Chapter 12 Seranni
I clamped my hands over my mouth, desperate to stifle the scream rising in my throat.
My breath came in shallow gasps, my chest tight with fear as I watched the scene unfold from my hiding place in the larder. Kael and the other dragon chimaera, Zaorak—no, Topaz , as Kael had snarled at him—stood locked in a violent standoff just a few feet away. The air between them felt electric, crackling with tension and primal fury.
Zaorak’s massive hand shot out, seizing Kael by the throat, and I nearly lost my composure. My fingers dug into my face as I bit back a cry. The sight of Kael dangling in the air, struggling for breath, was unbearable.
I cursed myself for being so stupid. I knew the mage was bad news, but I had fallen for his lies anyway.
Why did I think I could trust Rindais?
Because I’d wanted things to work out for me, for once.
I’d let my wishful thinking get the better of me, and now Kael would pay the price.
I was the one who’d brought the mage’s henchman into our lives. I had to help Kael.
But how?
Zaorak’s voice, low and taunting, cut through the haze of my self-recrimination. “I will take you home to the mage and prove that I’m the best of his dragons,” he growled, shaking Kael like a rag doll.
Kael’s hoarse laughter filled the room, a defiant sound that sent a chill down my spine. “Why would he need me when he has you?” he rasped, his voice like broken glass. His lips twisted into a mocking smile. “Oh no, don’t tell me you’re not good enough for the mage anymore?”
Zaorak’s face contorted in fury, and my muscles tensed as I watched him tighten his grip around Kael’s throat, his eyes ablaze with malice. Every instinct screamed at me to flee, to find safety in the shadows and leave the monsters to their fight. But I knew that running was not an option. Not when Kael's life hung in the balance.
But what could I do against someone like Zaorak? He wasn’t human, not anymore. He was faster, stronger, and utterly without mercy. The mage’s experiments had stolen his sanity, turning him into a creature of pure destruction. I was no match for him.
And yet, Kael was fighting. Despite the odds, despite the obvious pain coursing through him, he was fighting with everything he had.
I couldn’t let him do this alone.
Zaorak’s growl echoed through the tower, a chilling sound that sent shivers down my spine. He turned his head, his gaze finding mine unerringly, even in the darkness.
Kael twisted in Zaorak’s grip, wrenching himself free with a desperate shove, knocking Zaorak away from my hiding spot. The two men stumbled apart, circling each other like predators. The kitchen table lay between them, overturned and broken, the air filled with the sound of heavy breathing and the creak of floorboards.
“You cannot hide from me, little witch,” Zaorak called out to me, his eyes glowing in the dark. His voice was soft, almost singsong, but the malice in his tone made my blood run cold. “I will find you. And when I do, I’ll make you suffer .”
Kael growled low in his throat, drawing Zaorak’s attention back to him. “Leave her out of this,” he said, his voice hard as steel. “Your fight is with me.”
Zaorak smirked. “Oh, Onyx. You think you can protect her? You couldn’t even protect yourself.”
Zaorak made another grab for him and Kael blocked him, before going on the offence. But Zaorak was ready for him, his movements fluid and effortless as he deflected Kael’s blows with ease. When Kael staggered back, Zaorak roared and lunged forward, but Kael managed to push him away. He rolled away, coming to his feet and keeping the kitchen table, now upside down, between them.
They stared at each other for a charged moment, before Zaorak laughed and vaulted the obstacle between them. Kael bent at the knees and leaped through the open window and disappeared into the darkness.
It seemed like it was too much for Zaorak to ignore his prey drive, he leaped in pursuit of Kael, driven to obey his animal instincts that had him chasing his quarry.
The silence that followed was deafening. My pulse thundered in my ears as I pushed open the larder door, peering into the now-destroyed kitchen. Shattered dishes and broken furniture lay scattered across the floor, the air heavy with the scent of sweat and adrenaline.
I stepped out cautiously, my bare feet crunching against fragments of ceramic. My eyes darted to the open window, searching the night for any sign of movement, but there was nothing.
Kael.
My heart clenched as I thought of him out there, alone, facing that monster. I had to help him. Somehow.
I turned and ran for the bedroom, my footsteps echoing in the empty tower. The mage’s notebook—it was the thing that had started all of this. If there was any hope of finding a way to stop Zaorak, it would be in those pages.
I threw myself onto the bed, yanking the mattress aside to reveal the book I had hidden beneath it. The leather cover was cool and smooth under my fingers, the black strap that held it closed still tightly fastened.
