Chapter 105 Serena
SERENA
You’d think carrying two halves of a star would be as easy as carrying a speck of dust on your jacket.
Wrong.
I can feel their pulses as if they were living, breathing things with individual heartbeats.
Their timing is half a second off, throbbing around my neck and then again in my pocket.
They strain toward each other with magnetic desperation—power so strong, it’s dizzying. Draining to the point of exhaustion.
It’s too much power.
“So what happens when we join them? Are they just going to shoot up into the sky?” I ask Mar.
“I hope not. But that’s where this comes in.” She reaches into her satchel and pulls out a shiny, metallic box with an ornate closure. “I need you to use Furi’s fire to forge this.”
“Forge it?” My eyebrows tilt up. “What the hell does that mean?”
“We are going to fortify this box so it can hold the star. And the best way to do that is for you to wield. Once the halves are joined, who knows what will happen. But until we know how to use it, we need to make sure it stays contained and secure.”
“So forging first.”
“Forging first.”
My palms grow slick at the thought of wielding, my memory serving up a sample of that indomitable fire. The way it felt running through my veins, the pain—
Pain comes with the position, Dragon Rider, Furi says. Luckily, it’s nothing you aren’t familiar with.
I set the box down on the grass and head toward the cliff where she waits.
How is your fire going to fortify the box?
By suffusing it with magic, she answers, her scales shimmering beneath the pearly moon.
We’re going to turn it into a magic box?
Her head swings toward me, and she lets out a huff, blowing my loose braid off my shoulder.
The strongest magical objects that exist in this world have been forged by dragon fire. It is the most efficient way.
That it may be, but it’s also a fucking nightmare.
You’re trembling, Blackblood.
I’m just not sure I can do this without killing myself, I admit.
You’ve done it before.
A little wave of sadness hits me as I glance toward my friends, scanning for the one person missing.
Jace was always there, talking me through it. Anchoring me. He’s been MIA since he found out about Kylian.
I frown up at my dragon. Furi takes a definitive step toward me, her talons digging into the ground.
You do not need him. You stand on your own two feet now, on the shoulders of your ancestors. You need nothing and no one to bring this world to its knees.
Her words warm my heart, scaring away some of that anxious energy. I move closer and wrap my arms around the rough patch of her leg.
There, there, no need to slobber on me.
I laugh, releasing her. Okay, let’s do this before you really trigger the waterworks. Deep breath. Ready?
Her head dips, nudging against my stomach. Together.
My hands find her snout, and her green eyes close in time with mine. Our breaths fall into a rhythm, and I block out all that exists outside of this bond. Her power latches on with a sharp bite, flooding me with an onslaught of heat.
It’s terrible. Everything in me wants to recoil, to take a step back from the flames. But the flames are in me now. They are me. And I can’t escape.
Steady, Blackblood.
I grit my teeth and shout to dust off the excess energy. But it’s not enough.
The scorching pain intensifies, seizing my muscles, burning me alive where I stand. I’m roaring, my throat stripped raw, and I still can’t even hear myself over the wild rush of fire. It’s too much, it’s killing me—
Take it, Blackblood! Now!
I can’t! I can’t stop, I can’t move my hands!
You must. Let go. LET. GO.
I do. And that fire shoots from me so fast and urgent it feels like my soul is being ripped away with it. Furi’s blue fire spits out of me like a laser beam.
“Serena!”
I whirl toward whoever called my name, and that fire slices across the clearing, spearing out over the wide ledge and into the ether. If there had been anyone in that line of fire, they would have been sliced clean in two.
“Get back!” someone shouts. “Now!”
Aim! Furi commands.
Right, that would help.
I adjust my hands toward the silver box on the ground. It instantly goes up in a glorious blaze, burning white and sparking colors I’ve never seen—never even heard of before.
It is done, Blackblood.
But her fire is still there, swallowing me. There’s way too much of it.
I’ve severed the line, now you must do the same, Furi pleads.
This is me now—all me. And it’s going to kill me. The very thing that makes me powerful is going to be the thing that ends me.
How’s that for irony?
“Serena!” Zadyn’s voice cuts past my screams. It’s there in my mind and in my ears.
“Don’t touch her, Zadyn! She’s still wielding!” Mar shouts.
“I don’t fucking care!”
My hands and knees hit the soil. I’m soaked in sweat and tears. Furi is whimpering like a kicked dog beside me. The blue fire is extinguished, but it’s still in me. I’m still burning.
Zadyn skids in front of me on his knees, pressing his chest to the ground so my eyes can find his.
Hey, stay with me.
Please, I choke. Don’t come any closer. There’s no reason this should kill us both.
You’re not dying. Not tonight, not even close.
A guttural cry spears through me. He taps the ground near my cheek, demanding my attention.
Look at me, Serena. I’m here. I love you.
And you will stop this right now. If you love me, you won’t dare leave me behind, and I know you fucking do.
This is not worth dying for. Nothing is, not even saving this entire gods-damned world.
So let it go, sweetheart. Let it go and stay with me. I’ve got you.
I try telling him I do love him, more than words, but fire doesn’t quake in the face of love. It laughs.
