KIERAN'S POV — NOCTERRA
I can't sleep.
It's the night before the meeting, and I've been staring at the ceiling long enough to memorize every crack in it. Ravion is beside me, one arm around my waist, his breathing slow and steady—completely unbothered by the emotional hurricane I'm apparently generating.
He can sleep.
I cannot.
Tomorrow, I meet Kaelis.
My twin.
My mirror.
The prince I was never meant to be—but somehow became.
"You're thinking too loud," Ravion murmurs without opening his eyes.
"I thought you were asleep."
"I was. Then your anxiety grabbed me by the throat." He tightens his hold around me. "Talk to me."
"I don't know what to say."
"Start with what you're feeling."
It takes me a moment to admit it. "I'm scared."
"Of Kaelis?"
"Of what meeting him means." I shift to face him, the moonlight reflecting faintly off his crimson eyes. "What if he hates me? What if he thinks I stole his life? What if—"
"What if he's just as nervous as you are?" Ravion cuts in gently. "What if he's lying awake right now thinking the exact same things?"
"You think so?"
"I know so." His hand brushes my forehead, pushing back my hair. "You're both prophecy children. Both thrown into roles you don't understand. Both trying to survive gods you didn't choose. If anyone can understand you—he can."
"More than you?"
"Even me." He doesn't sound jealous—just honest. "I can love you. Protect you. Build a home with you. But I can't understand what it feels like to lose your timeline. He can."
My chest tightens painfully.
"You're not worried? That I'll meet him and want—"
"To leave?" he finishes quietly. "Every second of every day."
"Ravion—"
"But I trust you." His thumb grazes my cheek. "You've had chances to run. To hate me. To give up. And you didn't." His voice softens. "So yes, I'm terrified. But I'm choosing to believe what we have is stronger than fear."
I kiss him.
Because he's right. Because he sees me. Because somehow, despite everything, he never lets go.
"I'm not leaving," I whisper. "Meeting Kaelis doesn't change that."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
He pulls me close, and we lie there tangled together — both pretending we're not terrified of tomorrow.
---
THE NEXT MORNING
Ravion is unbearable.
"You need to eat more," he says, watching me poke at my breakfast.
"I'm not hungry."
"You're nervous. Eat anyway."
"Ravion—"
"Kieran." His voice drops into Commander Mode. "You collapsed from weakness three days ago. You're not attending this meeting half-alive. So eat."
I glare at him and bite a piece of toast like it personally offended me.
He smirks. "Good boy."
"I hate you."
"You love me."
"Same thing."
Elara bustles in like a hurricane in grandmother form.
"Oh, my sweet child!" she gasps. "You need more food! The boy is skin and bones!"
"I'm really not—"
She ignores me and piles my plate with pastries.
Ravion sighs, defeated. "Grandmother—"
"Nonsense! What if the meeting runs long? What if they don't serve refreshments? What if—"
"What if I explode?" I mutter.
She pats my cheek. "You're far too thin to explode, dear."
When she's finally gone, Ravion and I just stare at each other.
"She means well," he says.
"She's going to kill me with croissants."
"Better than poison."
"Barely."
He laughs, and the tension in my chest loosens just a bit.
---
THE HOURS DRAG
Ravion has a council meeting he absolutely hates, leaving me alone with my thoughts — which is arguably worse.
I read half a page of a book and absorb none of it.
I pace.
I stare out at the grey Nocterran sky.
I rehearse what I'll say to Kaelis and immediately cringe.
What do you even say to your alternate-timeline twin?
"Hi, I'm the you who married your runaway husband?"
Nope.
Ravion returns eventually, exhausted.
"Council?" I ask.
"Three hours of nobles arguing about trade routes." He flops onto the sofa. "I may fake my own death."
"Sounds awful."
"It was." He looks at me pacing again. "Sit down before you create a trench."
"I'm nervous!"
"I noticed." He opens his arm. "Come here."
