And the moment the last chain holding my consciousness together breaks, I feel soft, warm lips against mine. Seraphus kisses me. Just presses his lips to mine. His lips have the flavor of salt... tears. Is he crying? Because of me? Oh, Mother Almighty, how beautiful it is. Light illuminates around me, and I grab the chain. Pain pierces my body, but somewhere far away.

As Seraphus' lips continue to caress mine, a wave of emotions surges through me, their intensity reverberating in every fiber of my being. My heart pounds in my chest, a rhythmic symphony of anticipation and desire. The taste of salt lingers on his lips, mingling with the sweetness of our connection, leaving an indelible mark on my senses.

I can sense his vulnerability in every tender press, his emotions pouring into me like a torrential rain. The saltiness is not just a taste, but a reflection of the tears he sheds for me.

As I tightly grasp onto the chain, the sharp sting of physical pain fades into the background. It is a mere echo in the background, overshadowed by the intensity of our embrace. Seraphus' fingers tighten around my head, his touch both possessive and tender, as he peppers my lips with a cascade of delicate kisses.

The darkness may be thickening again, but it's no longer scratchy. It's soft. But I don't want it to take me away right now. It's a kiss after all... Seraphus is kissing me! He's kissing me! He's...no...no, not now, I don't want to...please let me enjoy it some more. One last time.

The darkness is merciless. It steals from me what I would never feel in real.

"Hurry! Over here!" Seraphus' shout yanks me back into the light. I try to open my eyes, but no, only to listen again.

I feel several hands touching me. They turn me over, touching my wound, and it hurts. But no longer as horrifying as it used to be. Pulling, aching, but not sharp, harsh and spasm-like pain.

"He's regenerating. The boy is regenerating! The wound is closing, but slowly. The blood has stopped."

Am I alive? I won't die? Oh, what about the kiss? Was there a kiss, or did I make it up? Seraphus kissed me? Damn it, don't touch me, you're hurting me! Stop twisting me! Leave me alone!

"That's enough," Seraphus' harsh voice cuts off the discomfort and nagging pain. "You are making things worse for him. Leave the boy alone. I'll keep an eye on him, monitor his regeneration."

"Maybe try some magical..."

"No," Seraphus barks. "Don't touch him again. He'll regenerate on his own. No matter how long it takes."

The darkness wraps gently around my consciousness, and now I fall asleep peacefully. I'm safe. I feel my hand in Seraphus' hand. He seems to like me. And I really hope he kissed me. Oh Mother, what a kiss that was...there was so much pain, bitterness, and tenderness in it. I wouldn't want another first kiss. For me, it's a big event in my life. And I re-live it over and over again.

"Don't you realize things are different now, Seraphus? You have to go to your father," the headmaster's irritated, raised voice pulls me out of the pleasant silence.

"You know I can't. I'd break the agreement, and then everything would go to hell. Fire me, Nock, and that's it," Seraphus responds indifferently, running the pad of his finger on my palm. "And don't yell. Let him regenerate right."

"Oh, Mother Almighty," the headmaster hisses. "Seraphus..."

"How do you envision it? How? Go back to where I was kicked out of with shame? Make them even angrier? Endanger the innocent? Start a war again?" Seraphus interrupts him sharply.

"But we must do something. Seraphus, in recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in attempts on your life. Yes, you are strong, but this is different. A student has been harmed, Seraphus. If Luappo hadn't covered you, you'd have been in a coma for years. Luappo absorbed the light energy the arrow was poisoned with. It would have been worse for you."

"I can help here, Nock, and you know I'll get on the case as soon as Kan recovers. I'll find them, and you'll expel them for the offense."

"No, Seraphus, it's not enough for me to just expel them now. This is my territory. I don't meddle in their kingdoms, I don't touch them, but they've touched again you and my student. A child, damn it!" The headmaster muffled indignation.

"I understand, Nock, I understand. I'm angry too. I'm ready to kill them, but you know the laws of our world."

