designed to kill Old Ones.
Kassian's hand grips mine so hard it hurts. There has to be something. An antidote. A cure.
There is, Mira says. But it requires ingredients we don't have. Moon veil flowers, phoenix ash, water from the First Spring. It would take weeks to gather them all.
I don't have weeks, I gasp. Even talking hurts. I can feel the poison crawling through my veins like ice.
How long does she have? Kassian's voice cracks on the last word.
Mira's silence is answer enough.
Hours. Maybe less.
No. Kassian stands abruptly. I didn't conquer this kingdom and marry this girl just to watch her die from poison. There has to be another way.
There is one possibility, Mira says slowly. The marriage bond. Your Northern magic and her Old magic are connected. If you share your life force with her, it might give her body strength to fight the poison.
Then do it, Kassian says immediately. Whatever it takes.
My lord, you don't understand. Sharing life force could kill you both. The bond is still new, unstable. If it breaks
I don't care. Kassian kneels beside me again. Aria, can you hear me?
I nod weakly. My vision is starting to blur again.
I'm going to try something, he says. It might hurt. But you have to hold on. Do you understand?
Celeste, I whisper. She... poisoned me...
I know. Kassian's jaw clenches. She's locked in the dungeon now. But first, we save you.
He places both hands on my chest, right over my heart. I feel the warmth of the marriage bond flare between us that connection that's been there since the ceremony.
Kassian closes his eyes and concentrates.
Suddenly, I feel it: his life force, pouring into me like warm light. It mixes with my magic, fighting the poison, pushing it back.
But the poison fights back harder.
I scream as pain explodes through my body. It feels like I'm being torn apart and put back together at the same time.
Hold on! Mira shouts. Both of you, hold on!
Kassian's face goes pale. Blood drips from his nose. The sharing is hurting him too.
Through the bond, I can feel everything he feels: his determination, his fear, his refusal to let me die. And something else. Something warm and fierce and terrifying.
He cares about me. Really cares. Not because I'm useful or political. Because I'm me.
That realization gives me strength. I reach for my own magic that ancient Old magic and push it outward, helping Kassian fight the poison.
Green and silver light explodes around us. The room shakes.
And then, suddenly, the poison is gone. Burned away by our combined magic.
I gasp for air, my lungs finally clear. The pain fades to a dull ache.
Kassian collapses beside me, exhausted. But alive.
We're both alive.
Impossible, Mira breathes. You actually did it. The bond held.
Kassian rolls onto his side to look at me. Are you okay?
You saved my life, I whisper. Again.
You saved mine first, he says. We're even.
But we both know it's more than that. The marriage bond is stronger now, blazing between us like a bridge of light. I can feel his heartbeat as clearly as my own. His relief. His exhaustion.
His feelings for me.
Before I can say anything, the door slams open. Theron rushes in.
My lord, we have a problem. Princess Celeste
Is in the dungeon, Kassian interrupts, sitting up slowly. I know. I put her there myself.
She's not there anymore. Theron's face is grim. Someone freed her. And they killed three guards doing it.
Kassian is on his feet immediately, swaying slightly. How long ago?
Ten minutes. Maybe less.
Search the palace. She can't have gotten far.
But even as he says it, I know we're wrong. Celeste is gone. And whoever helped her probably the Duke's spies took her somewhere we can't follow.
Three hours later, I'm strong enough to walk. Kassian insisted I rest, but I need answers.
We're in the throne room now. Kassian sits on the throne, looking every bit the Warlord cold, dangerous, powerful. But I can feel his exhaustion through our bond. Saving me took more out of him than he's admitting.
The guards searched everywhere. Celeste is gone, fled the city. But they found something in her rooms: letters. Lots of them.
Theron spreads them on a table. She's been working with Duke Malachai the whole time. Every assassination attempt, every attack she helped plan them. She was supposed to poison Aria at breakfast, weaken her before the Duke's ritual.
She almost succeeded, Mira says quietly.
I look at the letters, my hands shaking. All this time, while I was training and learning to control my magic, Celeste was plotting to kill me.
