Chapter 3 The fire snapped and hissed, filling the room with a weirdly sweet smell. Isabella sprawled across the couch, soaking up the heat. "This tree smells INCREDIBLE. Like, I swear I'm getting healthier just breathing it in. Julian, could this be, like, healing or something?" Julian snorted. "Sera's full of it. It's just a tree." Then he gave her that soft, smug look. "But hey, my family's always been lucky-healthy, strong, all that. Stick close to me and you'll get some of that too." I couldn't even twitch from the pain, but a sigh slipped out anyway. The Asters had their legacy, their luck, their power-all because I protected them. Julian's life? Only still going because I broke the rules to save it, burning through my own soul to do it. I kept my vow to his ancestor, binding myself to the Heartwood, feeding this land and his bloodline with my power for two hundred years. He was just a kid the first time he stood before the tree. He'd reached out, eyes wide. "Grandma says you're our guardian. Then you've gotta be the most beautiful thing ever. When I grow up, I'll be your knight. Okay?" Time passed. People changed. But the second I saw him, I knew. Same soul. The one who once saved me. After that, he came every day-spilling his wins, his screwups, all of it. A goal at soccer. A bombed test. That's when I started watching over him. When he turned twenty, a car wreck nearly killed him. I shattered every rule I lived by, burning through most of my life force to drag him back. It wrecked my soul. To survive, I had to fuse deeper with the Heartwood-any damage to it could destroy me. Julian never knew. But when he woke up, he dropped to his knees in front of Henrietta and said he'd loved me for years. Said he wanted to marry me. The way he looked at me-like I was his whole world-I thought it had all been worth it. After we married, he listened. Really listened. I told him my life was tied to the Heartwood, and whenever storms rolled in, he'd guard it like his own heartbeat. Then Isabella showed up-bruised, shaky, a total wreck. She claimed she'd saved Julian that night. Said her family's old magic brought him back. Said I stole the credit. Julian bought it. Just like that, his warmth iced over. That soft look in his eyes? Gone. "I must've been outta my mind letting you stay by my side! Didn't you say your life's tied to that stupid tree? Let's see if it hurts when I mess it up." He grabbed a blade and went straight for the sigils carved into the Heartwood. My power flared on instinct, ready to strike back. I didn't think-I just jumped in front of him, throwing up a shield of light. He didn't see the blast coming. All he saw was me, pale and stumbling back. Thought I was guilty. That hit shattered me. I was down for three months before I could even stand again. The memory blurred, swallowed by the wreckage of now. Julian stood in front of me, that smug smirk dripping with mockery. "Sera, think Isabella's gonna get some of that good luck too?" I kept my head down-too weak to speak. He took the silence as attitude. Right then, Isabella swayed and dropped into his arms. "Julian, I... I feel dizzy..." He yelled for the doctor. After a quick check, the guy looked serious. "Ms. Duvall's symptoms are back. She needs a transfusion. Her blood type's extremely rare..." Julian's eyes locked on her, all panic and worry-then he spun toward me like he'd just struck gold. "Well, Sera, you always say you're some kind of guardian, right? So your blood's gotta be magic." He shot a look at the doctor. "Dr. Wells, test her. If it matches, transfuse it. Now."