Serika POV
The words echo inside me and do not fade.
You are mine.
I choke on air that feels too hot to breathe. My knees buckle, but I stay standing. If I fall, I feel like I will never get back up. Fire roars inside my chest, wild and hungry. Ignaroth presses against my thoughts like a heavy shadow.
No, I think. I am still here.
His presence tightens, testing me. Power surges through my veins and pulls at my limbs. My fingers twitch. My wings flare without my command. Heat spills into the chamber and cracks spread along the floor.
Let go, Ignaroth urges. Let me guide you.
Fear grips me. If I let go, I know I will disappear.
I bite down on my lip and taste blood. The sharp pain grounds me. I cling to it. I cling to everything that makes me human.
Kai.
I picture him clearly. His weak laugh. The way he always tried to act strong for me. The way he trusted me to save him.
I whisper his name.
The fire shudders.
Ignaroth growls inside my head. His anger rolls through me like thunder. My vision blurs. Golden light floods my eyes again.
My body moves on its own.
My hand lifts. Flames coil around it, thick and bright. The power feels easy now. Too easy. It begs to be used.
Stop, I tell myself. Stop now.
I force my arm down. The flames fight me. They lash and bite, but I push harder. My muscles scream. My bones ache. Sweat pours down my face and turns to steam.
I scream and drop to one knee.
This is my body, I think. Not yours.
The thought slams into the fire like a wall.
Ignaroth hisses in rage.
The pressure eases for one heartbeat.
I grab that moment and push with everything I have.
I pull inward. I imagine locking a door in my chest. I imagine wrapping chains around the fire and holding it tight. The heat resists, but it listens.
My wings tremble, then fold closer to my back. The flames dim from a roar to a low burn.
I gasp and nearly collapse.
Silence fills my head.
Ignaroth is still there, but farther away. Watching. Waiting.
You resist well, he says. But this is only the beginning.
I do not answer him. I focus on breathing. In and out. Slow. Steady.
The chamber steadies with me.
I lift my hands and stare at them.
Flames dance between my fingers.
They do not hurt me. They curl and sway like living things, warm and bright. I move my fingers and the fire follows, smooth and obedient.
A shaky laugh escapes me.
This is real.
Magic is real.
I have it.
Hope hits me so hard my chest aches. I think of the medicine shop. I think of gold coins. I think of healing Kai with my own hands.
I close my fingers and the flames vanish.
Power hums under my skin, waiting.
I stand slowly. My legs feel stronger than before. Lighter. Every movement feels sharp and clear.
I take one careful step.
Nothing breaks.
I take another.
The floor warms but holds.
I spread my hands again and let a small flame appear. I shape it without thinking, just feeling. It grows, then shrinks. It listens.
I smile through tears.
I can learn this.
I can control this.
A deep rumble shakes the chamber.
I freeze.
The dragon eye on the altar flares bright gold. The walls hum. Ancient runes flash and fade.
Something is wrong.
Ignaroth stirs inside me, alert and tense.
They felt you, he says.
My heart jumps. "Who?"
The city.
The word hits like ice.
I turn toward the temple entrance. The air vibrates. Power ripples outward from me, racing through stone and soil, rushing toward the surface.
I did not mean to do that.
I try to pull the power back, but it is too late. It has already escaped.
A distant boom rolls through the ground.
Then another.
Then many at once.
High pitched screams cut through the air, sharp and loud.
Magical alarms.
Every hair on my body stands on end.
I can feel them now, like needles stabbing into my senses. Magic reacting to magic. Barriers flaring. Wards screaming.
The city is awake.
I clutch my head as the noise crashes into me from every direction. Bells made of magic ring in my bones. Lights flash in my mind.
Guards. Mages. Hunters.
They are coming.
Ignaroth's voice turns cold and focused.
You have announced yourself.
Panic floods me. "I am not ready."
You will never be ready, he replies. Only alive or dead.
The temple shakes harder. Dust falls from the ceiling. Cracks spread like spiderwebs.
I run.
My wings snap open without thought. Fire blasts from them and throws me forward. I stumble, catch myself, and sprint toward the exit.
Every step sends heat through the ground. The alarms grow louder, closer, more desperate.
I burst through the temple doors and into the dark.
The sky above the Forbidden Zone glows red and gold as magic lights flare across the city. Towers answer with their own light. Shields rise. Sirens scream.
I stand frozen for one heartbeat, staring at the chaos I caused.
Then the ground trembles beneath my feet.
Power surges again, bigger than before.
Every magical alarm in the city explodes at once.