He reaches for my hand and squeezes, grunting and gritting his teeth as the embers of my skin scourge him. But he holds fast and doesn’t let go.
I’ve got you, he repeats over and over until I’m doing the same in my head—clinging to his words like a prayer, like my one last hope.
With a cry that splits the earth, I find the will to sever the chord. Sweet silence echoes through my mind. I’m not even aware that I’m falling until I feel the grass on my face. Zadyn’s arms slide beneath me, cradling me in his lap.
Did it work?
Yes. It worked. You did it. You did so beautifully.
I let my eyes close for one glorious moment. He smooths my hair off my face, his fingers grazing my cheek with the lightest of pressure.
You’re so fucking strong.
I laugh, because sitting here in a crumpled heap with no ability to even lift my head, I feel like the antithesis of strong.
You did well, warrior. Furi’s voice twinkles with pride and relief. I turn my attention back to Zadyn.
“Can you help me up?”
“Maybe you should take a minute.”
“No. We need to do this. Every minute counts.”
He nods, fighting his concern, before snaking an arm around my waist and helping me up. He leads me toward Mar, Dover, and Kai—still crouched on the ground, eyes wide and…afraid.
My friends are afraid of me. I’ve terrified them.
“That was…” Kai shakes his head, words evading him for once.
“Let’s just get this done.” I spare him from having to finish that sentence.
“Alright, everyone take a point,” Mar says, back to business.
She has constructed what she called a containment circle—a pentacle lined with raw diamonds. We stand in the field beneath the moonlight, my friends punctuating each point of the star.
“Magic like this is unpredictable. This is just another safety measure,” Mar explains. “As long as we stay connected, nothing is getting in or out.”
“You sure you’re alright?” Zadyn asks. I nod, taking my place beside him.
“I’m okay. Walk me through this part again?”
“I’m going to say the words to seal the circle. You’ll need to do it with me. Zadyn and I will hold onto your arms so your hands are free to release the stars. It’s going to be bright, and it’s going to be powerful, but the circle should keep it from blasting us apart.”
“Should?”
Mar shoots me a look before continuing. “Then on my word, you open that box. The second it’s inside, you—”
“Close that sucker.” I nod. “Sounds simple enough.”
“No matter what happens, no matter what you feel, we are not going to break contact. Do you all understand?”
Mar glances around the circle. All of us nod.
“When you’re ready, Mar.”
Her eyes close, and she begins to mutter the words in Ancient Fae.
I listen a few times before joining in. The stones begin to vibrate around us, growing brighter as if lit from within.
Zadyn’s hand is a vice on my arm, making sure I’m still here, that I’m still standing.
Without breaking the chant, Mar bobs her head, giving me the signal.
I flip open my locket first and watch my half spear into the center of the circle.
Then I reach into my pocket for Kylian’s onyx locket. The stone is hot to the touch.
Something makes me hesitate. Zadyn looks over at me, confusion etched on his face.
You alright?
I’m good, I assure him. And myself.
I rip open the locket, and out pops the other half of the star. The moment it’s freed, it zooms toward its mate faster than I can comprehend, colliding in an explosion of light.
Blinding is an understatement of what they are together. The force blasts my hair back, challenging me to stay upright. The star grows like a giant, now doubled in luminosity, in size, in heat. But it doesn’t leave the circle.
The sky above us seems to be shifting, the clouds rearranging themselves. No, not the clouds…it’s the stars. The Aurea Dei is suddenly overhead, tugging at our star with brutal persistence.
“Get the box, Serena!”
My fingers slide over the cool, smooth lid and pry it open. The star rockets into the box so powerfully I fly backward, breaking the circle.
I open my eyes. The lid is shut, the star secured inside.
I look up at my friends. “Did we do it?”
Zadyn holds out his hand, flashing me that knee-weakening smile.
“I think we just got ourselves a key.”
“Honey, I’m home!” I sing, rounding the corner to Kylian’s cell.
I’m pleased to see him looking miserable as fuck—his hair mussed, some grime covering his perfect face. His head rolls to the side, his corded arms draped over his drawn-up knees.
“You’re awfully chipper for a poison-slinging viper. Happy to see me?” His sardonic words lack a bit of enthusiasm, as if his time here in solitary has taken its toll.
“My mood has nothing to do with you and everything to do with beating your ass. Finally.” I flash him a smirk, closing my hands over the iron bars and pressing my face between them. “It’s over, Kylian. You’ve lost.”
I swear to god, his tanned skin turns ghost-white, his arms going slack as they fall to his sides.
“What in gods’ names have you done?”
I bite my lip. “I joined the stars.”
He’s on his feet far faster than anything has a right to be, despite his haggard state. His clammy fingers wrap over mine through the bars, locking my entire body in place.
“No, you didn’t,” he whispers.
“Yes, I—”
“The stars don’t make up a key for the portal, love.” The blue fire in his eyes turns anguished as his face softens, something like pity swirled into his gaze.
“Then what…”
My whisper trails off, my stomach sinking lower and lower as Kylian opens his mouth and says, “You have no idea what you’ve done, do you?”