(Nyx POV)
The Arrival of Liana
A scream split the chamber.
High, raw, unmistakable. Aunt Serecei's voice—shredded by grief and terror."She's dead! Someone killed my baby!"
The words tore through the hall, shattering the stillness.
"Princess Liora is dead!"
Gasps and cries erupted. Courtiers stumbled back, guards rushed forward, and the priest dropped his staff with a clatter that echoed like thunder. The music cut off mid-bow, and the moonlight spilling through the stained glass faltered as if even it recoiled.
Dorian's hand found mine—hard, steady, anchoring.
King Jonas rose, the Queen beside him. His voice, tight with command, snapped through the chaos. "Turn the teleprompters off. Now." Then, softer, forcing calm into the air: "We will not exploit this child's death for ratings."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
And under it, I felt it—a chill, a warning, the kind that runs claws down your spine before the danger shows itself.
The blood drained from Dorian's face. Kelly stirred inside me, her growl rumbling low.
Cassian's hand dropped to his weapon. "Seal the area. No one leaves the hall!" he barked. Then to Tamsin: "Guard Nyx."
She moved in closer, shoulder to shoulder with me, while guards surged to obey.
Then the noise shifted again—gasps melting into a hush so absolute it felt staged.
At the threshold stood a woman.
And for a heartbeat, my lungs forgot how to work.
She looked more like Liora than I ever had. Golden hair coiled in the same crown-braid, the same emerald fire in her eyes—but colder. Calculated. Confident. She didn't just enter the room; she commanded it. Cameras flashed, courtiers parted, and she walked the same aisle I'd walked hours ago—as if reclaiming it.
Her gown was blood-red, sculpted to perfection, gleaming like war.
"My name," she said, her voice slicing through the silence, "is Liana. And I am the true intended of the prophecy."
The words hit like shrapnel.
The Queen's fingers tightened on the arm of her throne. Dorian's posture shifted, subtle but lethal. Kelly rose within me, a growl vibrating through my ribs.
Hold, Dorian's voice threaded through my mind—low, controlled. Don't let her see you react. This one's a predator.
He was right.Every move she made screamed discipline. Precision. Power under glass.
Liana stopped dead center beneath the chandeliers.
"You're all wondering who I am," she said smoothly. "I'm Liana Morvain. Liora's twin—and your blood, Nyx."
A murmur rolled through the chamber.
"We were raised together. We traded places when it suited us. Aunt Serecei protected the secret to protect the prophecy—one of us to survive if the other fell."
Her gaze found me. The smile that followed wasn't human.
"But there weren't two of us," she continued. "There were three. You, me, and Liora. Triplets. You were the youngest—the black-haired one."
My pulse thundered, but I kept my face a mask.
Kelly snarled in my skull. She's lying.
Dorian's tone pressed against my thoughts. Steady. She wants a reaction.
I studied her. The stillness between her movements, the coiled readiness.This wasn't a princess playing politics.She'd been trained.And worse—she moved like me.
Viviene leaned forward, eyes sharp as blades. "If what you claim is true, we'll prove it. Blood for blood."
She signaled her guards.
Liana just smiled, slow and dangerous. "Ah-ah-ah. No."
From beneath her gown, she drew a dagger—the hilt silver, etched with a mark I'd know anywhere.
Shadow Fang.
Kelly lunged in my head, her snarl splitting through me. She's one of them!
Before I could move, Dorian's command slammed through the bond. Stand down, soldier.
I forced air into my lungs, jaw locked, teeth grinding.
Liana tilted her head toward me, tongue clicking. "Tsk."
Her voice dripped sugar and poison. "You wouldn't hurt your own sister, would you?"
I said nothing.
Her eyes slid to Dorian, deliberate, assessing. "Keep your dog leashed," she murmured, smiling like a cat over a mouse. "Or I'll have to teach her a lesson."
I stepped forward, voice low, sharp. "You can try."
Amusement flickered in her gaze. "Not today, sissy." Then, almost gently: "But soon."
She turned her wrist, and the dagger caught the light—blood streaking its edge.
"I found this lodged to the hilt in our sister's back. Her body's at the bottom of the North Tower."
The chamber erupted again.
Cassian stepped in. "Evidence you've now destroyed," he said coldly.
Liana's eyes slid to him, then to Tamsin. She sniffed the air, her smile stretching wider.
"Ah. You belong to her. Interesting. Liora never told me you found your mate."
Tamsin's eyes widened. "What the—?"
Liana laughed softly and flipped the dagger hilt-first toward Cassian. "All yours. Happy to help."
Dorian's command cracked through the air. "Guards. Take her."
She didn't resist. Just smiled—and winked at him.
"See you soon, mate."
They dragged her away.
The hall exhaled all at once, like the room itself had been holding its breath.
Cassian raked a hand through his hair. "What the hell was that?"
No one answered.
But inside me, Kelly whispered what we were all thinking.
A problem.