This one's different, Theron says, holding up a letter. It's from yesterday. Look.
Kassian takes it and reads aloud: The blood moon is in nine days. Everything is prepared. Once the servant is captured, the ritual can proceed. My payment, as promised, will be the throne of Valdris and the Warlord's death.
The room goes silent.
She wants you dead, I say to Kassian. Both of us.
The feeling is mutual, Kassian says coldly. Find her. I want every soldier searching. She doesn't leave Valdris territory alive.
But I know it's too late. Celeste is gone, hiding somewhere with the Duke. And in nine days, at the blood moon, they'll try to capture me and complete their ritual.
Nine days. That's all the time I have to get strong enough to fight them both.
That night, I can't sleep. I keep thinking about the poison, about Celeste's hatred, about the Duke's plan.
I'm sitting by the window when Kassian enters our rooms. He's supposed to be resting too, but I can tell he hasn't slept either.
You should be in bed, he says.
So should you.
He almost smiles. Fair point.
He sits beside me, and we're quiet for a moment. The marriage bond hums between us, comfortable now instead of strange.
Thank you, I finally say. For saving me today. You could have died.
So could you. He looks at me seriously. Aria, I need you to understand something. What I did today sharing my life force I would do it again. Every time. Without hesitation.
Why? The question slips out before I can stop it. I'm just a servant. You barely know me. Why risk your life for mine?
Because you're not just a servant, Kassian says firmly. You're my wife. My partner. And you're... He pauses, like he's trying to find the right words. You're important to me. More important than I expected.
My heart beats faster. Kassian
I'm not good at this, he interrupts, running a hand through his dark hair. I've spent thirteen years being cold and hard because that's what I needed to survive. But you... you make me want to be different. Better.
I don't know what to say. This powerful, terrifying Warlord is being vulnerable with me. Honest.
I feel the same way, I admit quietly. About you. I didn't expect to, but I do.
Something shifts in Kassian's eyes. He leans closer, his hand coming up to cup my cheek.
Can I kiss you? he asks. Really kiss you this time?
I nod, not trusting my voice.
He kisses me, and it's nothing like the gentle forehead kiss at our wedding. This is deep and passionate and full of feeling. I kiss him back, my hands tangling in his hair, the marriage bond flaring bright between us.
When we finally pull apart, we're both breathing hard.
We should probably sleep, Kassian says, his voice rough.
Probably, I agree. But neither of us moves.
Then, from somewhere far away, we hear it: a wolf's howl. Long and mournful, echoing through the night.
Kassian goes rigid. That's not a normal wolf.
He's right. There's something wrong about that howl something magical and dark.
More howls join the first. Dozens of them, coming from the forest beyond the palace walls.
Blood magic constructs, I breathe. Like the ones from before. But there's so many
The palace bells start ringing. Alarm bells.
A guard crashes through the door. My lord! We're under attack! Hundreds of creatures coming from the forest! And they're not just attacking the palace they're heading for the city! For the civilians!
Kassian is already grabbing his sword. Sound the full alarm. Get every soldier armed. Evacuate the civilians to the inner districts.
My lord, there are too many. We can't
We don't have a choice. Kassian looks at me. Aria, you need to stay here. Somewhere safe.
No, I say, standing up. You need me. My magic is the only thing that can stop blood magic constructs.
You almost died today!
And now I'm alive. And I'm the last of the Old Ones, which means I'm the only one who can fight the Duke's magic. I grab his arm. Kassian, those are innocent people out there. Children. Families. I can't hide while they die.
He stares at me for a long moment. Then: You stay close to me. Always. Understand?
I nod.
We run toward the sounds of screaming, toward the attacking creatures, toward a battle I'm not sure we can win.
But as we reach the palace gates and I see the hundreds maybe thousands of twisted blood magic creatures pouring out of the forest, glowing red eyes fixed on the city, I realize something terrible.
This isn't a random attack.
This is a distraction.
And while we're fighting here, saving the city, the Duke is somewhere else, doing something even worse.
I just don't know what yet.