KAELIS'S POV:
I wake up alone.
Which is weird because Nyx has been hovering like an overprotective sea-dad since I got here. But this morning, the chamber is empty except for me and the gentle sound of water dripping somewhere in the distance.
I sit up, looking around. There's food on the table—that blue bread I've actually started to like, some fruit, and what Nyx calls "coral water" but I call "surprisingly delicious magic juice."
A note sits beside the plate, written in flowing script on what looks like seaweed paper:
Kaelis,
Had to attend to realm business. You're free to explore, but please don't:
- Touch the sacred crystals
- Jump in any more pools
- Break anything expensive
- Flood the entire Tidelands
Try to behave for one morning.
- Nyx
P.S. There are wards on the dangerous areas. You physically can't enter them. I've learned to take precautions.
I crumple the note.
"He warded things because of me," I mutter. "Rude."
But also... kind of funny.
And maybe a little bit sweet that he left me food.
NOT THAT I CARE.
I eat quickly, dress in the weird water-silk clothes that have somehow become normal, and decide to explore.
If Nyx doesn't want me touching things, that just makes me want to touch things more.
The Tidelands are actually beautiful when you're not having a breakdown.
Caves that glow with soft blue light. Pools of crystal-clear water that reflect like mirrors. Strange fish that swim through the air like it's water (which, Nyx explained, is because magic makes the air here act like water for sea creatures—my brain hurt after that conversation).
I wander through corridors carved from coral and stone, running my fingers along walls that pulse with faint light, feeling like I'm inside some kind of living thing.
I turn a corner and find a chamber I haven't seen before.
It's big.
Circular, with a high domed ceiling covered in those glowing star-creatures. In the center is a pool of water so still it looks like glass. Around it, crystals jut from the ground at odd angles, all pointing toward the water.
"Okay," I say to absolutely no one. "This is either really important or really dangerous."
Probably both.
I should leave.
Obviously I don't.
I approach the pool carefully, peering into the still water. My reflection stares back—silver hair messy from sleep, storm-grey eyes curious, wearing clothes that make me look like some kind of underwater prince.
Which I guess I technically am now? Nyx keeps calling me "his" and I keep not correcting him and—
FOCUS, KAELIS.
I crouch beside the pool. The water is so clear I can see the bottom—smooth black stone covered in more of those glowing symbols.
"What are you?" I murmur.
The water ripples.
Not from wind—there's no wind down here.
Just... ripples. Like something answered.
"Okay, creepy magic pool," I say. "Are you going to eat me or—"
I reach out.
Touch the surface.
The world EXPLODES.
Not literally explodes.
But the water lights up—bright, blinding, every color at once—and suddenly I'm not looking at my reflection anymore.
I'm looking at a room.its like A bedroom.
Dark stone walls. Black silk sheets. Candlelight flickering.
And me. Or—not me?
Someone who looks exactly like me but... different. Softer features. Brown hair instead of silver. Warm amber eyes instead of storm-grey.
He's sitting up in bed, wearing sleep clothes, talking to someone I can't see—
The view shifts.
And I see him.
RAVION FUCKING BLACKCOURT.
The man I ran away from marrying.
He's sitting on the edge of the bed, SMILING at not-me, saying something that makes not-me laugh, and they're so close and comfortable and—
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!"
I jerk my hand back.
The vision disappears.
The pool returns to normal.
I'm on my feet, backing away, breathing hard.
"No," I say. "No no no no—that wasn't—that can't—"
I saw myself With Ravion In a bed & most importantly Looking happy...
"NYX!" I'm screaming now, spinning around. "NYX, GET YOUR ASS HERE RIGHT NOW!"
He appears in approximately three seconds.
Literally materializes from the water dripping down the walls, forming into solid shape, looking panicked.
"What's wrong?! Are you hurt?! Did you—" He sees the pool. Sees my face. Goes very still. "You touched the Scrying Pool."
"SCRYING POOL?! You have a SCRYING POOL and you didn't think to MENTION IT?!"
"I thought I warded it!"
"Well you DIDN'T!" I'm gesturing wildly. "And I touched it and I saw—I saw—" My voice cracks. "There's someone with my FACE!"
Nyx closes his eyes. "Fuck."
"You KNEW?!"
"Kaelis—"
"There's another person with my face! In a bed! With RAVION! The Dark King I RAN AWAY FROM MARRYING!" I'm fully shouting now. "EXPLAIN ME! RIGHT NOW!"
He opens his eyes. "Sit down."
"I don't want to SIT DOWN! I want ANSWERS!"
"Sit," he repeats, voice firm. "Before you hyperventilate and pass out."
I want to argue. But he's right. I'm breathing too fast. Vision spotting at the edges.
I sit on the floor.
Nyx sits across from me, looking more serious than I've ever seen him.
"There are two of you," he says quietly.
"WHAT?!"
"Two princes born under bleeding stars. You and... Kieran Solis."
"That's not—that doesn't make SENSE!"