I sit, and he pulls me in instantly.
"No matter what happens," he murmurs, "whether Kaelis loves you, hates you, or awkward-stares at you for an hour — you're coming home with me."
"You're very possessive when you're worried."
"I'm always possessive." A kiss on my hair. "You just notice it more now."
Fair enough.
"What if he's better than me?" I ask quietly.
Ravion freezes. "What?"
"What if he's braver? Stronger? More… prince-like? What if meeting him proves I was the wrong choice?"
"Kieran." He cups my face. "There is no wrong choice. You're not a replacement. You're not a mistake."
His voice is steady, certain.
"I don't want the prophecy prince. I want you. The boy who fights when he's scared. Who jokes when he wants to cry. Who tells me he loves me like it's a dare."
Tears hit my eyes before I can stop them.
"You can't just say things like that."
"Why not?"
"Because it makes me—" My voice breaks. "—love you too much."
His smile destroys me.
"Good," he whispers. "Be terrified with me."
He kisses me hard enough to silence every fear.
---
THE LETTER
That evening, I'm getting ready for tomorrow when—
Knock.
"Come in."
General Marcus enters. "Your Majesty, a letter arrived. From the Tidelands."
My heart stops.
"From Kaelis?"
"I believe so."
I take the letter in shaking hands. Blue wax seal. Water shimmer.
Ravion returns just as I break it.
"Want me to—"
"Stay," I say immediately. "Please."
He sits.
I read.
---
KAELIS' LETTER
Kieran,
I don't know how to start this. "Dear twin" sounds stupid. "Hello other me" sounds insane.
So I'll just say this:
I'm terrified.
Tomorrow we meet, and I don't know what to do. Hug? Shake hands? Stare awkwardly? All terrible options.
Nyx says you were poisoned. That sounds awful. I hope you're okay.
We don't know each other. But we're connected. By prophecy. By magic. Or just by terrible cosmic luck.
Maybe tomorrow we figure that out.
Or maybe we stand there being weird.
Either way… I'm glad you exist.
Even if you married the man I ran away from. (We're discussing that.)
— Kaelis
P.S. If Ravion is reading over your shoulder, tell him Nyx said "behave." Don't ask. He made me write it.
---
I lower the letter, stunned.
Ravion's lips twitch. "He sounds like you."
"What?"
"The humor hiding fear. The honesty. The panic. The dramatics." He squeezes my hand. "Exactly like you."
"We're twins."
"You're soul-matched in trauma," he corrects.
I laugh wetly. "We are terrible at hiding feelings in writing."
"Absolutely awful."
He presses a kiss to my temple. "But honest. And I think that's what tomorrow needs."
"You think it'll be okay?"
"It'll be terrifying," he says. "Awkward. Emotional. Maybe dramatic."
A beat.
"But yes. I think it'll be okay."
I lean into him.
"Thank you," I whisper.
"For what?"
"For not being jealous."
"I am jealous," he says immediately. "But I love you more than I'm jealous. So I'm coping."
"You're a good husband."
"I'm a possessive nightmare," he says fondly, "but I'm yours."
---
THAT NIGHT — THE DREAM
I fall asleep holding Ravion's hand.
And dream.
But it's not my dream.
Water. Endless, glowing blue water.
And someone beside me.
Silver hair. Grey eyes.
My face — and not my face.
Kaelis.
"Hi," he says.
"Hi."
"Tomorrow's gonna be weird, huh?"
"So weird."
We stand there, nervous, scared, trying to be brave.
"Whatever happens," Kaelis says, "we're in this together. Okay?"
"Okay."
The dream dissolves.
---
DAWN
I wake tangled in Ravion's arms.
"It's time," he murmurs.
"I'm not ready."
"Good." He kisses my forehead. "Neither am I."
We rise.
We prepare.
And together—we face the day destiny has been waiting for.
The day the prophecy finally brings two princes together.
The day everything changes.