Serafina's Fire

Serafina's Fire

Sheila · Ongoing · 242.6k Words

533
Hot
533
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Magic decides your worth.
Fire decides your fate.
And fate never asks for permission.

Serafina of the Dust-Class has only one purpose left in her life: keep her younger brother alive. In a world where medicine is reserved for the powerful and magic determines who matters, desperation drives her to the Veiled Sanctum—a forbidden shrine whispered to grant miracles at a price no sane person would pay.

She is willing to pay it.
What she awakens is not a miracle.

Azerath—the legendary World-End Dragon—rises from centuries of slumber, ancient and terrifying, bound by an oath older than the Empire itself. An oath that names Serafina as his promised mate.

Not a choice she made. Not a destiny she wanted. A bond forged in fire and blood, waiting to be claimed.

To Azerath, the bond is sacred—a promise he has waited lifetimes to honor.

To Serafina, it is a chain.

As Imperials hunt her for the power she carries and Collectors close in on her dying brother, Serafina must learn to survive a world that now sees her as leverage. Azerath offers loyalty, protection, and a devotion that borders on reverence—but love is the last thing Serafina is ready to surrender.

She wanted a miracle.
She got a dragon.
And a bond that could either save the world… or end it.

Because the truth is far more dangerous than the legends claim:
Azerath did not wake to destroy the world.
He woke for her.

“I would end the world for you,” he said.
“Then don’t,” Serafina replied.
“Live with me instead.”

Chapter 1

Serafina

The sun was already sinking behind the jagged skyline of Dust District when I darted through its alleyways, a basket clutched tight to my chest. The cobblestones were uneven, slick with the afternoon’s rain, forcing me to watch every step.

My heart hammered as I dodged a group of children splashing through puddles, their laughter sharp and careless.

One boy stumbled over a loose stone and hurtled straight toward me, barely catching himself before we collided.

He looked clean. Well-fed. Boots intact, tunic unpatched—Coal-born, without question. The kind of child who had never tasted ash in his mouth or slept with hunger clawing at his ribs.

He must have slipped through the back gates or climbed the wall that kept Dust where it belonged, chasing gall wasps—for sport, for profit, or merely for a tale worth boasting about later.

He scrambled to his feet and glared at me, brushing dirt from sleeves that had never known real filth.

“Watch where you’re going, Dust rat,” he spat.

“Sorry about that,” I muttered, tightening my grip on the basket. “Some of us are just trying to survive.”

His face twisted in disgust, as if the word itself offended him, before he bolted back to his friends.

A small smile touched my lips as I watched him go—a fleeting reflection of who I used to be, when laughter and play came easily, and joy carried no price.

Then reality rushed in.

The smile vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

Survival.

Not fun. Not laughter. Just survival.

That word had been my constant companion for eleven years now.

Finally, after weaving left and right through the maze of Dustborns, I reached our shack. The thing leaned to one side, its walls patched with wood and metal scavenged from the streets. Inside, the air smelled of damp cloth and sickness. Lio was curled on a thin mattress, shivering beneath a threadbare blanket. His face was ghostly pale, and I knew immediately the fever had returned with a vengeance.

“Lio…” I whispered, setting down the basket. My hands shook as I brushed damp hair from his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

He coughed violently, and I flinched, gripping his shoulder to steady him. “S-Sera…” he murmured. “I… I’m fine.”

“No, you're not,” I said firmly. “You’re burning up. And I need to clean these rags for you.”

He tried to protest, but his words dissolved into another coughing fit. I swallowed my fear, forcing myself to stay calm. The truth was simple: he was too weak to work, to fetch water or food, and if I didn’t act, there was no one else who would.

I leaned back against the wall, slipped off my bonnet, and drew a slow, steady breath. The memory of our childhood flared—soft carpets, polished floors, sunlight streaming through tall windows, servants bustling quietly in the hallways. My parents had loved us, cherished us. And then the empire came. My father had been accused of plotting against the crown, my mother taken away for questioning, and the wealth we had known vanished overnight. I was seven. Lio was barely four. By morning, the world had turned to ash, and we had been left here, in the Dust District, to survive or die.

I shook my head, pushing the memories away. The present demanded my attention. I filled a basin with lukewarm water, dampened a rag, and pressed it against Lio’s fevered skin. His frail hand reached up for mine. “S-Sera…”

“Sshhh... I’m right here,” I whispered. “Just rest.”

Suddenly, a hard knock rattled the door.

“Sera,” a voice called, rough and familiar. “Taxes due. Time to pay up.”

