The interior of Silas's shop was a chaotic blend of a surgery theater and an armory. Glowing tubes of blue mana-fluid ran along the ceiling, feeding into rusted monitors that beeped with an irregular rhythm. Caelum laid Elena on a cold, steel table while Silas cleared away a pile of engine parts to make room for his diagnostic tools.
"The girl is fading, Caelum," Silas muttered, his cybernetic eye spinning rapidly as he hovered a scanner over Elena's abdomen. "The Blight has reached her primary meridians. But that's not what's killing her."
Caelum stood by the door, his eyes fixed on the street outside. "It's the child."
"It's not just a child," Silas hissed, turning a monitor toward Caelum. On the screen, a golden pulse of light was visible, shaped like a tiny, coiled galaxy. It was beautiful, but it was surrounded by jagged black thorns—the Blight. "This is a High-Sovereign spark. It's trying to protect itself by draining every drop of life from the mother. It's an instinctive survival mechanism. By the time it's born, she'll be a hollow husk."
Elena's eyes fluttered open. She had heard everything. A tear traced a path through the grime on her cheek. "I knew it... I'm just a battery for a monster."
"You're not a battery," Caelum said, stepping to the side of the table. He looked at Silas. "Use the coin. Buy the stabilizers from the Black Market. Do whatever it takes to save her."
"The coin is enough to buy this whole District, Caelum, but it can't buy what she needs," Silas said, wiping grease onto a stained rag. "She needs a blood transfusion from someone with a compatible core—someone whose mana can withstand the Sovereign's hunger. But there's no one in Oakhaven with that kind of purity. Not even the High Lord."
Caelum was silent for a long heartbeat. He looked at Elena, who looked so small and broken against the cold steel.
"Use my blood," Caelum said.
Silas froze. "You? Caelum, you're a 'Commoner' driver. Your blood would be like pouring water into a sun. The child's mana would vaporize your veins in seconds."
"I'm not a commoner, Silas. And you know it."
Caelum didn't wait for permission. He grabbed a surgical needle from the tray and pressed it into his own forearm. He didn't flinch. Instead of the deep red of a normal human, the blood that began to fill the tube had a strange, iridescent shimmer—like liquid gold mixed with crimson.
Silas's cigarette fell from his mouth. "The Eternal Blood... you're actually one of them? The 'Sun-Eaters' from the legends?"
"Less talking, more healing," Caelum commanded.
The transfusion began. As Caelum's blood entered Elena's system, her entire body arched off the table. A scream tore from her throat as the golden energy collided with the black rot of the Blight. The room began to shake; the mana-lamps overhead flickered and shattered, plunging them into a strobe-light nightmare.
"It's too much!" Silas yelled, trying to stabilize the machines. "The child is reacting! It thinks it's being attacked!"
Caelum leaned over Elena, placing his hand over her heart. He whispered a single word in a language that sounded like the grinding of tectonic plates.
"Quiet."
The room went still. The shaking stopped. The black thorns on the monitor began to recede, dissolving under the warmth of Caelum's golden blood. Elena's breathing leveled out, and for the first time in months, her skin regained a healthy, sun-kissed glow.
She reached up, her fingers trembling, and touched Caelum's face. "You're... you're burning," she whispered. "I can feel the heat of you inside me."
"It's just the fever passing," Caelum lied, though his own face was pale from the massive mana drain.
"Thank you," she breathed, before falling into a deep, natural sleep.
Silas watched the monitors in disbelief. The Blight was gone. Not suppressed, but erased. He looked at Caelum, who was leaning heavily against the table, sweat beading on his forehead.
"You realize what you've done, don't you?" Silas asked quietly. "By giving her your blood, you've linked your souls. If the Iron Reach finds her now, they'll find you. You've just painted a golden target on your back."
"The target was always there, Silas," Caelum said, pulling his sleeve down to hide the needle mark. "I'm just finally giving them something worth hitting."
Outside, the sound of a heavy motorcycle engine rumbled to a stop. A woman in dark leather, carrying a sniper rifle case, stepped into the shop's light.
"The Ravens are here, Caelum," the woman said, her voice sharp as a blade. "And they aren't happy about their SUVs."
Author's Note:
The soul-bond is formed! But Caelum is weakened from the transfusion, and the elite 'Ravens' have found them. How will he protect Elena now?
Sincere check: We've hit the 6-chapter mark! This is the perfect "Batch" to have ready. Most authors get their contract offer right around Chapter 10-15 if their engagement is high.