This might be his only chance at escaping alive, but bargains were never free. No matter what happens, he cannot accept their offer. “What even are you?” he asked, staring at the red flames that hugged along his wrist. It did not burn him, but didn’t let him move either. “I don’t make deals with something I can’t see.”

“I am you, or rather, a version of you,” the voice rumbled, shaking the floor beneath him. “I am the power your past self possessed, so I will ask again, why do you seek me out? Do you want to reclaim your power?”

His power. This was his power? His throat bobbed, tired of feeling helpless. Tired of others risking their lives for him when he should’ve done better. Not enough. Never enough. He could become something more with this power. He could save everyone, end the rebellion before others died, have the revenge he’s sought for eighteen years.

No, he can’t accept. Not without knowing…

“What do you want?” He hated how his voice cracked.

“A small favor. I’ll tell you when the time comes.”

“It must not harm people.”

“Done.” 

The voice agreed too easily. “Don’t lie to me. Who will you hurt?”

It seemed to laugh, a sound that made him shiver. “Only you. It’s only ever been you.”

Zhen Xue’s free hand tightened into a fist on the floor. “I must live to see my goals finished.”

“Naturally.” The voice hummed in thought. “So, do you agree?”

Zhen Xue closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of his heartbeat. This was not his power. Someone laid a trap for him and he almost lost everything. He sucked in a sharp breath. “No.”

“You do not believe me,” the voice observed. “But you will someday when you’re desperate enough.”

Darkness filled the space again, the voice disappearing with the last of the flames. 

Finally freed, he sat back on his heels, catching his breath. The cut on his palm stung. He looked down finding the carving of an eye. He definitely did not draw that. No wonder blood magic was forbidden.

He shut his eyes, tired from the whole encounter and the last four days. Darkness pulled him under into a warm, familiar embrace. A thread in his heart tugged in concern. He was fading fast, no strength left to fight the current, but that thread did not let him go, and eventually, his breathing eased.

A pair of arms scooped him up. That was last thing he remembered before waking in a comfortable bed. 

The room was large and well furnished, having a rustic appearance like a wooden cabin. Sunlight behind the heavy clouds streamed through the two windows on his left. 

He blinked, taking in the Under City, how the sharp peaked buildings stretched into the sky like anchors holding the world together. Voices emerged beyond the door.

“I can’t believe you did that to him,” Li Wei snapped. “He could’ve died!”

Sagittarius sighed. “You never told me he had a strong affinity for dark magic.”

“In the other world,” Aelius said. “Zhen Xue had a habit of attracting evil spirits.”

“I had a suspicion,” Li Wei admitted. “But he never told me,” he said quieter. “In all the time that I knew him, he—“

“Awesome,” Themis replied sarcastically. “So there are things even our esteemed leader doesn’t know.”

“Do not take that tone with me right now,” Li Wei countered. “I’m not in the mood.”

“I never would’ve left him alone had I known,” Sagittarius mumbled. “We should really have a talk.”

”I agree,” Aelius said less than happy. “You owe him an explanation, Li Wei. Tell him something, even if you can’t tell him everything. He nearly died and we are all to blame for that.”

There was a long pause. The door knob rattled. 

Zhen Xue quickly shut his eyes again, staying quiet.

Someone reached his bedside, sinking into the chair. “You need to eat,” Aelius said when he didn’t open his eyes. Maybe because he was tired, Zhen Xue turned to greet him. “I can only heal you physically,” he explained, popping open the lid to a bowl of steaming noodles. The smell of chicken broth made his mouth water. “Magic can’t replace everything.”

Those words settled within him, taking on a different meaning, one where he almost gave everything for the sake of power. He swallowed, sitting up to take the bowl. If he had accepted that offer, would he be able to revive the dead? He wondered whether Calisaya was presented with the same choice. It would explain why she died.

“Luna will be safe if you leave after eating,” Aelius said, watching him take the bowl. “Time in that room works differently thanks to a set of complicated ruins Themis’ family cast long ago. He comes from a long line of mages. I’ll spare you the details. It’s only been a couple hours out here though.”

He didn’t respond. The bowl felt warm against his hands easing some of his numbness.

“We tried to reach you. Once that thing took hold of the room, nobody could get inside, or come out.”

He downed a mouthful of food before returning to Aelius. “I’m not mad at you, or any of you. At the time, I was angry at everything, but that also clouded my judgment. What happened to them? The person before me?”

Aelius looked relieved before his jaw stiffened, an invisible weight settling over his shoulders as though recalling the past. “The dragon statue outside was built in honor of his sacrifices. They called him… the Silver Dragoness, and he alone saved humanity at their darkest hour.”

“Only at the cost of himself,” Zhen Xue guessed. “And using that power that I was offered.”

Aelius nodded. “But the Strings of Fate did not give him a choice like you had.” He held his stare as though seeing through what he didn’t say. “Desperation is the most dangerous human emotion, Zhen Xue. In the future, I would advice you not to touch blood magic again. Not because of what it can do, but what it can’t.”