[Sera's POV]
I ran.
Shadow magic exploded from my body, and I dissolved into darkness just as the warehouse door burst open. Through the shadows, I saw him—Prince Kael Luminaris, my twin brother, standing in the doorway with hope written all over his face.
"Wait!" he called into the empty warehouse. "Please, I know you're here. I can feel you—"
But I was already gone, flowing through cracks in the walls like smoke. My heart screamed at me to stay, but survival instinct was stronger. I couldn't face him. Not yet. Not when I didn't know if I'd be his sister or his killer.
I heard Davrin's voice behind me: "She was just here, Your Highness. I swear—"
"I know." Kael's voice was thick with emotion. "I felt her run. The bond... it's like losing a part of myself all over again."
Guilt stabbed through me, but I kept running. Across rooftops, through alleys, anywhere to put distance between us. The bond pulled tight, like a rope around my chest, trying to drag me back to him. It hurt. Actually, physically hurt to move away.
But I made it to a new hiding spot—an abandoned bell tower on the opposite side of the city. I collapsed against the cold stone, gasping, my birthmark burning like fire.
What was I doing? The mission. I had a mission. Kill the prince, save myself. Simple.
Except nothing was simple anymore.
I pulled out my enchanted blade and stared at it. This weapon was designed to pierce magical shields. To kill even the most powerful mages. Mordain had given it to me specifically for this task.
Could I really drive it through my brother's heart?
The blade trembled in my hand.
"You're weak," I whispered to myself. "Weapons don't hesitate. Weapons don't feel. Do your job."
I spent the next three hours watching the palace from my tower. The celebration continued below—music, dancing, joy. But I noticed Kael never returned to the balcony. Davrin moved through the crowds, clearly searching for something. For me.
The palace was on alert now. They knew someone dangerous was here.
Good. Let them look. Shadows didn't care about guards.
As midnight approached, the celebration finally wound down. People drifted home, lanterns dimmed, and the palace settled into quiet. Guard shifts changed. Patrols became predictable.
This was my chance.
I dissolved into shadow and flowed across the city toward the palace. The bond pulled me forward now instead of holding me back. Like it wanted this meeting. Like it had been waiting eighteen years for us to be close.
The palace walls were protected by magical wards—shimmering barriers that would alert guards if anything solid touched them. But shadows weren't solid. I slipped through like water through a net.
Inside, the palace was even more beautiful than I'd imagined. Marble floors. Paintings on walls. Actual colors everywhere. At Shadowveil, everything was gray stone and shadows. Here, life bloomed in every corner.
I forced myself to focus. Third floor. Eastern wing. Royal chambers. That's where Kael would be sleeping.
I climbed through shadows, flowing up walls and across ceilings. Guards patrolled below, but they never looked up. People never did. Humans forgot that danger could come from above.
The royal wing was heavily guarded—six soldiers at the main entrance, magical wards on every door. But I didn't need doors. I found a shadow cast by moonlight through a window and melted into it, then re-formed on the other side of the wall.
I was inside Prince Kael's bedroom.
The room was massive—bigger than the entire orphan sleeping hall at Shadowveil. But despite its size, it felt... warm. Books stacked on a desk. A half-finished letter. A simple wooden sword propped in the corner, worn from practice. These were the belongings of a real person, not a untouchable prince.
And there, in the bed, was my brother.
He lay on his side, face peaceful in sleep. Moonlight streamed through the window and caught his platinum hair, making it glow silver. He looked younger asleep. Vulnerable. Human.
I pulled out my enchanted blade.
My hands shook so badly I almost dropped it.
Just do it, I told myself. Quick. Through the heart. He won't even wake up. It'll be merciful. Painless. Over in seconds.
I moved closer. Each step felt like walking through water. The bond screamed at me to stop, sending waves of wrongness through my entire body. My birthmark burned so hot I thought my skin might catch fire.
I raised the blade.
Kael's face was so peaceful. He wasn't afraid. Wasn't expecting death. He'd spent his evening celebrating with people who loved him, then probably gone to bed thinking about his twin sister. Hoping she'd come back.
And here I was. Standing over him. About to make sure we'd never meet.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. Tears ran down my face. "I'm so sorry—"
The blade came down—
And stopped an inch from his chest.
