[Kael's POV]
My sister was dying in my arms.
I'd spent eighteen years dreaming about her—the silver-haired girl who called my name in my sleep. I'd imagined a thousand ways we might meet. Not once did I imagine it would be like this.
"HEALERS!" I screamed, pressing my hands against the ice spears piercing Sera's body. Blood—so much blood—poured through my fingers. "SOMEONE GET THE HEALERS NOW!"
Davrin was already running. Guards dragged the ice-wielding assassin from the room, her screams of fury echoing down the hall. But I barely heard any of it. All I could focus on was Sera's face—my face—going pale as death.
"Stay with me," I begged. "Please, you can't die. I just found you—"
Her storm-gray eyes—my eyes—fluttered open. "Kael..." Blood bubbled at her lips. "I'm sorry. For everything. For coming here to kill you. For being too late to save us both."
"You're not too late. You saved me. You chose me." My voice cracked. "Now let me save you back."
I'd never used my light magic for healing before. That required precision, control, years of study. But desperation made me reckless. I placed my glowing hands over her wounds and poured everything I had into her.
Light magic flooded the room—brilliant, warm, almost blinding. It flowed from me into Sera, seeking the damage, trying to knit flesh and stop bleeding. But the ice had done too much damage. My magic wasn't enough.
"Your Highness, move aside!" Master Eldrin burst through the door, his ancient face tight with urgency. Behind him came two palace healers carrying bags of supplies.
I didn't want to let go. Couldn't let go. If I released her, she might slip away forever.
"Kael." Master Eldrin's hand on my shoulder was gentle but firm. "Let them work. Your magic is keeping her alive, but they need space to remove the ice."
Reluctantly, I shifted back but kept one hand on Sera's arm. The bond between us pulsed weakly, like a dying heartbeat. I fed more magic into it, trying to strengthen the connection. Trying to anchor her to this world through sheer will.
The healers worked with swift efficiency—extracting ice shards, cleaning wounds, applying potions and bandages. Master Eldrin knelt beside me, his hands glowing with ancient healing magic far beyond my skill.
"She's strong," he murmured. "Whoever trained her made sure she could survive almost anything. But the ice pierced her lung. If we don't stabilize her in the next few minutes..."
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
"She's my twin," I said, my voice hollow. "We were separated as infants. Someone sent her here to kill me, and she saved my life instead."
Master Eldrin's wise eyes widened. "The prophecy. Shadow and light. Twins born of the First Mages." He looked at Sera with new understanding. "She's the other half of your bloodline. The shadow to your light."
"Can you save her?"
"I will try, my prince. But her survival depends on more than my magic." He gestured to our joined hands, where silver light pulsed between us. "That bond you share—it's keeping her tethered to life. Don't let go. No matter what happens, don't break that connection."
I tightened my grip. "I won't. I promise."
Time became meaningless. Minutes or hours passed—I couldn't tell. The healers worked. Master Eldrin chanted in ancient languages. And I held my sister's hand, feeding our bond with every scrap of magic I possessed.
Finally, Master Eldrin sat back, exhausted. "She's stable. The lung is repaired. The bleeding has stopped. But..." He hesitated.
"But what?"
"She's not waking up. Her body is healed, but her mind..." He touched Sera's forehead gently. "She's trapped somewhere between consciousness and shadow. I think her magic is trying to protect her by keeping her in darkness. But if she stays there too long, she may never come back."
Panic seized my chest. "Then I'll go get her."
"Your Highness, you don't understand—"
"I understand perfectly." I looked at my twin's pale face. "She's lost in shadows. I have light magic. The bond connects us. I can reach her."
"The bond goes both ways," Master Eldrin warned. "If you enter her consciousness, you risk becoming trapped with her. Or worse—her shadow magic might consume your light. You could both be lost."
"Then we'll be lost together." I met his eyes steadily. "I won't abandon her again. We've been separated for eighteen years. That ends now."
Master Eldrin studied me for a long moment, then nodded. "You have your mother's courage. And your father's stubborn heart." He stood and gestured for the healers to leave. "I'll guard the door. But Kael? If you're not back in ten minutes, I'm pulling you out by force. Luminara needs its prince."
"Luminara needs both of us," I corrected.
Once we were alone, I positioned myself beside Sera on the bed. I kept our hands joined and placed my other hand over her heart, where our matching birthmarks pulsed with faint silver light.
