The city was a blur of shadows and fleeting lights as Kaelen made her way back to her apartment. The weight of the night pressed heavily against her chest, but not because of fear—fear was a distant memory, one she'd buried long ago. No, this was something different. A gnawing sensation, like the jagged edge of a blade scraping against bone.
She could've hunted down more leads, could've followed the faint trails of whispers about the twin kings.
But she didn't.
Not tonight.
Her apartment was nothing special—just four walls, a creaky wooden floor, and a single dusty window that overlooked the crowded, crumbling streets. A place that didn't ask questions. A place where the silence didn't judge.
Kaelen locked the door behind her with a mechanical motion, throwing her coat over the rickety chair near the window. The faint glow of moonlight spilled into the small room, illuminating the scattered remnants of a life she never really tried to build. A cracked mirror hung on the wall, its surface stained with time. She glanced at it briefly, her reflection a stranger.
Beneath the hardened exterior—the scars, the sharp eyes, the bloodstained clothes—there was still something fragile buried deep, like a shard of glass hidden in the flesh.
She sat on the edge of her narrow bed, elbows resting on her knees, fingers tangled in her hair. The walls felt too close, the silence too loud. Her mind drifted, uninvited memories slipping through the cracks she'd tried so hard to seal.
"You have to live, Kaelen."
That voice. A ghost woven into her thoughts. She couldn't remember the face anymore, but the words had carved themselves into her soul like a curse—or maybe a lifeline.
Live a good life. A free life.
But what did that even mean? She didn't know what a good life looked like. All she'd ever known was survival. Running from the past. Fighting battles she never asked for.
Her eyes drifted to the scar on her forearm, faint but permanent—a reminder of the night everything had changed.
She'd been nothing more than a girl back then, reckless and trusting. She'd believed in people, in promises. But trust was a fragile thing, easily shattered by betrayal. The night she'd been breached—not just in body, but in spirit—had stripped away whatever softness had been left in her.
She didn't cry. She never did.
Tears were useless.
What haunted her wasn't the faces of the men who hurt her. It was the realization that no one had come for her. That she'd been left to pick up the pieces alone.
And maybe that's why she'd built these walls so high, why she refused to let anyone in. Love, mercy, loyalty—they were just pretty lies people told themselves to feel less hollow.
But lately…
Lately, something was shifting.
The twins. Marek's offer. The assassins who'd come after her.
It felt like invisible threads were pulling her toward something, tying her to a story she never wanted to be part of.
She hated it.
She wanted control.
Over her life.
Over her choices.
Her fingers tightened into fists, nails digging into her palms until the sting of pain brought her back to the present.
Focus.
She stood abruptly, pacing the room like a caged animal.
Why were people suddenly after her? What did they think she had?
And the twins…
She didn't know them. Didn't want to know them.
But their name echoed in her mind, refusing to be ignored.
Twin kings.
Kaelen scoffed under her breath. Kings. As if that meant anything. She'd seen kings fall just like any other man—bleeding red, gasping for breath, begging for mercy.
The difference was, she never gave it.
She stared out the window, the city sprawling beneath her like a breathing beast. Somewhere out there, fate was moving its pieces on the board.
But Kaelen didn't play by anyone's rules.
She wasn't a pawn.
She was the storm that flipped the board.
"Live," the voice whispered again in her mind.
She clenched her jaw.
"I am."
But living didn't feel like living. It felt like surviving.
And maybe… just maybe… she was tired of that.
---
Meanwhile, far from the city…
In a vast hall carved from black stone, bathed in flickering torchlight, the twin kings stood side by side. They were shadows made flesh, their presence heavy enough to command silence without a single word.
A map was spread across a massive table, marked with ink-stained routes, blood-red circles, and hastily scrawled notes.
"She's close," one of them murmured, his voice deep and sharp like the edge of a blade. His dark eyes reflected the flames, cold and calculating.
His twin remained silent, fingers tracing the lines on the map, his brow furrowed in thought. There was an intensity in him that never wavered—a quiet storm brewing beneath his calm exterior.
They weren't just rulers. They were hunters.
And Kaelen was the prey they didn't know they were chasing.
"She's the key," the first twin continued, his jaw tightening. "She'll help us find her."
Neither of them understood why Kaelen mattered so much. They only knew that she did.
It wasn't her skills as a fighter. It wasn't her reputation in the underground circles.
It was something deeper. Something they couldn't explain.
A pull.
A thread tied to their fate.
Their mission had always been about finding their mate—the missing piece of themselves. But Kaelen wasn't supposed to be that piece. She was supposed to be a tool. A means to an end.
And yet, every time her name crossed their lips, it lingered longer than it should have.
As if the universe was laughing at them.
"She doesn't even know," the quieter twin finally spoke, his voice softer but no less dangerous.
"No," his brother agreed. "But she will."
They didn't know that the woman they were hunting was the very soul they'd been searching for.
And soon, neither would be able to escape the truth.
---
Back in her apartment, Kaelen stared at her reflection one last time before turning away.
Whatever storm was coming, she wasn't afraid.
She'd survived worse.
But fate had other plans.
And the twins were already on her trail.