Caelan's POV
I felt her presence the moment she entered my chambers.
My twin sister. My mirror. The other half of my soul that had been ripped away twenty-one years ago.
I kept my breathing steady, pretending to sleep. Letting her approach. She needed to make this choice herself—to kill me or to trust me. I couldn't force it.
Moonlight streamed through the window as soft footsteps crossed my bedroom floor. I sensed her magic—lightning crackling just beneath her skin, barely controlled. She was terrified. Confused. Angry.
Perfect. Fear and anger I could work with. It was cold calculation I'd have feared.
Through barely-open eyes, I watched her raise the poisoned blade. Her hand trembled. Just slightly, but enough.
She wasn't the perfect weapon Grandmother Nyx had tried to create.
There was still humanity in her. Still my sister, buried under years of lies.
I opened my eyes fully. "Hello, sister. I'm glad you stayed."
Keira's POV
His eyes opened and I couldn't move.
Storm-gray. Exactly like mine. Like looking into a mirror that showed me everything I could have been.
"Don't call me that," I said, but my voice shook. The poisoned blade trembled in my hand. One strike. That's all it would take. Complete the mission. Prove I was strong enough.
Prove the Covenant didn't waste fifteen years on me.
But I'd seen the memory crystal. Seen Grandmother Nyx murder our parents. Seen her steal me while this boy—this man in front of me—screamed my name.
"Why aren't you afraid?" I demanded. "I'm here to kill you."
Caelan sat up slowly, wind magic swirling around him like a protective shield. But he didn't attack. Didn't call for guards. Just looked at me with those impossible eyes.
"Because you're my sister," he said simply. "And I've been waiting twenty-one years for you to come home. If dying is what it takes for you to be here, then—"
"Stop!" My lightning magic exploded outward uncontrollably. His wind rose to meet it, and where they touched, the elements created a storm that shook the entire room.
We both gasped.
Our magic was reacting to each other. Dancing together. Like they recognized each other even when we didn't.
"Did you feel that?" Caelan's voice was filled with wonder. "Our magic—it's connected. That's twin elemental bonding. It only happens with siblings born from royal bloodlines. Keira, this is proof. We're—"
"I know!" I shouted. "I know we're twins! I saw the memory crystal! I know Grandmother Nyx killed our parents and stole me! I know everything!"
Silence fell between us, broken only by the crackling of our mingled magic.
"Then why are you still holding that blade?" Caelan asked gently.
My hand tightened on the dagger. "Because for fifteen years, the Covenant was my family. Grandmother Nyx raised me. Silas was my brother. They saved me from—"
"They stole you!" Caelan's composure finally cracked. "They murdered our parents right in front of us! They ripped you from my arms while you screamed for me! They erased your memories and turned you into a weapon! How can you still defend them?"
"Because they're all I remember!" I screamed back. "You're a stranger! This city is strange! Everything here feels wrong because it's not what I know! At least with the Covenant, I understood my purpose. I knew who I was supposed to be!"
"A killer." His voice went quiet. Sad. "They made you a killer when you were supposed to be a princess. My sister. My best friend."
Something cracked in my chest. "I don't remember being your friend."
"I remember enough for both of us." Caelan stood slowly, keeping his hands visible. "You used to make flower crowns and put them on my head. Called me 'Prince Cae-Cae' because you couldn't say Caelan properly. You were afraid of thunderstorms until you realized you could create lightning. Then you thought it was the best thing ever."
Each word hit like a physical blow. I didn't remember any of it. But somehow, it felt true.
"You laughed constantly," he continued, taking a careful step closer. "Loud and bright. Our parents said your laughter could light up the darkest room. When you were taken, it was like all the light went out of the world."
Tears burned my eyes. "Stop. Just stop."
"I can't." Another step. "Because you need to know what they stole from you. From us. You weren't born to kill, Keira. You were born to be loved."
The dagger fell from my hand, clattering to the floor.
"I don't know how to be that person," I whispered. "The girl you remember—she's dead. They killed her the day they took me."