"I'm coming for you, sister," I whispered. "Just hold on."
I closed my eyes and dove into the bond.
The world turned inside out.
Suddenly I was falling through darkness—thick, suffocating, endless shadow that had no bottom. I couldn't see anything. Couldn't feel anything except the bond pulling me forward like a rope in a storm.
"SERA!" My voice echoed strangely, like shouting underwater. "Where are you?"
No answer. Just more darkness.
I summoned my light magic, and a warm glow spread from my hands. The shadows recoiled slightly, revealing glimpses of Sera's memories frozen around me like shattered glass.
I saw a little girl crying in the rain. Saw cold hands picking her up. Saw years of brutal training—a child forced to fight, forced to bleed, forced to become something inhuman. Saw her standing over a dog with a blade in her shaking hands.
My heart broke.
"Sera!" I pushed deeper into the shadows, following the bond. "I know you can hear me! Come back! Please!"
Finally, I found her.
She was curled up in the darkest corner of this shadow realm, making herself as small as possible. She looked younger here—like the child she'd been before Shadowveil broke her.
"Go away," she whispered. "I'm a monster. You shouldn't be here."
"You're not a monster. You're my sister." I knelt in front of her. "And I'm not leaving without you."
"I came to kill you," she said, tears streaming down her face. "I stood over you with a blade. I should have done it. I'm weak. Broken. Mordain was right—I'm nothing."
"Mordain is a liar." I reached for her hand. "You're not nothing. You're Sera. You're my twin. You're the person who chose family over fear. That's not weakness—that's the strongest thing anyone can do."
She looked at me with eyes full of pain. "Why do you care? You don't even know me."
"I've known you my whole life." I smiled sadly. "Every nightmare I couldn't explain was you suffering. Every dream of a silver-haired girl was you calling for help. We've been connected since birth, Sera. The bond makes sure I feel what you feel." I squeezed her hand. "And right now, you're feeling terrified that you're not good enough to be saved. But you're wrong."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because I'm not good enough either." The admission hurt, but it was true. "I'm a nineteen-year-old prince trying to change an entire continent. I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm terrified every single day that I'll fail everyone who believes in me. But you know what keeps me going?"
She shook her head.
"The hope that someday, I'd find you. That I'd finally have someone who understands what it's like to carry impossible weight. Someone who shares my blood, my magic, my soul." I pulled her to her feet. "You're that person, Sera. And I need you to come back. Not because I want to fix you, but because we're supposed to fix each other."
The shadows around us wavered. Light began seeping through cracks.
"I don't know how to be anything other than a weapon," she whispered.
"Then I'll teach you. And you can teach me how to be strong enough to face what's coming. Because the people who separated us? They're going to be very angry when they find out we're together." I grinned. "We'll need each other to survive."
For the first time, she smiled. It was small and broken, but it was real.
"Okay," she said. "Okay, I'll try."
The moment she agreed, the shadows exploded with light. Our bond blazed like a sun, pulling us back toward consciousness, toward life, toward each other—
I gasped and opened my eyes.
Sera's eyes opened at the same instant.
We stared at each other, both breathing hard, both glowing with silver light from our birthmarks.
"You came for me," she whispered in wonder.
"Always," I promised. "From now on, always."
She started crying—really crying, not the silent tears from before. Eighteen years of pain poured out of her, and I held her through it all.
But our reunion was cut short by Davrin bursting through the door, his face pale.
"Your Highness, we have a problem. A massive problem." He looked between us. "The assassin we captured? She's demanding to speak with you. She says if you don't listen, the Guild Master will destroy everything you love."
Sera stiffened in my arms. "Lyris. She'll tell Mordain I failed. That I betrayed him."
"Let her," I said firmly. "Let this Guild Master know that his weapon chose freedom. Chose family. Chose us."
"You don't understand." Sera's voice shook. "Mordain doesn't accept failure. He'll come here himself. And when he does..." She looked at me with terrified eyes. "He'll kill everyone in this palace to get to us. He'll burn Luminara to the ground."
Before I could respond, every window in the room shattered.
A figure made of living shadow materialized in the center of the room—tall, thin, with dead black eyes and a smile that promised death.
"Hello, children," Guild Master Mordain said softly. "Did you really think I wouldn't have a backup plan?"