My blood ran cold. Hands trembling, I yanked my bonnet over my head, tucking my hair out of sight as if hiding it could shield me from what was coming.

I opened the door to find the Collectors crowded in the doorway, black coats marked with the Warden’s sigil stitched faintly at the collar—a ring pierced by a vertical line. Dust authority.

Their leader stepped forward—a tall young man with dark hair, cruel eyes, and the lazy confidence of someone who knew the law would never touch him. “Evening, Dust-girl,” he sneered. “Warden Voss likes to keep her ledgers updated. So where's her coin, girl?"

“Here,” I said quickly, fishing a few copper pieces from the small pouch beneath my apron. “It’s all I have—from ash-shifting. If you come back later, I can pay more. I’ll be hauling produce at the market and carrying water to the brothels tonight.”

The leader snatched the coins from my hand and counted them with practiced speed. When he realized it wasn’t enough, he shook his head, the smile on his lips twisting into something cruel. With a casual flick of his fingers, the collar of my dress tightened around my neck.

I gasped.

“This isn’t enough,” he said coolly. “You know what happens when you can’t pay, don’t you? We’ll put little Lio to work—and I guarantee he won’t last a day."

The way he said it sent a chill through me. Sick residents were a liability. They didn’t last long. Most ended up on the purge list.

“I… I’ll get more,” I stammered, my voice catching as my throat tightened. “I promise.”

He studied me in silence, eyes hard and assessing. Behind him, the rest of the gang let out low, mocking chuckles as they took a step back.

“Fine,” he said at last.

He snapped his fingers, and the invisible pressure around my throat vanished. I stumbled forward, coughing, dragging air back into my lungs.

“Tomorrow then,” he said, pocketing the coins. “Sera, the Warden’s patience wears thin. And sick dependents…” His gaze slid past me, lingering on Lio. “…are very expensive.”

He paused, then added softly, almost kindly, “If I were you, I’d give some thought to the Warden’s proposal.”

Then they were gone, swallowed by the alleys as if they had never been there at all.

I slammed the door shut and exhaled shakily.

The Collectors weren’t the worst of it.

That honor belonged to the woman they answered to.

The Warden had summoned me once under the pretense of a “labor review.” Her office had reeked of ink and incense, the windows barred, and the door’s lock clicking behind me was a sound that still haunted my dreams.

She had smiled as she looked at my papers.

"There are ways to ease a girl’s burdens", she had said, her voice mild, almost kind. "Special arrangements."

"Pledge your loyalty to me, and I will make you a Collector."

"All you have to do is bend the knee. Submit."

I had understood then—with a clarity that tasted like ash. I would survive, yes… but only by becoming the very thing I despised. A bully, forged by fear and dressed in authority.

I swallowed and forced the memory away. Refusing her hadn’t freed me. It had only marked me.

The Collectors were proof of that.

A cough cut through the room. I rushed to Lio, kneeling beside him, and helped him sip from a chipped cup. His throat was parched—but the cup was empty. My stomach twisted. We needed more water.

I grabbed the jug and hurried back outside, balancing it carefully against my hip.

At the well, she appeared as if summoned from the shadows, a frail old woman who traded fortunes for food or coin, her form blocking my path. The last shards of sunlight clung to her silver hair, and her eyes glinted like fractured glass, sharp enough to cut.

Sometimes she offered me scraps from her day’s earnings, but today there was no basket at her side.

Perhapsperhaps she has coins for medicine.

“You seek what the world has denied,” she rasped, leaning heavily on her crooked staff.

I shook my head. Fortune-telling would do me no good. I needed money.

“I… I need coins,” I said, tightening my grip on the jug. “For food. For medicine. For my brother. If you can spare some, please—I’ll be forever grateful.”

Her gaze swept over me, sharp and unsettlingly perceptive. “Ah… desperation. Fire in your heart, but no foresight to temper it.” She tilted her head. “The shrine—ancient, forbidden—offers what you crave. It’s calling to you. You can hear it.”

She knew about my dreams? Impossible. I’ve never told anyone—not a word about the whispers or the visions. She must’ve heard me muttering in my sleep, I reasoned, though even that felt flimsy.

She leaned closer, her eyes locking with mine. “But every gift wears its chains. Are you willing to bear the cost?”

“I don’t have time for riddles,” I snapped. “If you won’t give, then shoo. I have a sick brother to tend to.”

The woman’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. “So be it. But remember—you cannot fight destiny.”

I glared at her retreating back, forcing down the urge to call after her and demand an explanation. Whatever she meant could wait. I had more pressing problems.