Carrying it back to the kitchen, I crouched by the firelight and flipped through the pages. My hands trembled as I scanned the dense script, staring at the diagrams and incantations scrawled in the mage’s precise hand, searching for something— anything —that could help.
A spell to enhance muscle mass? No—it required a live sacrifice, and I had neither the time nor the stomach for it. A spell for speed? Kael was already faster than any normal man, and it wouldn’t be enough against someone like Zaorak.
I slammed the book shut in frustration, my nails digging into the leather. Above me, the sound of a distant crash echoed through the tower, followed by a low, rumbling growl. Dust rained down from the rafters as the walls trembled.
What was happening up there? Was Kael alright?
Panic threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced it down. I couldn’t afford to fall apart now. Kael was counting on me.
I needed to do something.
I opened the book again, flipping through the pages with renewed determination. Finally, my eyes landed on a spell that promised light—a flash strong enough to blind an opponent. Perfect. My heart leaped with hope. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
Whispering the incantation under my breath, I practiced the spell, conjuring a small, flickering flame in the palm of my hand, as if I had struck a match. The light danced across the walls, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch endlessly. It was imperfect, but it would have to do.
A growl from above had me looking up. My light had drawn their attention. If the other dragon shifter grabbed me as a hostage, Kael would sacrifice himself for me, I just knew it. I didn’t have much time.
My hands shook as I closed the book and placed it on the counter. I clenched my fists, summoning every ounce of courage I had left.
“Kael!” I screamed, my voice cutting through the chaos. “Shut your eyes!”
I didn’t wait for a response. Raising my hands, I shouted the spell with every bit of power I could muster. I had strengthened the fire with my magic, a potency spell of my own devising that I used all the time to make the ingredients for my remedies more potent. My spell worked, as I knew it would, and the light flashed into the rafters of the roof like it was a bolt of lightning—quick, and equally blinding.
A chorus of roars followed, one of rage and another of triumph. The tower shook again as something heavy crashed to the ground. Dust filled the air, stinging my eyes and throat as I stumbled backward, my vision swimming.
When the light faded, I saw them: Kael and Zaorak, locked in a brutal melee on the floor. They were a blur of limbs, teeth, and claws, their movements almost too fast to follow. Blood splattered the walls and the floor, the metallic tang of it sharp in the air.
A spatter of blood struck me in the face and I gasped. I needed to get out of the way. As I crept away, the book still clutched in my hands, Zaorak’s eyes fell on me.
Smirking, he threw a punch, and sent Kael hurtling to the far corner. “So you do have it!” He smiled. I froze, staring at him in horror. “Master Rindais would like his book back, thank you. And whatever magic I can drain from you, I get to keep for myself.” He grinned. “How lucky for you that you get to be doubly useful to my master.”
I clutched the book to my chest, my mind racing. I couldn’t let him take it—not when it held the only chance Kael had of breaking free from the mage’s curse.
I gritted my teeth as I prepared to face him head-on. “Here,” I threw the book to the far corner of the kitchen, which was now shrouded in darkness. “Take it and leave us alone.”
My teeth wanted to chatter in fear at the look of fury on his face, but I clenched my jaw and spoke through my teeth. “Your master promised to leave me in peace if I gave him his book. Are you going to make your master an oathbreaker?”
Zaorak raised an eyebrow, looking down his nose at me. His laughter filled the room, cold and hollow. “Do you think his promises mean anything? Foolish little witch.”
Zaorak might have been handsome once, with his strong jaw, big muscles, brown eyes and shiny red-blonde hair, if it wasn’t for the madness that peeked through his mask. As he drew closer, all my instincts were telling me to run .
But I refused to let him win. Not when Kael’s life depended on my strength and courage.
As Zaorak drew closer to me, I braced myself for the inevitable confrontation, my heart pounding in my chest like the rhythm of a war drum.
There was a clatter and with a primal roar, Kael lunged to his feet, his claws extended like daggers. Zaorak met his attack head-on, his talons slicing through the air with deadly precision. Each blow they traded landed with bone-jarring force, the sound of the collisions reverberating through the tower like thunder.
I scrambled away, not wanting to be used as a hostage against Kael.
From what I could see, Zaorak was a formidable opponent. His movements were swift and unpredictable, his attacks relentless as he sought to overpower Kael with sheer brute strength.
“Don’t worry, Onyx,” Zaorak jeered, as they separated and circled each other among the rubble of the second floor. “When you are dead, I shall take very good care your witch.”
