Serina woke to the sound of coughing.
She bolted upright, heart pounding. Dawn light barely filtered through the cracks in their shack's walls, making everything grey and cold.
Leo convulsed on his mattress, hands grabbing his throat. "Leo!" Serina crashed to her knees beside him. "What's wrong? What's—" He coughed, and black blood sprayed across her face.
Not the thin, watery kind from yesterday. This was thick. Dark as oil. It sprayed the blankets, the floor, her hands as she tried to help him sit up.
"Can't—" Leo gasped between coughs. "Can't breathe—" More blood poured from his mouth like something had burst inside him. The black veins on his face had spread overnight, covering his cheeks, moving toward his eyes like cracks in porcelain.
Terror crashed through Serina. This was worse than anything she'd seen before. Leo was drowning in his own blood. "Hang on!" She tilted his head forward, striking his back. "Breathe! Just breathe!"
Leo's body shook. His eyes rolled back, showing only whites. "No, no, no!" Serina's voice broke into a scream. "Don't you dare! Leo! Stay with me!"
For one terrible moment, Leo went completely still.
Then he sucked in a rattling breath. The coughing fit stopped. Blood still bubbled at his lips, but air was moving again.
Serina held him close, her whole body shaking. "You're okay. You're okay. I've got you."
But even as she said it, she knew the truth. Leo wasn't okay. He was dying faster than she'd thought possible. The black veins had jumped from his collarbone to his mouth overnight.
At this rate, he had days. Maybe less.
Leo's eyes fluttered open. They looked dimmer than yesterday, like a lamp running out of oil. "Rina?" "I'm here."
"That was bad, wasn't it?" His voice was barely a whisper.
Serina's throat closed. She couldn't lie to him. "Yeah. It was bad."
"I'm dying for real now." Not a question. Just acceptance. "Aren't I?"
The words hit like physical blows. Serina wanted to deny it, to promise everything would be fine, to tell him she had a plan.
But she had nothing. No money. No links. No hope. "I'm going to fix this," she managed. "I'll find a healer. A real one." "How?" Leo's hand found hers, fingers ice-cold. "We tried. They all said no." "Then I'll make them say yes."
Leo smiled, sad and too knowing for a ten-year-old. "You can't force people to help us, Rina. We're Nulls. We don't matter."
"You matter to me." Her voice cracked. "You're all I have."
"And you're all I have." He squeezed her hand weakly. "That's why I don't want you to suffer for me anymore."
"Don't talk like that."
"But it's true. You work yourself to death every day. You never eat. Never sleep. You're killing yourself trying to save me." Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. "Maybe it's better if I just... if I just go. Then you can stop hurting."
"Stop." Serina pulled him into a fierce hug. "Don't you dare give up. Don't you dare tell me to let you die." "I'm scared," Leo whispered into her shoulder. "I don't want to die, Rina. I'm only ten. But I also don't want to watch you damage yourself for nothing."
"It's not for nothing. You're worth everything."
They sat together in the gray morning light. Two children the world had decided weren't worth saving.
But Serina's mind was already racing. One last choice. One frantic chance.
The Upper City doctors. The powerful mages who could heal anything with a wave of their hands.
She'd tried before and been turned away. But that was before Leo started coughing up blood. Before the veins spread this fast.
Maybe if they saw how bad it really was...
"I'm going to the Upper City," Serina said, gently putting Leo back down. "I'm going to find a healer who'll help us."
"They won't," Leo said softly. "They never do."
"This time will be different."
She didn't believe it. But she couldn't afford not to try.
The Upper City rose above the streets like a different world.
Clean streets made with white stone. Buildings that gleamed in the morning sun. People dressed in fine clothes, their hands sparking with casual magic as they went about their day.
No begging here. No trash. No Nulls.
Except for Serina, sneaking through the market area with her hood pulled low.
The Healing Quarter occupied the eastern edge of the Upper City. Massive buildings with banners showing medical symbols lined the clean streets. Mages in white robes walked between them, talking cases and spells.
Serina headed for the biggest building—the Grand Healing Hall. If anyone could help Leo, it would be someone here.
The main doors were ten feet tall, carved from white marble. Guards in silver armor flanked them, magic guns gleaming at their hips.
Serina's steps slowed. She looked down at herself—threadbare cloak, old boots, hands still stained with Leo's blood.
She didn't belong here.
But Leo was dying.
She forced herself forward.
"State your business," one guard said without looking at her.
"I need a healer. My brother is—" "Appointment?" "No, but—" "No appointment, no entry." The guard's eyes finally focused on her. His lip curled in disgust. "Nulls aren't allowed in the Healing Quarter anyway. Leave before we arrest you for trespassing."
"Please." Serina hated how her voice shook. "Just one doctor. He's ten years old and he's dying. Mage-Rot. If someone could just look at him—" "Mage-Rot?" The guard laughed. "That's a mage disease. Nulls can't get Mage-Rot. Stop lying." "I'm not lying! The black veins, the blood, he can barely breathe—" "I said leave." The guard's hand moved to his weapon. Lightning crackled around his fingers. "Now."
Rage and powerlessness warred in Serina's chest. A child was dying and they were fighting about appointments.
But the guard's magic could kill her with a touch.
She left.
Outside, she leaned against a wall, shaking. Don't cry. Don't break. Leo needs you strong.
"Excuse me."
Serina's head snapped up.
