The Serpent's Calm
Days bled into weeks in the deep, sealed dungeon beneath the academy. Alric's screams of rage had long since faded, replaced by a chilling silence that unnerved even the most hardened guards. He was a master of deception, and he had learned to wear a new mask—that of a broken, repentant man. He would sit for hours, staring at the wall, a picture of quiet contemplation. The healers, seeing his apparent recovery, began to ease their protective spells, believing the madness had finally receded.
But beneath the calm facade, Alric was a roiling storm of hatred and cold fury. Jorik's words had not broken him; they had focused him. He had been a pawn, a "corrupt copy," a pretender to a throne he now knew was never meant to be his. The revelation of Hades, the true fated mate, and Kaen, the true Prince of Shadow, was a searing brand on his soul. He now had names, faces to his enemies, and a burning desire for revenge that was more potent than any magic he had ever wielded.
He began to subtly probe the wards of his cell, his mind a steel trap of forgotten spells and forbidden knowledge. He was a serpent, and he would not be contained. He would escape, find Lara, and take everything from her—her brother, her fated mate, her very life. He would prove that even a "corrupt copy" could destroy a dynasty.
The Prince of Shadow
The vision of Lara had been a fleeting spark in the deep, suffocating darkness that was Kaen's existence. For a single, precious moment, the sigil's control had faltered, and he had seen his twin. He had felt her fire, a warm and comforting presence in the icy prison of his mind. The feeling was gone as quickly as it came, but the memory lingered, a burning ember of hope.
The Crimson Oath, however, was not amused. The cruel man, a high-ranking member named Silas, had flown into a rage. "What was that? What was that display of weakness? You are a weapon of the Oath! Not a mewling child!"
Kaen was thrown to the ground, the force of the blow jarring him back to the puppet-like state the sigil enforced. He was a creature of shadow and cold, a tool for their malevolence. But something had changed. The ember of Lara's fire, a small, defiant flame, now burned deep inside him. It gave him strength, a secret resistance that the sigil's power could not completely extinguish.
She is real. She is coming, a deep, resonant voice echoed in Kaen's mind. It was Zade, his dragon, a magnificent beast of shimmering obsidian and shadow that had been silent for years, suppressed by the power of the sigil. But Lara's fire had woken him. He was a powerful presence now, a protective shadow in the cold void of Kaen's soul.
Silas forced Kaen to his feet, his grip on the boy's arm like a vise. "The training continues. You will learn to control your power, or we will find a way to make you."
But now, as Kaen was forced to unleash a torrent of shadow magic against a stone wall, he wasn't just a puppet. He was a fighter. He was resisting, pushing back against the control. He wasn't using his power; he was containing it, bending it to his own will, a silent defiance that the Crimson Oath's members were too arrogant to notice.
We will not break. We will not yield, Zade rumbled, his voice a comforting thunder in Kaen's mind. Hold on, little Prince. Your sister's light will guide us home.
He was the Prince of Shadow, and he was not alone. His sister, the Princess of Fire, was coming for him. And in the silent, frigid depths of his soul, a plan began to form—a plan that would turn the Crimson Oath's own weapon against them. He would be ready for her, and together, the Twin Flames would light a fire that would burn the shadows away forever.