“You will not touch her , Zaorak,” Kael growled, his voice laced with anger and desperation. “This is between you and me. Leave her out of it and face me alone.”
Zaorak’s laughter filled the air, a cruel sound that sent a chill down my spine. “Oh, but where’s the fun in that, Kael?” he taunted. “You see, I've come to realize that the best way to hurt you is to hurt the ones you love.”
With a howl, Kael attacked, blowing a hole through the tower wall. Stones came tumbling down all around me as Zaorak and Kael hurtled to the snowy ground outside. I scrambled to follow, dodging the stones and the mortar dust still falling from the broken tower.
The air crackled with tension as I watched the two figures locked in combat outside. Kael fought with a primal ferocity that sent shivers down my spine. His movements were animalistic, fueled by raw instinct and a desperate need to survive. But despite his strength, I knew he was at a disadvantage. He could not shift into his dragon form without risking his own life.
But I surmised that Zaorak could. He seemed to be toying with Kael, grinning as he relentlessly attacked, his movements swift and merciless. Each strike landed with a sickening thud, and I swore I could hear Kael’s bones crunch with every blow.
I clenched my fists, the urge to intervene clawing at my insides. But I knew better than to foolishly rush into the fray. The shifters were too fast, too brutal in their fighting. Any attempt to help could end in disaster.
Instead, I remained crouched in the shelter of the tower, now half broken from the fight between the two dragon shifters.
As the fight raged on, I could see the toll it was taking on Kael. His movements grew sluggish, his breathing labored as he struggled to fend off Zaorak’s relentless onslaught. It was clear that he was reaching his limit, his strength waning with each passing moment.
Desperation clawed at my chest, urging me to do something, anything to help him. But before I could formulate a plan, Zaroak delivered a devastating blow that sent Kael crashing to the ground below.
I gasped in horror, my hands flying to my mouth as I watched Kael struggle to rise. But Zaorak was relentless, his attacks raining down upon Kael with merciless precision. It was clear that he had no intention of letting up until he had achieved his goal: the destruction of his rival.
Summoning every ounce of courage within me, I made a decision. It was time to stop hiding. Time to do or die.
I crept out into the night, the snow making it difficult to see what was happening, despite the full moon. Slowly, I made my way through the snow drifts, making my way to the sound of snarls. But before I could reach Kael, a powerful force knocked me off course, sending me crashing into the earth with a bone-jarring impact.
A heavy weight landed on my back, almost flattening me to the ground. Struggling to draw in a breath, I looked up through my tangled hair to see what had happened. A blood curdling roar shook the heavens, and I screamed in terror. That was when I understood—Zoarak had finally shifted into his dragon form. And he had cornered me, flattening me under his claw.
Pain exploded through my body as I lay sprawled on the ground, my vision swimming as I struggled to regain my bearings. And then, through the haze of agony, I saw him.
Kael, battered and bloodied, struggling to stay upright as he faced Zaorak, his eyes blazing with determination. Despite my pain, I couldn’t give up, not when he needed me most.
The bitter wind howled through the night, cutting into my skin like shards of ice. I struggled to free myself from under Zaorak’s massive claw, his grip tightening around me like a vice. Pain lanced through my body, jagged and raw as I felt my ribs crack under the pressure. My breath came in short, panicked gasps, each one a desperate battle against the searing agony that gripped me, but I refused to give in to despair. I couldn’t let Zaorak win, not when Kael’s life hung in the balance.
“Seranni.”
His voice reached me, soft but steady, cutting through the chaos. I turned my head, my vision swimming from pain and fear, and found Kael standing just a few feet away. The firelight caught in his black eyes, which burned with a mixture of fierce love and steely determination.
“I love you, Seranni,” he whispered, his voice choked with emotion and eyes glittering with tears. “Please remember that. I will always love you, no matter what.”
"I love you, Seranni," he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. The words sent a shockwave through my chest, piercing through the pain and fear like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. Tears glistened in his eyes, and my own vision blurred as his gaze held mine. "Please remember that. I will always love you, no matter what."
It hit me like a blow to the chest. Kael wasn’t just saying goodbye—he was preparing to do something reckless, something final. My heart clenched as I realized what he was about to do. He was going to make the ultimate sacrifice. He was going to transform into a dragon to fight Zaorak. He was going to use the last spark of magic in his pendant, knowing full well that it would cost him his life.
Just to save me .