"No." Caelan closed the distance between us, standing so close I could see tears in his eyes—my eyes. "She's just lost. And I'm going to help you find her again."
He reached out his hand, palm up. An offering. A choice.
I stared at it, my entire body shaking. Behind me was the Covenant. Grandmother Nyx. Fifteen years of training and purpose and belonging.
Ahead was this stranger with my face. This prince who claimed to love a sister he barely remembered. This impossible hope that I could be someone other than a weapon.
"If I take your hand," I said slowly, "the Covenant will come for me. For you. For everyone in this city. Grandmother Nyx doesn't forgive betrayal. She'll burn Valdoria to the ground."
"Let her try." Caelan's smile was fierce. "I've built something here worth protecting. And now I have you to protect it with me. Together, we're unstoppable. The prophecy said—"
"What prophecy?"
His expression shifted. Became guarded. "That's... something we should discuss when you're ready. When you've decided whether to stay or—"
The window exploded inward.
Silas landed in a crouch, poison magic dripping from his blades. Behind him, three more Shadow Covenant assassins poured through.
"Hello, Keira," Silas said, his green eyes cold and hurt. "Grandmother sent us to bring you home. Or bring your body back. Your choice."
My heart stopped. They'd come so fast. Too fast.
Unless...
"You were watching me," I breathed. "The whole time. You knew I'd defect."
"Grandmother knows everything." Silas stood, weapons ready. "She gave you a chance to complete your mission. You failed. Now you're a traitor. And traitors die."
He lunged for Caelan.
I moved without thinking. My lightning struck Silas mid-leap, throwing him backward. I placed myself between my brother and the assassins, power crackling across my entire body.
"You want him?" I said quietly. "You go through me first."
Silas stared at me like I'd stabbed him. "You're really choosing him? A stranger? Over me? Over your family?"
"You're not my family." The words came easier than I expected. "You never were. You were my jailers. My abusers. My chains."
"Then you'll die in chains!" Silas roared, attacking with everything he had.
The battle exploded.
Caelan's wind and my lightning combined instinctively, creating a storm that tore through the room. But we were outnumbered. The assassins were trained, coordinated, deadly.
One blade got through my defense, cutting deep into my shoulder. I gasped in pain.
"Keira!" Caelan tried to reach me but two assassins blocked his path.
Silas pinned me against the wall, his blade at my throat. Up close, I saw tears in his eyes.
"I loved you," he whispered. "I would have given you everything. Why wasn't that enough?"
"Because your love came with conditions," I said. "His doesn't."
I headbutted him, breaking free. My lightning struck him full-force, and he crumpled.
Palace guards finally burst in, responding to the noise. Commander Theron led them, his earth magic erupting. "Protect the prince!"
The remaining assassins retreated through the window, dragging the unconscious Silas with them. In seconds, they were gone.
Silence fell over the destroyed bedroom.
I collapsed, blood pouring from my shoulder wound. The poison on Silas's blade was already burning through my veins.
Caelan dropped beside me, catching me before I hit the floor. "Get Lyra! Now! Someone get the healer!"
"I'm sorry," I whispered, my vision blurring. "I brought them here. This is my fault."
"No. You saved me." His hand pressed against my wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "You chose me, Keira. You chose us."
"Doesn't matter if I die."
"You're not dying!" His voice cracked. "I just got you back. You're not leaving me again. Do you hear me? You're not allowed to die!"
Lyra appeared, her healing magic already glowing. But even she looked worried when she saw the wound.
"That's Shadow Covenant poison," she said grimly. "I can slow it, but I'll need time to create an antidote. Time she might not have."
Caelan's wind magic flared desperately. "Then work faster! I don't care what it takes—save her!"
My eyes grew heavy. The poison was pulling me under. But I could still see Caelan's face above me, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Don't cry, Cae-Cae," I mumbled, using the nickname from his story. "Princesses... don't cry..."
"You remember?" His voice filled with desperate hope.
I didn't. But somehow, the words felt right.
Darkness pulled me under.
The last thing I heard was my brother screaming my name.