The Last Pureblood Healer

Ten seconds. Silver and gold fire pulsed around us. Ten more seconds and my pureblood magic would burn the last of Kaelen’s curse out of him. I had spent six years preparing for this ritual. The last strand of the curse resisted beneath his skin. To burn through it, our hands had to stay joined and his attention had to remain fixed on me until the count ended. Nine. Whenever I drew this deeply on my power, Kaelen pressed his thumb once against the inside of my wrist. We had used that signal for six years: *I'm here.* He had never missed it before, not during the smaller rituals or the nights when the curse kept us working until dawn. Eight. This time, the signal never came. I opened my eyes. Kaelen was watching Elara at the edge of the ritual circle. Seven. The fire was hot against my face, but the back of my neck went cold. “Kaelen!” Elara stumbled and grabbed her ankle. “I-I think I fell.” Six. His fingers jerked against mine. The fire bucked as his focus broke. “Hold on, Seraphina.” He kept his eyes on Elara. “Don’t.” Blood warmed the corner of my mouth. “Kaelen, if you let go now, the fire will turn.” Five. Elara whimpered again. His head turned. Four. He let go. The instant his skin left mine, the sacred fire turned black and folded in on me. Heat punched through my chest. Flames climbed both arms and gathered beneath my ribs, where my healing core sat. Smoke rolled from my sleeves before my knees struck the stone. I screamed. The fire found my healing core and kept burning. My blood boiled under my skin, and my legs gave out beneath me. Through the heat, I saw Kaelen lift Elara into his arms. He never looked back. Pain gathered at my neck. The silver mark of our fated bond blistered, blackened, then peeled from my skin in charred flakes. The bond had carried the beat of his pulse beside mine since we came of age. Now it gave me nothing. My mate had left me in the fire. Kaelen carried her back toward the circle and removed the black healing cloak from his shoulders. My family’s silver sigil was still embroidered across it. I had worn that cloak to every major ritual for a decade. He draped it around Elara. She buried her face in his chest and closed her hand over the silver sigil. The black flames receded. I lay smoking on the cold stone floor with ash on my tongue. Inside my chest, my healing core had broken apart. Kaelen set Elara down outside the circle, then came back with his fists clenched. “What did you do?” His words echoed through the chamber. I couldn't answer. Elara still had my cloak around her shoulders. “You did this on purpose.” He stopped over me. “You saw her fall and sabotaged the ritual out of jealousy. You tried to kill her!” I touched the raw skin where our bond had been. For the first time since we were pups, I could no longer sense him. I had loved him since we were pups. I had spent my life and my magic trying to save him. And in the final ten seconds, he chose her. I met his furious gaze. My cracked lips stung when I spoke. “We’re done.”