"I know, which is why I'll demand punishment from the kings. When we find them, I'll demand they be deprived of their powers. This is more than just an attempt on your life, Seraphus. It's also a violation of the law. Yes, they can't kill you, but they can hurt you. I'm tired of putting up with this. I'll go to your father."

"All right, I won't stop you from doing it. But you think the dissenters are only the dark ones? How many times have we caught the light ones, Nock? And the more we catch them, the more they become. They're spreading like a goddamn infection. I offered you to fire me after the first assassination attempt two hundred years ago, but you declined."

"I'll say no even now, Seraphus. If I do so, that's when they'll realize they've won. No, no, and no again. This is my territory and there are no claims on it, no wars, no assassination attempts."

"Nock, I don't know what to tell you. I'm exhausted right now. I can't think straight. The only thing I want is to cause harm. And as long as I'm here, I'm saving lives and not putting you and the others in more danger. They just hate me. They think it's all my fault. It's easier for them. It's easier to blame me for the peace agreement, for everyone living in peace. They're fanatics, Nock."

"You are indeed lucky to have Luappo with you, Seraphus. If there had been another student, I simply cannot imagine what could have happened to you both. All your practical illusions have been altered. All of them. I've already beefed up the guards and I think you should hold off on the illusions and practicing. You'll get them back in the second semester. You can't put other students in danger."

"All right, whatever you say, Nock. I'll follow your instructions."

Seraphus touches my face, brushing my hair away from my forehead. Then there is a rustling sound, and a chill touches my body.

"Better?"

"Yes, much better. The wound's healed, but there's still a scar. It takes a long time to regenerate because of the poison. We have to wait for the inside to heal. What did you tell them?"

"What could I say? The truth. The level one kids refused to go far from the treatment block, stayed outside the doors all night. They were waiting for Luappo to congratulate him on passing the practice he was worried about, and they saw him bleeding in your arms. They are scared and worried. I can't send them to their rooms. They refused, and there's also a dragon nearby, listening to everything."

"A dragon?"

"Piros."

"How does he know Kan? I didn't know they were friends."

"I'm not sure they are friends. But I'm sure the dragon has chosen to court Luappo," the headmaster grins.

"I'm sorry, what? To court? He's a fire dragon. All dragons choose their mate once and for a long and sometimes tedious life."

"True, but I don't think Piros has made his choice. He's taking a closer look at the boy. I must say, Piros is a good match for Luappo. Also, I've dug into some others' memories, and a lot of them saw that boy telling off the dragon. Can you believe it? I think that's what attracted Piros."

"Awesome," Seraphus mutters. "Now there's also Piros. As if there wasn't enough of this trio."

"My friend, it feels like you're jealous," Nock laughs softly.

"It's not jealousy. I've seen them stalk Kan. I've seen them lure him, and you know what those kids are capable of. All they have in their heads is pleasure. They think of nothing else, but Kan is different. He came here for knowledge. And I don't want anyone to hurt him, Nock. I don't want him forced and raped. We're both aware of how that happens."

"He has elf blood in him, Seraphus. And elves attract most of us. It's one of their abilities. That's why elves act so arrogant. They know everyone likes them."

"Kan would never use that power, Nock. On the contrary, he hides from intimacy. He's not interested in it."

"Come on, Seraphus, we were all young. Luappo is no exception. As long as everything is consensual, we don't pry into the intimate lives of our students."

"No intimacy with anyone Kan will have here. I'll make sure of that. Kan is very capable and strong. He's brave, kind, sincere, and trusting. That's why he's bait for these idiots. He needs to be protected, Nock. Mother Almighty, you should have seen him fight, albeit ineptly, but he fought. That's admirable, Nock. I don't remember any of my students fighting as fiercely, even with themselves, as he does. Kan is unique. He's a special boy. He has great powers in him and that's why we must protect him. I'll protect him."

"You're certainly not going to follow him around, are you, Seraphus? He's young. I understand you want to protect him from pain, disappointment, and betrayal. But that is life. He cannot be protected from it, especially as a son of Isengard. He already knows what cruelty and violence are."

