Alyssandra's dragon wings cut through the storm, Kaelen clinging to her scales.
The vision haunted her—Seraphine, alive, standing at the Maw's core. The Crown's power surged, urging her to fly faster. Kaelen's voice broke through the wind: "You're letting it control you."
"It's the only way to save her," Alyssandra snapped.
The Crown's laughter echoed in her mind. *"Save her? You'll *join* her."*
---
**The Wastes**
They landed at the Maw's edge—a chasm of swirling mercury and fractured time. Alyssandra's human form trembled, her mark burning.
Kaelen gripped her shoulder. "You're not the same girl who fell into my desert."
"I'm not a girl at all," she said. "The Crown's made sure of that."
A Sandreaver hybrid erupted from the chasm, its body fused with clockwork. Kaelen's wolves tore into it, but the creature's blood seeped into Alyssandra's veins.
*"Closer,"* the Maw whispered.
---
**The Descent**
Alyssandra stepped into the chasm.
Kaelen followed, his Nullborn blood resisting the time decay. The walls pulsed with trapped memories—villages burning, heirs screaming, Seraphine's face flickering between timelines.
"Why here?" Kaelen asked.
"The Maw's heart is also its prison," Alyssandra said. "If I can reach it—"
"—you'll become its warden or its slave," Kaelen finished.
Alyssandra didn't answer.
---
**The Truth**
They reached the core—a cavern of black glass, its center a swirling vortex of mercury and light. Seraphine stood at its edge, her body whole but her eyes hollow.
"Alyssandra," she said. "You came."
Kaelen's dagger flared. "You're not her. The real Seraphine—"
"—is *gone*." Seraphine's laugh echoed. "The Maw consumed her years ago. This? This is its *gift*."
Alyssandra's mark pulsed. "What gift?"
"The Crown's heir," Seraphine said. "A vessel to contain the Maw's mate."
---
**The Twist**
"The Maw isn't your enemy," Seraphine continued. "It's your *father*."
Kaelen froze. "What?"
Alyssandra's voice was ice. "Lies."
Seraphine raised a hand. The vortex shifted, revealing a dragon—a colossal, decaying beast with Alyssandra's violet eyes.
"The first heir," Seraphine said. "Your father's true form. The Crown didn't consume him. It *saved* him."
Alyssandra's magic surged. "You're lying!"
The dragon roared, its voice merging with the Maw's. *"Daughter."*
---
**The Betrayal**
Kaelen's wolves attacked Seraphine, but she dissolved into sand.
"Foolish boy," her voice echoed. "The Nullborn's blood oath was never to *protect* her. It's to feed the Maw."
Alyssandra's dragon form destabilized, scales peeling. "No. He's mine."
The Maw's voice hissed: *"He's *ours*."*
Kaelen's dagger glowed brighter. "I'll never be your food."
---
**The Sacrifice**
Alyssandra lunged at the vortex, the Crown's core burning blue.
Kaelen grabbed her wrist. "Don't!"
"It's the only way to free him," she said. "To free *us*."
The dagger's light intensified. Kaelen's Nullborn mark flared, and the world slowed—a time bubble.
"Choose," Seraphine's voice whispered. "Him or the throne."
Alyssandra hesitated.
---
**The Hook**
Alyssandra's dragon eye flickered—showing a new vision: Kaelen, crowned in black glass, ruling beside her.
*"The Maw's mate,"* the dragon rumbled. *"The Nullborn's true purpose."*
Kaelen's time bubble shattered. Alyssandra's human hand reached for him, but the Crown's power pulled her into the vortex.
"**Alyssandra**!" Kaelen screamed.
Her voice echoed: *"Find me. Before I become *her*."*