[Sera's POV]
The sky turned black with assassins.
They poured over Luminara's walls like a plague—shadows with blades, faces hidden behind masks, silent as death itself. Hundreds of them. Every orphan Mordain had ever broken and remade into a weapon.
And I'd trained half of them.
"Get the civilians to the palace!" Kael shouted at Davrin. "Evacuate the outer districts! Move, NOW!"
But we were already too late. Screams erupted across the city as Shadowveil's assassins struck. They weren't here for a quiet infiltration. This was a massacre.
"They're targeting everyone," I breathed, watching in horror as fires started in three different districts. "Mordain's not just trying to kill you—he's destroying Luminara itself."
"Then we stop him." Kael's lightning crackled brighter. "Together."
Master Eldrin appeared at our side, ancient power radiating from him like heat from a forge. "Your Highness, Lady Sera—the palace wards are holding, but barely. Shadowveil brought ward-breakers. They'll have the barriers down in minutes."
"How many fighters do we have?" Kael demanded.
"Three hundred palace guards. Two hundred city militia." Davrin's face was grim. "Against five hundred trained assassins who were built for this kind of carnage. The numbers aren't good."
"Numbers don't matter when you have twins descended from First Mages," Master Eldrin said, looking at us. "Your combined magic is the only thing that can turn this tide. But it requires trust. Complete synchronization. You must fight as one."
"We've known each other for two hours," I pointed out.
"Then you better learn fast." Eldrin's expression turned grave. "Because if Luminara falls tonight, Mordain wins. The Council wins. Everything Kael built—every person who believed in freedom—dies with this city."
I looked at Kael. My brother. My twin. The boy I was supposed to murder but saved instead.
He looked back at me with absolute certainty. "I trust you."
"You barely know me."
"I know enough." He held out his hand. "Shadow and light. That's what the prophecy said. We were meant for this moment."
I took his hand, and our bond exploded with power. Silver light poured from both our birthmarks, wrapping around us like armor. Our magic merged—his lightning crackling through my shadows, my darkness giving his light something solid to grab onto.
We were no longer just two people.
We were a weapon.
"Let's go save your city," I said.
We jumped from the eastern wall straight into the battle.
Fighting alongside Kael was like dancing with my own reflection.
He moved left; I moved right. He struck high; I struck low. His lightning cleared paths through enemy ranks. My shadows caught assassins who tried to escape. We didn't need to speak—the bond guided us, letting us anticipate each other's actions before they happened.
But these weren't random enemies. These were orphans I'd trained with. Children who'd survived the same hell I had.
"SERA!" A familiar voice cut through the chaos.
I turned and blocked a blade aimed at my throat. The attacker's mask had slipped, revealing a face I knew.
Marcus. Mordain's assistant. The man who'd driven me to Luminara.
"You betrayed us," Marcus snarled, pressing his blade harder. "You betrayed everyone who ever trusted you."
"Mordain never gave me trust," I shot back, kicking him away. "He gave me chains and called it family."
"We ARE family! We suffered together! Bled together!" Marcus attacked again, faster, angrier. "And you abandoned us for HIM? For some prince who'll throw you away the second you're no longer useful?"
His words hit harder than his blade.
Because part of me wondered if he was right. What happened when Kael realized I was too broken to fix? When he saw that Mordain's training had carved away everything soft and left only sharp edges?
Lightning streaked past my head, catching Marcus in the chest and throwing him backward.
"Stop listening to him," Kael said, appearing at my side. "He's trying to break your focus."
"He's right though. What happens when—"
"When nothing." Kael blocked an attack meant for me. "You're my sister. That doesn't change. Ever. Now focus—we have a city to save."
More assassins converged on us. But these weren't Guild members.
These were children.
Thomas was among them—the nine-year-old who'd asked if I was scared. He held a dagger too big for his hands, tears streaming down his face, but he charged at Kael anyway.
"NO!" I threw myself between them, catching Thomas's blade with my bare hand. Blood welled between my fingers. "Thomas, stop! You don't have to do this!"
"Mordain said if we don't kill the prince, he'll kill us!" Thomas sobbed. "Please, Sera, I don't want to die!"
My heart shattered.
Behind Thomas, I saw more children. Ten, twenty, maybe thirty orphans under age twelve. All forced to fight or die. All trapped the same way I'd been.
"Kael," I said quietly. "Don't hurt them. Please. They're not here by choice."
He looked at the children—really looked at them—and his expression turned devastated. "They're babies. He's using babies as soldiers."
"He's using the only thing he has left," Master Eldrin said, joining us. The old mage raised his hands, and a shimmering barrier appeared, separating the children from the main battle. "I'll protect them. You two handle the real threats."
But the real threats were everywhere.
Lyris had escaped our custody during the chaos and now fought alongside a group of elite assassins, cutting down guards with brutal efficiency. Buildings burned. People screamed. Luminara was dying.
"We need to find Mordain," I said. "As long as he's alive, this doesn't end. The assassins won't stop until he releases them."
"Then we hunt the monster," Kael agreed.
We pushed deeper into the battle, following the trail of shadow magic that could only belong to Guild Master Mordain. It led us to the city's central square, where a massive shadow construct rose from the ground—a giant made of pure darkness with Mordain's face.
"Children!" His voice boomed across the battle. "Did you think you could escape me? I made you! I own you! And tonight, I'll unmake everything you've dared to build!"
The shadow giant raised its hands, and dark magic shot toward the palace—toward where Master Eldrin protected the children.
"NO!" Kael and I moved as one, combining our power into a shield. Silver light met shadow magic with a sound like thunder. The impact drove us to our knees, but we held.
