Footsteps echoed in the tunnel outside.
Running. Getting closer.
Serina's heart hammered. "They're coming." "The Mage-Knights." Kaelon moved toward the chamber door. "They'll be here in seconds."
"What do we do?"
Through their bond, Serina felt his grim determination. "We fight," he said. "Or we die."
The first Mage-Knight burst through the opening.
He wore silver armor that gleamed in the dim light. His sword blazed with white fire.
His eyes locked onto Kaelon. "The World-End Dragon!"
More poured in behind him. Ten. Twenty. All armed with guns crackling with magic.
Their boss pointed his flaming sword at Kaelon. "Surrender, beast! Your prison has finished, but so has your freedom!"
Kaelon said nothing. Just stood there, watching them.
Through the bond, Serina felt his cold anger building.
"Kill the dragon!" the leader yelled. "Spare the girl if possible—she may be under his control!"
They charged.
Fire spells exploded from their hands. Ice spears formed in the air. Lightning crackled between their swords.
All of it aimed at Kaelon.
He thrust his hand forward.
A wall of flame exploded from his palm, meeting their charges head-on. The room lit up like daylight. Heat washed over everything.
The Mage-Knights' spells shattered against Kaelon's fire. "Again!" their leader ordered. "Don't let up!"
More spells. More fire. More ice.
Kaelon stopped them all, but Serina could feel his strain through the bond. He was strong, but there were too many of them.
One spell got through.
An ice spear shot past Kaelon's shields and slammed into the wall right next to Serina.
She screamed, throwing herself to the side.
Through the bond, Kaelon's anger exploded.
They'd nearly killed her.
He roared, and the sound wasn't human. It was something old and terrible. The sound of a dragon.
Power exploded from him in a shockwave that threw half the Mage-Knights backward.
"We need to leave!" Kaelon yelled at Serina. "Now!"
"How? They're blocking the only exit!" "Then we make a new one!"
He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the far wall.
"What are you—" "Trust me!"
The Mage-Knights recovered, planning another attack. "Don't let them escape!" "Seal the chamber!"
Kaelon raised his free hand toward the wall.
Fire gathered in his hands. Not normal fire—something hotter. Brighter. The stone itself began to glow red where his magic touched it. "Stand back," he growled.
The wall burst.
Not from Kaelon's magic.
From Serina's.
Power erupted from her hands—raw, chaotic power she didn't know she had. It hit the wall like an unseen hammer.
Stone broken. Brick flew everywhere. A huge hole opened up.
Serina stared at her hands in shock. "What did I just do?" "You have magic now," Kaelon said. "The bond gave it to you."
"But I'm a Null! I can't—" "Clearly you can." He pulled her toward the hole. "Move!"
They dove through as spells burst behind them.
On the other side was darkness. And the sound of running water.
The sewers.
They hit the water hard. Cold. Filthy. It filled Serina's mouth before she could take a breath.
Kaelon's hand gripped hers, pulling her to the surface. "Swim!" he ordered.
She kicked her legs, gasping for air that reeked of trash.
Behind them, the Mage-Knights reached the hole. "They went into the sewers!" "After them!"
"Don't let the dragon escape the city!"
Serina and Kaelon swam through the darkness. The current was strong, pulling them deeper into the underground tubes.
Magic lit up the tunnels behind them. Fire powers hissing as they hit water. Ice forming on the surface. "Faster!" Kaelon urged.
Serina's arms burned. Her lungs ached. The water was so cold.
Through their bond, she felt Kaelon's strength flowing into her. Keeping her going.
They rounded a turn into a wider tunnel.
"Which way?" Kaelon asked. "I don't know!" "Then we pick one and hope."
They turned left, swimming hard against the current.
Behind them, more Mage-Knights dropped into the sewers. Their shouts echoed through the tunnels. "Split up!" "Cover all exits!"
"They can't have gone far!"
A spell burst near Serina's head. So close she felt the heat.
She gasped, drinking foul water. "Keep going!" Kaelon pulled her forward.
They swam for what felt like forever. Through twisting passageways. Under low archways. Past stops and splits.