I couldn't do it. Couldn't move my hand another inch. Every instinct Mordain had beaten into me screamed to complete the kill, but something stronger held me back.
This was my brother. My twin. The other half of my soul.
I couldn't murder him.
"I knew you'd come."
My head snapped up.
Kael's eyes were open. Storm-gray eyes—my eyes—stared up at me with no fear. Only recognition. Only relief.
"How long have you been awake?" I demanded.
"Since you entered the room." He sat up slowly, hands visible, non-threatening. "Your shadow magic disturbed the air. I felt you arrive." His eyes moved to the blade still hovering near his chest. "Are you going to use that?"
"I... I don't know."
"That's honest." He studied my face with an intensity that made me want to disappear. "You look exactly like me. Like looking into a mirror that shows who I'd be if everything had gone wrong."
"Everything did go wrong," I said bitterly. "We were separated. I was turned into a weapon. You became a prince. Nothing about this is right."
"Then let's make it right." He slowly pushed the blade aside with one finger. I didn't stop him. "Talk to me. Tell me your name. Tell me what happened to you."
"You should be calling for guards. Trying to defend yourself."
"Why? You're my sister. You won't hurt me."
"How do you know that?"
He touched his birthmark—the crescent moon on his shoulder. "Because I feel what you feel through this bond. And right now, you're not feeling murderous. You're feeling lost. Scared. Confused. Just like I've felt my whole life."
His words cracked something inside me. I lowered the blade completely.
"My name is Sera," I whispered. "Sera Nightshade. I'm an assassin from Shadowveil Guild. I was sent here to kill you."
"But you didn't."
"Not yet."
"Not ever," Kael said with certainty. "I know you won't. The bond won't let you. It's been pulling us together since the moment you arrived in Luminara. You felt it too, didn't you? The connection getting stronger?"
I nodded slowly.
"Then stop fighting it." He stood, and we faced each other—mirror images in moonlight. "Stop fighting me. Stop fighting yourself. We're supposed to be together, Sera. The prophecy said so. Shadow and light. We're meant to reconcile, not destroy each other."
"Mordain said reconciling means one of us dies."
"Mordain is wrong." Kael reached out slowly, giving me time to pull away. When I didn't, he took my hand. His skin was warm. Real. "We're stronger together. I've known that my whole life, even when I didn't know you existed. There's been a hole in my chest since the day we were separated. And now you're here, and I'm whole again."
The bond flared between us—brilliant and warm and right. My birthmark stopped burning and started glowing instead. Soft silver light that matched the glow from Kael's shoulder.
"This is impossible," I breathed.
"So is a revolution led by a nineteen-year-old prince. So is magic. So is surviving eighteen years of whatever hell created that look in your eyes." His hand tightened on mine. "But we're both still here. Still alive. Still connected. That's not impossible—that's fate."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to believe I could be more than Mordain's weapon. That I could have this—a brother, a family, a purpose beyond killing.
But then I remembered the dog's brown eyes. Remembered my hands covered in blood. Remembered that I was broken in ways he couldn't fix.
"You don't understand," I said. "I'm not like you. I'm not good. I'm not—"
The door exploded inward.
Lyris stood in the doorway, ice magic crackling around her hands, fury written across her face.
"So this is why you hesitated," she snarled. "You weren't planning. You were bonding with the target." Her ice-blue eyes locked on Kael. "Well, if you won't finish the job, I will."
She raised her hands, and deadly ice spears materialized in the air, all aimed at my brother's heart.
"NO!" I threw myself in front of Kael just as Lyris released her magic.
The ice spears hit me instead—one through my shoulder, one through my side. Pain exploded through my body. I fell, and Kael caught me.
"SERA!" His voice cracked with panic.
Through the haze of pain, I saw guards flooding into the room. Saw Davrin tackle Lyris to the ground. Saw Kael's face above mine, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Why did you do that?" he demanded. "Why would you—"
"Because you're my brother," I gasped. Blood bubbled in my throat. "And I chose. I finally chose."
My vision went dark, but the last thing I felt was Kael's hand gripping mine, the bond between us blazing like sunlight.
I chose him.
I chose family.
For the first time in eighteen years, I chose something for myself.