Kaela stumbled into the chamber, her breathing uneven from the strange pull that had dragged her here.
She stopped, frozen.
Across the room stood a young woman who looked... almost like her; who could have been her mirror.
The air felt brittle, as if even sound dared not disturb the silence.
Kaela's eyes took in the stranger. Black hair, straight and long, falling to her waist. Skin pale and untouched by sun, the kind that seemed made for shadows and flickering candlelight. Sharp eyes studied her, silent and unblinking. Cold.
Seraphine returned the gaze with equal intensity. Her white hair framed Kaela's face, the contrast stark against Kaela's warm skin. The bronze tones in Kaela's complexion made her seem alive in a way Seraphine's coldness never could. It was she had spent time in the sun. And those eyes, wild, untamed, dangerous. She looked like a war heroine, especially with the dried blood on her neck. For a moment, Seraphine wondered what her story was, if she had it as bad as she did.
Neither spoke, but the weight of their likeness hung between them, impossible to ignore.
Lucien stood nearby, unreadable. His eyes flicked between the two women, lingering on Kaela just a moment longer than necessary. Her beauty was raw and untamed, unlike Seraphine's polished, symmetrical features that chilled him. It unsettled him in a way he hadn't expected.
He had seen Kaela less than an hour ago in the Vale, running from a cursed beast, unaware until he grabbed her hand. One moment she was trapped, the next she stumbled through his portal onto these palace steps.
She'd fought him, demanding answers. He had said nothing at first until he saw the mark on her hand.
"You. It's you. You have the mark." The words escaped before he could stop them.
Her eyes widened. The second time that day someone had spoken of the mark.
"What's your name, little star?"
A pause. Then, "Kaela."
The moment shattered when Seraphine's voice cut through.
"Who is she? Why does she look like me?"
Lucien's gaze shifted to Seraphine, calm but firm. "That is what I was about to explain. Seraphine, meet Kaela. She is the one I was meant to find."
Seraphine's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Lucien's voice was steady but clipped. "Why you are in my palace, I have not been entirely truthful. There is a prophecy, and it seems both of you are part of it." He looked from one to the other. "The only one who can explain why you look alike is the High Priestess."
A long moment passed before he added with a slight shrug, "If I had to guess, I'd say you were twins."
Kaela's body stiffened. "High Priestess? High Priestess of where?" Her voice was calm but carried weight. Lucien noticed.
"High Priestess Lila of Berkee," he said, the name falling like a cold stone.
Kaela froze. The name was a wound she'd learned to live with, but it still stung fiercely. Heat flared in her chest, sharp and bitter.
Lucien said nothing, watching her carefully.
Seraphine's eyes darted between them. "You know her?"
Kaela's voice lowered, edged with something she tried to hide. "I've met her." The lie tasted bitter on her tongue. She couldn't reveal the truth, that the woman who banished her was the same who raised her. That maybe Lila had never truly saved her from the fire, but had a hand in starting it. The High Priestess had never spoken of Kaela's father. She assumed he died with her mother. But now she wasn't so sure.
The silence stretched between them.
"Then you'll meet her again," Lucien said. "If she does not explain this," he glanced at them both, "no one will."
Neither women spoke.
Seraphine's chest tightened. Another woman in Lucien's palace was already too much, especially one who shared her face. She stepped closer to Lucien, her fingers brushing his arm, eyes flicking to Kaela like a warning. She had laid a claim.
Kaela noticed but said nothing. Her thoughts drifted to the hunter in the Vale. She prayed he still lived.
Before the tension could settle, Lucien's hand caught Seraphine's wrist, firm and cold, and he gently pushed her back. Enough to stop the gesture without harm.
Kaela's brow furrowed. Was it anger? Command? Or because she was present?
"I'm sorry," she said quickly, words tripping over themselves. "I didn't mean to cause trouble between you and your wife."
Lucien's eyes fixed on hers, cold as steel. Wife?
He hadn't meant to be cold to her, but something in his gaze burned when he looked at her. From the moment he'd seen her gray eyes, she had been 'little star' to him.
And now she apologized as if nothing had passed between them. An apology that meant that she didn't feel the pull between them. He almost cursed out. Almost wanted to clarify the situation, but he thought it was for the better. After all, time will tell, and he had all the time in the world.
For the first time in years, he felt a sting of disappointment.
He stepped away, irritation shadowing his face. His boots made no sound on the stone, but the weight of his presence filled the chamber.
Kaela kept her gaze on him, wary. He'd saved her life but the cold in him was not indifference. It was sharp and deliberate, the kind of cold a blade holds before battle.
Seraphine moved to the edge of the bed, arms crossed. Her gaze no longer searched Kaela for resemblance but for weaknesses.
"I assume," Lucien said, voice even, "you both can hold back from tearing each other apart for now."
Neither answered.
He looked at them, eyebrow raised slightly. "Good. We leave for Berkee soon. The High Priestess will speak, and until then," his eyes landed on Kaela, "you are not to leave these walls without me."
Her spine stiffened. "And if I do?"
A cold, humorless smile. "Then you will learn why no one defies me."
The silence after that stretched taut.
Lucien turned toward the door. A guard outside stepped in silently to stand watch.
Kaela's stomach sank. She wasn't a prisoner, but she wasn't free either.
Seraphine rose, the soft rustle of her nightgown brushing the floor as she passed Kaela toward the bathroom. They didn't touch, but the narrow space felt like a deliberate barrier.
Left alone with the guard's silent shadow in the doorway, Kaela moved to the window.
She had no idea if she could trust Lucien. She knew she couldn't trust Seraphine. And Berkee was the last place she wanted to see again.
But the mark on her hand throbbed a little, as if it knew her path was set.
A knock at the door broke the silence. A man's voice followed, "Master said this way."
"What's your name?" She asked softly.
"Ergenik."
"I'm Kaela, Ergenik."
She stepped into the hall and followed him to a door opposite Lucien's chambers.
"This is yours," Ergenik said, pushing it open. "No one stays this close to the master. Not unless you're him, me, or the few trusted who clean these rooms."
Kaela frowned. "Why here?"
"Master says you're important. That's why you're kept close. Nothing more."
Her jaw tightened. "Then change it. I've never slept this close to a man before, and I don't plan to start now."
Ergenik hesitated. "It's just the two rooms on this floor. His and now yours."
She stepped closer, voice low. "Then tell him yourself, because I'm not staying here."
Why would he have her so close to him when his wife sleeps on the other floor?
Ergenik straightened, glancing past her.
Kaela turned and Lucien leaned against his doorway, one hand on the frame. He'd been listening.
"You seem to mistake this place for an inn, little star," he said coolly. "You don't get to choose where you sleep."
Her chin lifted. "Then you mistake me for someone who obeys without question."
Silence threatened to snap.
Lucien's mouth curved, not a smile, but something colder. "Good. Stay close then. I prefer to keep an eye on my defiance."
Without another word, he slipped inside, closing the door with quiet finality heavier than a slam.
Kaela stood in the hall, heart racing. This wasn't about a room.