I filled the jug quickly and hurried back, balancing it with practiced care. Children darted past me—begging, snatching, laughing despite their ragged clothes and hollow bellies. One little girl tripped over my slipper and let out a sharp cry. I knelt to help her up.

“Easy now. You need to look after yourself. Healers cost money,” I murmured.

She nodded, wide-eyed, before darting off again, leaving me to return to Lio. I poured the water carefully into his cup. He sipped slowly, shivering.

“Better?” I asked.

“A little…” he murmured. “Sera… do you have any food? I’m starving.”

My stomach growled the moment he said food. Me too.

“I’ll make us some cabbage soup,” I said, pushing myself to my feet. “And this time, you’ll have bread. Someone gave me half a loaf.”

I unloaded what little I’d scavenged onto the table and set to work.

As long as I'm alive, there's hope of saving my brother.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

A pack of their own

A pack of their own

2m Views · Completed · dragonsbain22
Being the middle Child ignored and neglected, rejected by family and injured, She receives her wolf early and realizes she is a new type of hybrid but doesn't know how to control her power, she leaves her pack with her best friend and grandmother to go to her grandfather's clan to learn what she is and how to handle her power and then with her fated mate, her best friend and her fated mate little brother and grandmother start their own pack.
Ruined : You will always be mine.

Ruined : You will always be mine.

43.5k Views · Completed · Nia Kas
I could feel him standing in front of me. He grabbed my legs and in one single move thrusted into me.
“Fuckkk”, I couldn’t help but scream.
“You need to learn to be obedient” he said as he kept thrusting into me. When I felt his hands on my clit my body shook.
“Asher please, it’s too much”.
“No. if I really wanted to punish you, I would give you all of me”, he said against my ears and my entire body froze. Suddenly he moved and I was standing again. This man was insane.
I felt him behind me. “Ten Lashes for your disobedience”, he said
“Asher please”,
“No”. His voice was cold and void of any emotion.

Asher was what I wanted , what I truly craved until it was too late. An orphan should never fall in love with someone out of their reach. I thought loving him was the right thing to do until he revealed his true identity and Ruined me. I was ruined for everyone one else . I could still feel his touch, it was as if it was etched into my skin. I tired to avoid him but fate wouldn't let it happen.
The Sterling's were the most powerful in Havenwood and Dorian Sterling was off limits.

As an orphan finding out you still have people looking for you is hard to take but when it turns out to be people of wealth and standing I took the other road and ran, but running led me right back to the place I was avoiding and the person I was avoiding.
Asher and Dorling Sterling one and the same. When his first love shows up and along with everyone that has set out to ruin me, I prayed that he could protect me.
Timeless Us

Timeless Us

2.2k Views · Ongoing · Jennifer Cooper
A strange traffic jam hurls Chloe twenty-three years into the future.
The world she knew is gone.
Her husband, Nathan, is no longer the young man she left behind—he’s successful, respected, and living with a new family.
But when the woman who disappeared twenty-three years ago suddenly returns…
can love survive the years that were lost?
Vengeance of the Forsaken Luna

Vengeance of the Forsaken Luna

10.2k Views · Completed · Sherry
"How thoughtful."
"Bella." Ethan's tone shifted, taking on that warning edge I knew too well. "Faye is vulnerable right now. She's terrified you'll resent her, that this will divide the pack. The last thing she wants is for this baby to come between us."
"Then you shouldn't have done it." I met his eyes squarely, letting him see the ice in mine. "Go back to your son."
"For fuck's sake." He dragged a hand through his hair. "How many times—it was artificial insemination. They used my sperm, yes, but Faye and I never—"
Bella let out a cold snort. Such brazen lies. Her mate had an affair with his brother's partner, and his entire family helped force her out with nothing, all to make way for the mistress to take her rightful position. Poor fool—he thought she was just an unwanted adopted daughter, easy to dismiss and control. He never knew the computer genius he'd been searching for was his own Luna.
Since he'd tainted himself, Bella was done. She rejected him and reclaimed what was hers, rising to the top with help from Victor, who'd been secretly in love with her for years.
When Ethan tried winning her back: "You don't want our child growing up fatherless."
Bella smiled mockingly. "The child's father isn't you."
In Bed With My Ex's Brother-in-Law