The Mage-Knights stayed close behind, their magic lighting up the darkness.
Finally, ahead of them, Serina saw light.
Not magical light. Moonlight.
Filtering through a grate high above. "There!" she gasped.
They swam to the spot right below the grate. It was too high to reach—at least twenty feet up a sheer wall.
"How do we—" Kaelon grabbed her around the waist. "Hold on."
Heat built around them. Power surged.
They shot upward.
The grate rushed toward them. Kaelon thrust out his hand, and his magic blasted the metal cover off its hinges.
They burst through onto a dark street.
Serina hit the cobblestones hard, rolling across the ground. She ended up on her back, looking at the night sky, gasping for breath.
Kaelon landed beside her in a crouch, already searching for threats.
They were in the warehouse area. Abandoned buildings stretched in all directions. The main city blazed with lights in the distance.
And the warning bells were still ringing.
Through their bond, Serina felt everything Kaelon felt.
His tiredness. His anger at being hunted the moment he was freed. His constant alertness, tracking every sound and shadow.
And beneath it all, his worry for her.
"Can you stand?" he asked.
Serina pushed herself up. Her whole body was shaking. "I think so."
Shouts came from the grate behind them.
"They're on the surface!"
"I see them! Warehouse district!"
"Surround the area!"
Kaelon pulled Serina to her feet. "Run."
They ran.
Through narrow streets. Around corners. Over broken walls.
Serina's legs felt like they'd give out any second. Her lungs burned. Every muscle screamed for rest.
But through the bond, Kaelon's strength mixed with hers. Keeping her moving. Keeping her alive.
Magic burst behind them. Fire magic lighting up the night. Ice spears breaking against walls.
They turned a corner and nearly ran right into another group of Mage-Knights. "There!" "Cut them off!"
Kaelon changed direction, pulling Serina down a different alley.
They burst into an open courtyard—and stopped.
Mage-Knights surrounded them on all sides. At least thirty fighters, all with weapons drawn.
They were stuck.
The boss stepped forward, his sword blazing. "It's over, dragon. Surrender, and we'll spare the girl."
Through the bond, Serina felt Kaelon's calculation.
He was thinking about fighting. About burning them all.
But there were too many. And she'd die in the crossfire. "What do we do?" she whispered.
Kaelon's jaw clenched.
Then Serina felt it again.
That power in her chest. The magic the bond had given her.
It was building. Growing stronger.
"I can feel it," she said softly. "The magic." "Don't," Kaelon warned through the bond. "You don't know how to control it."
"I don't have a choice."
The Mage-Knights moved, closing the circle. "Last chance!" their leader shouted. "Surrender now!"
Serina thrust out her hands.
And released everything.
Power burst from her in all directions.
Not controlled. Not aimed. Just raw energy bursting outward in a wave of pure force.
It hit the Mage-Knights like a storm.
Warriors flew backward, slamming into walls. Weapons spread across the cobblestones. The magical flames on their swords flickered and died.
For a moment, the entire area fell silent.
Everyone stared at Serina in shock.
Including Kaelon.
Through the bond, she felt his surprise. His awe.
She'd just knocked down thirty trained Mage-Knights with magic she didn't even know she had. "Run!" Kaelon grabbed her hand. "Before they recover!"
They ran through the gap Serina had made, leaving the stunned warriors behind.
They didn't stop running until they reached an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the neighborhood.
Kaelon pulled her inside and slammed the door.
Both of them fell against the wall, gasping for breath. "That was..." Kaelon started. "Insane," Serina finished.
Through their bond, feelings swirled between them.
Fear. Relief. Exhaustion. Confusion.
And something else.
A strange knowledge of each other. A link that went deeper than words. "I can feel you," Serina said quietly. "Everything you feel. I can feel it." "I know." Kaelon looked at her. "I feel you too."
They sat in silence, listening to the faraway alarm bells.
Somewhere out there, Leo was sleeping. Healed and healthy and safe.
And Serina was here. Bound to a dragon. Hunted by an entire city.
Everything had changed.
"What happens now?" she whispered.
Through the bond, she felt Kaelon's grim determination. "Now," he said, "we figure out how to survive."