"The prophecy split," Nyx explains. "When you were born, the magic was so powerful it fractured across time. Created an echo. A mirror. Kieran was born in 2025—two hundred years in your future—with your face, your connection to the prophecy, your destiny."
I'm going to be sick.
"So there's just... another me. Running around. In the future."
"Was in the future." Nyx's expression is grim. "Not anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"The night you jumped through the portal, he fell through from the other side. You went to 2025. He went to 1811." He pauses. "He landed in Nocterra."
Oh no."Ravion found him," I whisper.
"Yes."
"And thought he was me."
"Yes."
"And MARRIED HIM?!"
"...Yes."
I'm going to kill someone NO Multiple someones & Starting with that FUCKING prophecy..
"So while I'm here," I say slowly, "trapped in an underwater cave with a stalker sea god—"
"Hey—"
"—there's a boy with my face trapped in a cursed kingdom with the Dark King who thinks he MARRIED ME?!"
"That's... an accurate summary, yes."
"AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO MENTION THIS?!"
"I was going to!" Nyx protests. "But you were busy trying to murder me with coral and flooding my training rooms and—"
"NOT THE POINT!"
"—and I didn't want to overwhelm you!"
"OVERWHELM ME?! I'm ALREADY OVERWHELMED!" I'm on my feet again, pacing. "There's another ME! Who's MARRIED! To the man I RAN AWAY FROM!" I spin to face him. "Does he know? That he's not me?"
"Ravion figured it out. Eventually."
"And he kept him ANYWAY?!"
"Blood magic bonds can't be broken." Nyx stands too. "Once they were married, they were bound. Permanently."
"That poor kid," I breathe.
"From what I can see, he's... managing."
I think about the vision. The way not-me—Kieran—was laughing. The way Ravion was smiling at him like he was something precious.
"They looked..." I trail off.
"Close," Nyx finishes.
"Yeah."
We're both quiet for a moment.
Then: "I need to meet him."
Nyx goes very still. "Kaelis—"
"There's another person with my face! Going through the same prophecy bullshit I am! Being claimed by a possessive supernatural being—no offense—"
"Some taken."
"—and I need to meet him! We need to—to compare notes! Figure out what the fuck this prophecy actually means!"
"It's not that simple."
"WHY NOT?!"
"Because Nocterra and the Tidelands aren't exactly friendly," Nyx says carefully. "Ravion and I have been... territorial about the prophecy. About you. About—"
"About ownership," I finish bitterly.
He winces. "Yes."
"So what, you're just going to keep me locked down here forever? Never let me meet the one other person in the universe who might actually understand what I'm going through?"
"I'm not keeping you locked—"
"AREN'T YOU?!"
"I'm protecting you!"
"From WHAT?!"
"From Ravion! From your mother! From everyone who wants to use you for the prophecy! From—" He stops. Takes a breath. "From a world that will hurt you."
"What if I want to take that risk?"
"I won't let you."
We stare at each other. Both breathing hard. The bond between us—because yes, there's definitely a bond forming, I can feel it—pulling tight.
"You said I could leave whenever I wanted," I say quietly.
"And you can."
"But you'll just follow me."
"To the ends of the earth." He doesn't even hesitate. "Yes."
"Why?" My voice cracks. "Why do you care so much? You don't even know me!"
"I've known you for twenty-two years—"
"You WATCHED me! That's not the same as KNOWING me!" Tears burn behind my eyes. "I'm not some prophecy prize! I'm not yours to keep! I'm a person and I deserve—"
"I know." He crosses the space between us in two strides. Grabs my shoulders. "I know you're a person. I know I don't own you. I know I'm being possessive and controlling and everything you hate. But Kaelis—" His silver eyes are desperate. "I've waited so long. And now that you're here, now that you're real, I can't—I can't lose you."
"You never had me to lose!"
"I KNOW THAT TOO!"
We're both yelling. Both crying—when did I start crying?
"I want to meet him," I say.
"I know."
"Will you help me?"
Nyx is quiet for a long moment.
Then: "Yes."
I blink. "...Really?"
"Yes." He wipes a tear from my cheek with his thumb. "But we do it my way. Safely. With precautions. Ravion can't know until we're ready."
"Why not?"
"Because he's possessive, paranoid, and very powerful." Nyx's expression darkens. "And if he thinks I'm trying to take both prophecy children, he'll start a war."
"Over us?"
"Over you." He corrects. "Both of you. The prophecy children are the most valuable things in this world right now."
"We're not things."
"I know." His hands are still on my shoulders. "But the world doesn't see it that way."
I'm exhausted. But also... determined.
"Help me meet him," I say. "Please."
Nyx nods slowly.
"I will. I promise." He pulls me into a hug— "But be patient. This will take time."
I let myself lean into him. Just for a moment.
"I'm not good at patience."
"I've noticed." I can hear the smile in his voice. "But for this, you'll have to try."
"Fine." I pull back. "But Nyx?"
"Yes?"
"If you're lying to me, if you're just trying to keep me here longer, I will find that coral weapon again and I will stab you."
He laughs. "I will hide it.."