"And that just proves that he should be safe here. Look at him. He almost died in my arms. He covered me with himself, Nock. Even... Ellior would never do that." pain slips into Seraphus's whisper, and my heart clenches in response. Does he still love him? Misses him? Dreams of him?"

"Besides, now I fear he may be a target for dissenters," Seraphus adds more quietly. "The dead don't shoot a bow. They cannot physically do so, because they are blind. Though they may fight with swords, they recognize us by the warmth of our energy. Certainly no one dead would be able to use a bow and arrow to kill an enemy. So someone else was there. Someone who had done it. And he saw Kan fight, and he saw how Kan covered me with himself, and he knows my fear for him too."

"You think they might use the boy to get to you?"

"I think they'll definitely use Kan, but not to get to me, but to turn him against me. Kan is strong, Nock. No one on the first level or the second would be able to withstand such an invasion of the dead. They wouldn't have the power to do it. Kan did. Besides, you think students don't discuss their successes and the successes of others? They don't have envy? They wouldn't want to get back at Kan for being top of the class? And this is just the beginning of his education, Nock. The beginning. Imagine what he'll be like in a year or two. He's already got skills that not even the seniors can do. And he could be the perfect weapon against me. They want to win, Nock. They want to prove they're stronger, that they should rule. They lie low, but their children come here, and it's rare that one of those children doesn't take the opportunity to get revenge on me. We've caught both light and dark before. Both sides have their camps of dissent. And all this threatens to bring us another war. If one side finds out about Kan and his powers, the other side will, too. And then what happens?"

"You have too high expectations for this boy. Yes, he's powerful, but to make him a weapon...no. Seraphus, you're overreacting. We'll find those bastards and punish them. Now in public, so that everyone knows I won't tolerate their behavior here. They can do whatever they want in their kingdoms, but not in mine."

"Nock, that's the way it will be. I can feel it. Do you understand? I feel Kan is in danger. And if Isengard finds out that his son is stronger than even him, then... I dread to think what he'll do to him."

"Seraphus, it's strange to see you succumbing to the influence of your emotions. You haven't shown any of your students this much...um, care and tenderness, feeling, for two centuries. After I took you here, you were always cold, silent. Even a smile was rare. But this boy...Seraphus, what is the matter? Why do you feel so much for him? Yes, yes, I have been watching you, my friend."

"Oh, Mother, are you kidding me, Nock? What feelings are you talking about? These are facts, Nock. Don't make it up. You know I could never love anyone else. The bond with Ellior is frozen. I haven't felt anything in a long time."

"I would argue with you. And you know you're lying to me, Seraphus. Do you not trust me? Do you even want to hide from yourself that this kid evokes forgotten feelings in you?"

"Nock, stop it, stop this nonsense. You're right, Kan is a kid. I have sympathy for him, I don't deny it, but only because I admire his power and bravery, his sincerity and purity of the soul. I don't need all this love drama, Nock. I'm talking about something else entirely. I'm talking about another rupture in our world, and this time we can destroy it. We can't survive another war."

"Then I can't understand you, Seraphus. How can you sense the danger threatening the boy, unless through the feelings you have for him? You know that when a bond is formed, it's only then that we can sense danger."

"That's it, Nock, there's no point in talking to you. I'm talking about one thing and you're about another. I'm already bonded to Ellior, and we're both alive because his life turned out to be more valuable than mine. There are no second chances in the world, Nock, not for me. Now leave me alone. I want to take a nap. Leave me."

"And yet you're not telling me something, my friend. I can sense it too. Don't forget, I'm an original and I can easily recognize a lie, even from a demon as powerful as you. But please, just don't make the same mistake. Don't sacrifice yourself. Love doesn't forgive sacrifice and servitude."

"Back off, Nock."

Silence falls. I want to open my eyes and ask Seraphus a hundred questions now. It's also very frustrating that he thinks I'm a silly kid. I'm older than Lua, I grew up too long ago, and the kiss... was it a kiss, or did I make it up because of the stress and pain?

But I don't have time to think about the questions and doubts I've heard. The soft darkness envelops me, and I fall asleep.