The healing took weeks.
Sera's wound — the poisoned blade — was slow to close. The Shadow Fang venom had done something to her blood. Changed it. Made it... different.
Garrett studied it.
"It's not killing you," he said. "But it's not leaving either."
"What does that mean?"
"It means your blood has been... enhanced. The venom and your Royal Blood — they've merged. Created something new."
"Is that bad?"
"I don't know. No one's ever seen this before."
Sera looked at her hands. At the faint golden veins that pulsed beneath her skin — brighter now, more visible.
"Will it affect Lumi? Through the bond?"
"I don't think so. But we'll watch."
Dax was different too.
Since the clearing. Since Lumi's light. Since Magnus's banishment.
He was quieter. More watchful. He spent hours with Lum