“No!” I cried out, my voice barely a whisper against the howling wind. I fought against Zaorak’s hold, my arms flailing uselessly as tears streaked down my face. "No, Kael, don’t do it! Please!"
But my pleas were swallowed by the roaring wind as Kael closed his eyes. His hand rose to the pendant at his neck, his fingers curling around it tightly. The gem glowed faintly, a dull green light that flickered like a dying ember.
"Kael, no!" My scream ripped from my throat, raw and desperate. But it was too late.
With a flash of light, the pendant blazed to life, its glow searing through the darkness. The ground seemed to tremble beneath us, and a deafening, tearing, roaring, ripping sound filled the air, as if the very fabric of reality was being pulled apart.
Above me, Zaorak roared, almost as if in triumph.
I felt the world tilt around me as Zaorak’s claw wavered, and I tumbled to the ground, landing hard on the frozen earth. Pain flared in my shoulder where his claw had pierced me, and hot blood trickled down my arm. But I barely noticed. My eyes were fixed on Kael.
With a sense of helplessness gnawing at my heart, I reached out to him, my fingers trembling as I summoned every ounce of magical energy within me.
His body convulsed, his muscles rippling and contorting as the transformation overtook him. The light from the pendant suffused his skin, outlining him in a radiant glow.
Kael had told me. He’d told me what the mage had done, how he’d been taken apart and put back together into a new form that was only held together by dark magic.
And like a na?ve fool, I’d called the mage here, thinking that if I just gave him what he wanted, he’d leave us alone.
I had let myself believe that I could strike a bargain with a monster, that I could outwit Rindais and protect Kael at the same time. I had been a fool, and now Kael was paying the price for my na?veté.
It was all my fault.
I had to do something , anything to save Kael, even if it meant risking my own life in the process.
I wouldn’t let the man I loved burn out like a dying star.
Tears streamed down my face as I scrambled to my knees, clutching my wounded arm. I couldn’t let this happen. I couldn’t lose Kael—not like this. If I did nothing, his sacrifice would be for nothing, and I couldn’t bear that thought.
Hidden from Zaorak, I reached my finger into the wound in my shoulder, wincing at the pain. My hand trembled as I reached into the snow, my fingers carving a hasty spell circle into the frozen earth. The blood from my wound seeped into the grooves, binding the magic to me with a power I had never felt before. Closing my eyes, I whispered an incantation under my breath, summoning every ounce of magical energy I possessed.
The circle beneath me glowed faintly as I poured my magic into it. Closing my eyes, I focused on the bond that connected me to Kael, my love for him and the desperate hope that he would win, that somehow, he would survive . I drew on the thread of magic that flowed through his veins and mine.
My love for him surged through me, a fierce and unrelenting force that drowned out the pain in my body and the fear in my heart. I wove my magic into his, strengthening it, stabilizing it, purifying it until it thrummed with a brilliance that was almost blinding.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Please, Kael. Hold on.”
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Suddenly, I felt a surge of power coursing through me, a rush of energy that seemed to defy logic and reason. It was as if the very fabric of the universe was responding to my call, bending to my will in a display of raw elemental force.
And then, with a deafening roar that echoed through the night, Kael began to transform. His body contorted and twisted, muscles rippling beneath his skin as he shed his human form and turned into the beast he so feared.
But this time, something was different. As Kael’s form shimmered and shifted, I could sense a newfound stability, a sense of control that had eluded him before. My magic had worked, stabilizing his transformation and ensuring that he would not perish in the process.
A minute later, a massive, coal-black dragon stood before us, its scales shimmering like obsidian in the pale moonlight. Its eyes burned as red as rubies—or the color of freshly spilled blood.
With a roar, Kael lunged for Zoarak, grabbing his neck in his jaws and tugging him off my body. Zaorak gave that snuffling dragon laugh and unfurled his wings, batting Kael away with a powerful sweep. He launched himself into the air, his golden scales glinting like fire in the moonlight. But Kael was right behind him, his wings spreading wide as he took to the sky with a deafening roar.
I watched them go, my heart in my throat as their silhouettes disappeared into the night. The air was thick with the scent of blood and smoke, and the distant sound of their battle echoed through the darkness.
Tears blurred my vision as I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the faint pulse of the bond that connected me to Kael. He was alive, for now. But I knew that the fight was far from over.
And as I knelt there in the snow, the blood from my wound pooling around me, I whispered a silent prayer to whatever gods might be listening.
“Please,” I begged. “Bring him back to me.”