Chapter 9 The First Operation
SERINA POV
"Surrender yourself and the dragon, and these people live."
Archmage Delphine's words hung in the air like a death sentence. Twenty shadow mages surrounded her, weapons ready. Hundreds of refugees stood frozen behind me, waiting to see if I'd trade my life for theirs.
Don't even think about it, Kaelthar snarled in my mind. She's lying. The moment you surrender, everyone dies anyway.
My hands glowed crimson. Dragon fire begged to be released.
"Thirty seconds," Delphine said calmly.
Then Arvain stepped forward, hands raised. "Archmage. Perhaps we can negotiate "
"Twenty seconds."
I looked at Tym, still unconscious on his cot. At Elara, the little girl I'd tried not to care about. At hundreds of faces I'd told myself didn't matter.
They don't, Kaelthar insisted. Only Tym. Remember?
"Ten seconds."
I raised my hands higher, preparing to attack. Better to die fighting than surrender to this monster.
But before I could move, the cavern's entrance exploded.
Rock and debris rained down. Delphine's mages scattered. In the chaos, Nyx appeared beside me, grabbing my arm.
"Run," they hissed. "Now. Before she regroups."
"But "
"NOW!"
The entire Shadowmarket erupted into motion. People fled through hidden tunnels. Arvain's fighters created barriers. Nyx dragged me and Tym toward a side passage as shadow magic exploded behind us.
We ran for what felt like hours through twisting tunnels. Behind us, I could hear screaming. Fighting. Dying.
Leave them, Kaelthar said coldly. They're not your responsibility.
But the screams followed me into my nightmares that night.
Three days later, we'd relocated to a smaller, more hidden sanctuary. Fewer people. Tighter security. And Tym's condition was getting worse again.
"He needs Celestian Root," Arvain said, examining my brother with glowing hands. "It's rare. Expensive. The Council hoards it in their supply depots."
My stomach dropped. "How much time does he have?"
"Days. Maybe less." Arvain met my eyes. "We're planning a raid on a depot tonight. It's dangerous, but "
"No."
"Serina "
"I said no. It's not my fight." I stood up, putting myself between him and Tym. "Find another way."
Arvain's expression hardened. "There is no other way. And I'm not asking you to do this for the resistance. I'm asking you to save your brother."
I hated him for using Tym against me. I hated myself more for knowing he was right.
"Fine," I said through gritted teeth. "But I'm doing this for him. Not your cause. Not your rebellion. Just Tym. Understand?"
"Crystal clear." But something in Arvain's eyes looked almost sad. "We leave at midnight."
Good, Kaelthar purred. Take what you need. Use them like they're using you.
The Council supply depot sat on the outskirts of the slums, heavily guarded but isolated. Arvain's plan was simple: I'd provide the distraction with dragon fire while his team grabbed the medicine.
"Remember," he said as we approached. "We need to move fast. In and out before reinforcements arrive."
I nodded, already feeling Kaelthar's power building in my veins.
The moment the guards spotted us, I attacked.
Dragon fire erupted from my hands, consuming the front gate. Guards screamed and scattered. I walked through the flames like they were morning mist, my scales glowing crimson in the darkness.
"Vessel!" one guard shouted. "It's the dragon vessel!"
Show them what happens when they threaten what's yours, Kaelthar whispered.
I did.
The first guard came at me with a sword. I caught the blade with my bare hand, crushed it to pieces, and drove fire into his chest. He dropped without a sound.
The second tried to run. I burned him before he'd taken three steps.
It was easier this time. Faster. I barely had to think just let Kaelthar's instincts guide me, and people died.
Five guards. Six. Seven.
All of them dead by my hand, and I felt... nothing. Just cold efficiency and the satisfaction of clearing obstacles.
Perfect, Kaelthar approved. You're learning.
"Serina! Over here!" Arvain's voice snapped me back to reality.
I ran toward him. His team had broken into the storage building, but Council soldiers were pouring in from the other side an ambush.
"Fall back!" Arvain shouted.
"No." I stepped in front of his fighters, raising both hands. "Get the medicine. I'll handle this."
Dragon fire exploded outward in a massive wave. Soldiers screamed and dove for cover. I didn't let up, pouring everything into the flames until the entire room glowed crimson.
When the fire faded, the soldiers were gone. Dead or fled, I didn't care which.
Arvain's team stared at me with a mixture of awe and terror.
"Got it," one of them said quietly, holding up a case. "The Celestian Root."
"Then let's go." I turned away before I could see their faces. Before I could think too hard about how easy killing had become.
Tym's color improved within hours of taking the medicine. By morning, he was sitting up, actually smiling for the first time in weeks.
"You saved me," he said, gripping my hand. "Again."
"Always," I promised. "That's what family does."
The resistance held a celebration that night. Arvain's fighters cheered when I entered, calling me a hero. Saying I'd saved them all.
"You didn't lose a single person in that raid," Arvain said, raising a cup. "That's unprecedented. You're incredible, Serina."
I wanted to tell them I wasn't a hero. That I'd only gone for Tym's medicine. That the seven men I'd killed meant nothing to me.
But when I looked around the room, I saw the faces of people I'd saved. Not because I wanted to. Just because they'd been there when I fought.
A young woman smiled at me gratefully I'd pulled her out of the collapsing building. An older man nodded his thanks I'd shielded him when debris fell. Children played safely because I'd cleared the threats.
Something uncomfortable twisted in my chest.
"I'm not your savior," I said loudly, cutting through the celebration. "I needed medicine. That's all. Don't make me into something I'm not."
The room went quiet. Arvain's expression fell.
I left before anyone could respond, heading back to check on Tym.
Good, Kaelthar said approvingly. Remember only Tym. The rest are expendable tools. Never forget that.
But that night, I dreamed of the grateful faces. The children playing. The people who'd lived because I'd been there.
And I hated that some small part of me cared.
I woke to Tym screaming.
I bolted upright, dragon fire already igniting in my hands. My brother thrashed on his cot, eyes wide with terror, staring at something I couldn't see.
"Tym! What's wrong?"
"She's here!" he gasped. "The woman in white! She says... she says the Archmage knows where we are. She's coming tonight with an army. And this time..." His voice broke. "This time she's bringing the Soul Reapers."
Ice flooded my veins. Soul Reapers were the Council's executioners mages trained specifically to kill dragon vessels by ripping our souls apart.
"How does she know where we are?" I demanded.
Tym's eyes focused on me, suddenly clear. Too clear. When he spoke, his voice sounded wrong older, layered with something ancient.
"Because I told her, Serina. I've been telling her everything from the beginning."
My blood turned to ice. "What?"
"Did you really think a child could survive magical contamination this long without help?" The thing wearing my brother's face smiled a cruel expression Tym had never made before. "The Archmage has been keeping me alive through our bond. Watching through my eyes. Listening through my ears. Learning everything about your dragon, your powers, your precious resistance."
"No. You're lying. Tym would never "
"Tym doesn't know. The poor boy's been asleep for most of it." The creature stood up from the cot, and I saw shadow magic swirling around his small hands. "But now that you've gotten strong enough to be worth the effort, Delphine wants her weapon back. And she's coming to collect."
My brother's eyes rolled back. He collapsed.
And in the distance, I heard the sound of thousands of marching feet.
The invasion had begun.