Mordain laughed. "Touching. But futile. You're children playing with powers you don't understand. I've been wielding shadow magic since before your parents were born. What makes you think two barely-trained adolescents can stop me?"
"Because we have something you'll never understand," I shouted back. "We have each other!"
"Love?" Mordain's giant form sneered. "Love is weakness. Love is what gets you killed. I taught you that, Sera. Why do you think I separated you at birth? Because together, you were dangerous. But I raised you apart. Made you afraid of connection. Made you perfect weapons who knew only solitude." His eyes gleamed with malice. "And now you want to undo eighteen years of conditioning with two hours of sibling bonding? Pathetic."
His next attack was stronger. Our shield cracked. Blood dripped from my nose. Kael's hands trembled from the strain.
We were losing.
"He's right," I gasped. "We're not strong enough. We just met. We don't know how to—"
"To what? Fight together?" Kael looked at me, and despite the blood and fear, he smiled. "Sera, we've been fighting together our whole lives. Every nightmare I had was you calling for help. Every time you felt alone, I was dreaming about you. The bond didn't start today—it's been there since birth. We just finally get to use it."
He pressed his forehead to mine, and something clicked into place.
Suddenly I felt everything he felt. His determination. His hope. His absolute refusal to give up. And flowing back, he felt my strength. My survival instinct. My fierce need to protect.
We weren't two people fighting together.
We were one consciousness in two bodies.
"Shadow and light reconciled," Master Eldrin whispered from the palace walls, watching us with awe. "The prophecy awakens."
Our magic merged completely. Silver light and darkness spiraled around us, creating something new—something neither shadow nor light but both combined. A new type of magic that pulsed with the rhythm of two heartbeats in perfect sync.
We stood together and faced Mordain's giant.
"You were wrong about one thing," I said.
"Love isn't weakness," Kael continued.
"It's what makes us stronger than you ever could be," we finished together.
We unleashed everything—eighteen years of pain transformed into power, loneliness turned into connection, fear remade as courage.
The combined blast of shadow-and-light magic hit Mordain's construct dead center. It didn't just damage it. It unmade it. Tore it apart at the molecular level. Showed the universe that this thing shouldn't exist.
The giant screamed—Mordain's scream—and exploded into nothing.
The square fell silent.
Every assassin stopped fighting. They looked around, confused, as if waking from a dream. Without Mordain's direct control, the blood bonds that drove them to fight began weakening.
"It's over," Kael said, breathing hard. "We won."
But I felt it before I saw it.
A ripple in the shadows beneath our feet. A familiar presence. Mordain's voice, quiet and furious:
"You destroyed my construct. Clever. But I'm not dead, children. I'm shadow itself. And shadows never truly die."
The ground beneath us erupted.
Pure shadow magic exploded upward, catching both Kael and me and throwing us in opposite directions. We hit the ground hard, our hands torn apart, our bond suddenly stretched thin.
Mordain's real body materialized between us—no longer a giant, but somehow more terrifying in human form. His dead eyes moved from twin to twin.
"You wanted to prove love makes you stronger? Let me prove something else." He raised both hands. "Let me prove that separating you breaks you both."
Dark magic shot from his palms—but not at us. At the bond itself.
I felt it like a knife to the heart. The connection that had just fully formed, that made us whole, began tearing apart. Kael screamed. I screamed. Our birthmarks burned like brands.
"STOP!" Davrin charged forward, but Mordain swatted him aside like an insect.
"The prophecy said you'd either unite the realm or destroy it," Mordain hissed. "But what if I simply destroy you? What if I sever the bond so violently that both your souls shatter? Twin magic requires balance—break that balance, and both of you die."
He pulled harder on the bond. I felt myself being unmade. Felt Kael screaming my name through the connection. Felt our magic tearing itself apart trying to stay connected.
We were dying.
Both of us.
Together, apart, it didn't matter—Mordain had found the one way to kill us both.
And then I heard a voice. Small. Scared. But defiant.
"Leave them alone!"
Thomas stood behind Mordain, holding his too-big dagger. Behind him, all thirty children from the barrier stood together. Every orphan under twelve that Shadowveil had brought to fight.
"Get away, boy," Mordain snapped. "This doesn't concern—"
Thomas stabbed him.
It wasn't a killing blow—the dagger barely pierced Mordain's shadow form. But it was enough. Enough distraction. Enough courage from a nine-year-old who decided he wouldn't be a weapon anymore.
The other children attacked together. Thirty small blades against one monster.
And Mordain's concentration broke.
The pressure on our bond released.
Kael and I gasped as our connection snapped back into place. Before Mordain could recover, we moved as one—shadow and light combining into a spear of pure magic that we drove through his heart.
This time, we aimed for his soul.
Mordain's body convulsed. His shadow form began unraveling, not just damaged but destroyed. His dead eyes went wide with something that looked like fear.
"This isn't... possible..." he gasped.
"You were wrong about everything," I said. "Love isn't weakness. Connection isn't a vulnerability. And these children you tried to break?" I gestured to Thomas and the others. "They're stronger than you ever made me."
Mordain's form dissolved into ash.
But his final words echoed across the square:
"Kill me... and the Council sends... someone worse..."
Then he was gone.
The battle was over. Assassins dropped their weapons, freed from blood bonds. The city still burned, but the invasion had stopped.
Kael and I collapsed into each other's arms, alive, together, whole.
"We did it," he breathed.
"We survived," I agreed.
But as I looked at the burning city, at the freed assassins who had nowhere to go, at the children who'd saved us, I realized:
Surviving was just the beginning.
Now we had to figure out how to live.
And somewhere in the shadows, the Continental Council was already planning their next move.