A woman in expensive clothes stood before her. Grey silk decorated with golden thread. Her hair was put up with jeweled clips. Magic radiated from her like heat from a fire.
A real cure.
Hope surged so strongly it hurt. "You said your brother has Mage-Rot?" The woman's voice was smooth, educated. "That's strange for a Null." "Yes! Please, can you help? I'll pay anything. Work for free. Do anything you ask—" "Let me see him first." The woman's smile was kind. "I'm Healer Vestra. Take me to your brother."
Serina couldn't believe it. After everything, someone was actually willing to help.
She led Healer Vestra through the Upper City, back down into the streets. With every step, she described Leo's symptoms. The black lines. The blood. How fast it was spreading.
Healer Vestra heard, nodding occasionally, asking careful questions.
They reached the shack. Serina pushed open the door.
Leo was awake, propped against the wall. Blood crusted his lips. The black veins stood out clearly against his pale skin.
Healer Vestra stepped inside. She circled Leo slowly, studying him like he was an interesting bug.
"Fascinating," she muttered. "A Null with Mage-Rot. I've never seen this before."
"Can you cure it?" Serina asked desperately. "Hmm? Oh, easily." Healer Vestra waved her hand dismissively. "Simple cleansing spell. Would take perhaps five minutes."
Relief crashed through Serina so hard her knees nearly buckled. "Thank you. Thank you so much. Whatever it costs—" "One thousand gold coins."
The world stopped.
One thousand gold.
That was... that was more money than Serina would earn in her entire lifetime. More than a hundred lifetimes. "I... I don't have that much," Serina whispered. "But I can work. I'll sign a deal. Indentured service. Whatever you want—" "I don't need maids." Healer Vestra's smile turned cold. "I need gold. No gold, no relief. Those are the rules."
"But he's dying!"
"Yes, I can see that." The woman checked her nails. "Such a shame. Although, I must say, this is quite the medical wonder. Would you allow me to study him as the Mage-Rot progresses? Document the stages? I'd pay fifty gold for the body afterward."
Serina's view went red. "Get out."
"Excuse me?"
"I said get out!" Serina's voice cracked into a scream. "You're not touching him! Not studying him! GET OUT!"
Healer Vestra's expression changed to disgust. "How dare you raise your voice to me, Null trash. I was trying to help you earn some coin from this tragedy. But fine. Die in your filth."
She swept toward the door.
Serina grabbed her arm. "Please. I'm asking you. He's ten years old. He's never hurt anyone. Please—" Healer Vestra's hand blazed with magic. She slammed a spell into Serina's chest.
Pain burst through her body. Serina flew backward, crashing into the wall. The wood cracked behind her.
"Touch me again and I'll kill you," Healer Vestra said quietly. She stepped over Serina's gasping form and left.
The door slammed shut.
Serina lay on the floor, every muscle screaming. Tears streamed down her face—from pain, from rage, from sheer helplessness. "Rina?"
Leo's weak voice cut through her pain.
She forced herself to sit up. Her chest felt like she'd been kicked by a horse.
Leo watched her with those too-old eyes. "I told you they wouldn't help."
"I'm sorry." Serina crawled to him. "I'm so sorry. I thought—" "It's okay." Leo's hand touched her cheek. "You tried. You always try." "There has to be another way. Someone else. Something—" "Rina, stop." His voice was gentle but strong. "Just stop. You're killing yourself for me." "I don't care!" "I do." Tears tracked down Leo's face. "I've been thinking about it. Maybe... maybe it's better if I just go. Then you can stop hurting. Stop working yourself to death. You could leave this place. Find somewhere better. Have a real life—" "Don't." Serina's voice broke completely. "Don't you dare give up. Don't you dare tell me to let you die." "But I'm tired," Leo whispered. "It hurts so much. And watching you destroy yourself trying to save me hurts worse. What if... what if there's just no way? What if we're fighting for nothing?" "Then we fight anyway." Serina grabbed his hands. "Because you're my brother. You're all I have. And I'm not giving up on you. Ever."
"Even if there's no hope?"
"Especially then."
Leo looked at her for a long moment, then nodded slowly. She saw it in his eyes—he still wanted to live. Despite the pain. Despite everything.
That tiny spark of hope was enough.
After Leo fell asleep, Serina sat by the window, looking out at the darkening city.
She'd tried everything. Begging. Working. Pleading with doctors. Following every legal path.
All of it had failed.
Her hands clenched into fists.
Fine.
If the legal ways wouldn't work, then she'd find illegal ones.
If honest methods failed, she'd try dishonest ones.
If society wouldn't help her brother, then she'd go outside society.
Whatever it took.
Stealing. Breaking into places. Dealing with criminals. She didn't care anymore.
Leo deserved to live.
And Serina would do absolutely anything—anything—to save him.
Even if it damned her.
Even if it killed her.
Even if the whole world condemned her for it.
She looked at Leo's sleeping face one more time, memorizing every detail.
Then she stood, jaw set with resolve.
Tomorrow, she'd start looking. Asking questions. Following any rumor, any whisper, any desperate chance.
There had to be something out there.
Some illegal magic. Some illegal cure. Some dangerous choice everyone else was too afraid to try.
And she would find it.
No matter what it cost.
Outside, the last light faded from the sky.
Darkness fell over Aethelburg like a shroud.
And somewhere in that darkness, an answer waited.
Terrible.
Dangerous.
But real.