In Bed With My Ex's Brother-in-Law

22.5k Views · Completed · Ady Daniels
He left her on the streets. His brother-in-law picked her up… and made her his wife.
On the day her ex, Mark, married the wealthy socialite Bella, Elena was thrown out with nothing but the clothes on her back—humiliated, broken, and utterly alone.
Until Eric Thompson appeared.
Bella’s older brother. Mark’s powerful brother-in-law. And the most feared Alpha in the city.
He offered her a hand when no one else would. Then, he offered her a deal:
A marriage in name only. A shield against her past. A chance to rebuild.
Elena accepted, expecting a cold arrangement between strangers. But behind closed doors, Eric’s carefully guarded control unraveled—and so did hers. Their chemistry was explosive, their nights intense, and the lines between business and pleasure blurred beyond recognition.
He was the one man she could never have… and the only one she couldn’t resist.
But when Mark realizes what he truly lost, and Bella discovers the secret behind her brother’s bride, Elena must decide:
Is this just a contract?
Or is this the love she was always meant to fight for?
From Substitute To Queen

From Substitute To Queen

1.4m Views · Completed · Hannah Moore
For three years, Sable loved Alpha Darrell with everything she had, spending her salary to support their household while being called an orphan and gold-digger. But just as Darrell was about to mark her as his Luna, his ex-girlfriend returned, texting: "I'm not wearing underwear. My plane lands soon—pick me up and fuck me immediately."

Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.

Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.

In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?

From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
The Missing Mafia Princess and her CEO Mafia Don

The Missing Mafia Princess and her CEO Mafia Don

6.3k Views · Ongoing · Tonje Unosen
Isabella believes that her boyfriend can change is way again and be the man she fell in love with. But when she get kidnapped because of him, and he is to busy with another lady instead of saving her. She understands she is better off without him. She gets saved by her boyfriend cousin who has loved Isabella for years. Just stayed in the shadows. Will Alexander help her heal from the broken heart his ignorant cousin leaves her with, and then win her heart?
Let Them Kneel

Let Them Kneel

232.5k Views · Ongoing · My Fantasy Stories
Kaelani spent her life believing she was wolfless.
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.

But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.

Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.

When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.

For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.

Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.

But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.

And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.

Especially him.

She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.

Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates

Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates

4.9k Views · Ongoing · Author Aimen
“I am Maya Blackthorn, the first daughter of Alpha Darius of the Ashbourne Pack, and I am damned… damned by the Moon Goddess. And destined to bring kingdoms to their knees.”
Cast out by her pack for being wolfless and plagued by uncontrollable heat, Maya has spent her life surviving humiliation in silence.
Fate drags her into the path of Kael Draven, the ruthless Lycan King who claims her… only to reject her.
But Kael is not the only Alpha bound to her.
Finn, her childhood best friend and the rising Alpha, loves her with a devotion so fierce, he spends four years locked away in the most ruthless dungeon only to keep her safe.
Xander, a rogue wolf who can make even Alphas bow to his will, has waited centuries for her to be reborn, and he has no intention of losing her again.
Three Alphas.
Three claims.
One cursed destiny.
They called her wolfless. They thought she was weak. But she is done hiding, and this time, she's rewriting the rules.
A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)

A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)

3.9k Views · Ongoing · ADB_Stories
One mistake centuries ago left Lemuel cursed by the Goddess Merlos and forced to wander the earth granting the wishes of those who touch him. Lemuel was looking at an eternity of loneliness until his unexpected soulmate plucked him right out of the sea.

Shocked to find he's been bound in more ways than one to Sebastian, the future King to the Kingdom of Atlesper, Lemuel resists Sebastian's advances at every turn, believing this may be one pairing Goddess Zarseti got wrong.

Lemuel will have to face his past in hopes of starting a new future, but an overly flirtatious King is the least of his worries when he learns Sebastian's parents are convinced that a conniving usurper disguised as a curvy blonde, is the future king's true soulmate.

A Queen Among Tides is the 5th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.

Books in the series order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Gen Coming Soon)
Lightborn: The Demon’s Bond

Lightborn: The Demon’s Bond

4.8k Views · Completed · ngocvynguyen985
Valerie accidentally forms a bond with Maxwell, a light demon, and begins seeing the dangerous supernatural world hidden around her. As the two constantly bicker yet protect each other, Valerie gradually discovers her own light-based powers and confronts many dark forces, including a serial kidnapper, the dark demon Zane, and other malevolent entities. Maxwell, haunted by the death of his former lover Juliana, repeatedly tries to distance himself from Valerie to keep her safe, causing both of them pain. Yet every time Valerie is in danger, Maxwell returns to save her, and their feelings grow deeper. The climax comes when they face Mason, a fire demon who hunts human–demon couples; Valerie risks her life in battle while Maxwell nearly collapses from exhaustion. In the end, Mason is destroyed, the threats fade away, and Valerie and Maxwell can finally stay together in peace.