POV: DUAL (KIERAN → KAELIS)
Timeline: Same night, 2 AM
Location: Tidelands
KIERAN'S POV
We arrive at the Tidelands' entrance at two in the morning.
The guards are surprised but let us through—Ravion's authority overrides most questions.
"Where's Nyx?" Ravion demands.
"With Prince Kaelis, Your Majesty," one guard says. "In his chambers. Is something wrong?"
"We need to see them. Now."
The guard leads us through the glowing corridors. I've been here before but everything looks different at night—darker, more mysterious, more threatening.
The twin bond is pulling. Hard. Leading me to him.
We reach Kaelis' chambers. The guard knocks.
"Enter," Nyx's voice.
We push inside.
Kaelis is sitting on his bed, Nyx beside him, both looking startled by our sudden appearance.
"Kieran?" Kaelis stands. "What are you—it's two in the morning—"
"Something's wrong," I blurt out. "I felt it through the bond. You're scared. You think you're dangerous. You're thinking about leaving." I cross to him. "What's going on?"
He goes pale. "I—how did you—"
"The bond doesn't lie." I grab his hands. "Talk to me. Please."
Kaelis looks at Nyx. Then back at me.
"My magic has been... unstable," he admits quietly. "More than usual. I keep losing control. Explosions. Power spikes. And I'm scared that—" His voice breaks. "—that I'll hurt someone. Hurt you."
"You won't—"
"You don't know that!" He pulls his hands free. "Nobody knows that! My power is growing too fast. My control can't keep up. Eventually, something bad will happen!"
"Who told you that?" Ravion asks sharply.
We all look at him.
"What?" Kaelis says.
"Who told you your magic was too dangerous?" Ravion's eyes narrow. "Those specific words. 'Eventually something bad will happen.' Where did you hear that?"
"I... I figured it out myself—"
"No." Ravion moves closer. "Those words have a pattern. A cadence. Someone planted that thought. Who?"
Kaelis hesitates.
Then: "A trainer. Mira. She came today. Said Nyx hired her to help with my control issues."
Nyx goes very still. "I didn't hire anyone named Mira."
The room temperature drops.
"What?" Kaelis breathes.
"I've been looking for additional trainers, yes. But I haven't hired anyone yet. And I would never hire someone without introducing them to you first." Nyx's expression darkens. "What did this woman look like?"
"Silver hair. Color-changing eyes. Shadow robes." Kaelis is shaking now. "She—she touched my hand. Assessed my magic. Said I was dangerous. That I needed to isolate myself before I hurt someone."
"Fuck," Ravion says. "Mind magic."
"What?" I ask.
"Mind magic. Illusions. Manipulation." He looks at Nyx. "The Shadow Court."
"Isolde," Nyx growls.
Understanding crashes over me.
"The dreams," I say. "The feeling that something was wrong. The static in the bond." I look at Kaelis. "We've been manipulated. Both of us."
"But I really did lose control," Kaelis protests. "The explosions were real—"
"Were they?" Nyx asks carefully. "Or were they enhanced? Made to seem worse than they were?"
Kaelis opens his mouth. Closes it. "I... I don't know."
"Show me," Nyx commands. "Right now. Show me your magic."
"But—"
"Now."
Kaelis raises his hands. Water forms—controlled, steady, exactly as it should be.
"Make it bigger," Nyx says.
Kaelis concentrates. The water grows. Still controlled.
"More."
The water fills half the room. Still stable.
"Now make it explode."
"I can't just—"
"Try."
Kaelis tries to lose control deliberately. The water wobbles. Shakes.
But doesn't explode.
It just... disperses gently back to its source.
"Your magic is fine," Nyx says firmly.
"Better than fine. You've been progressing exactly as you should." He looks furious. "Someone made you think you were dangerous. Planted doubt. Enhanced minor mistakes to seem catastrophic."
"The Shadow Court specializes in this,"
Ravion explains. "They get inside your head. Make you doubt yourself. Turn your fears into weapons against you."
"The dreams," I realize. "I've been having dreams about Kaelis leaving. About him thinking he's dangerous." I look at my twin. "And you've been having them too, haven't you?"
Kaelis nods slowly. "Every night. The same message: leave before you hurt them."
"They're trying to separate us," Ravion says. "Break the twin bond. Make you both so afraid that you isolate yourselves."
"Because together, you're stronger," Nyx adds. "The prophecy split you. But when you're united—" He looks between us. "—you're unstoppable. Isolde knows that. So she's trying to drive you apart psychologically."
I feel sick.
"It almost worked," I whisper.
"It did work," Kaelis says. "I was going to leave. Tomorrow. I was going to tell Nyx I needed to train alone. Far away from everyone." His eyes fill with tears. "I was going to leave you."
"But you didn't." I grab his hands again. "You didn't leave. We figured it out. Together."
"Because you came," he chokes out. "Because you felt something was wrong and you came."
"Because we're twins. Brothers. Family." I pull him into a hug. "And nothing—not Isolde, not the Shadow Court, not mind magic—is going to separate us."
He hugs back.
"I'm sorry," he whispers.
"Don't be sorry. Just promise me something."
"Anything."
"If something feels wrong—if someone's in your head—tell me. Immediately. No matter what they say, no matter what you think, tell me."
"I promise."
"And I promise the same. If I start acting weird or distant—"
"I'll smack you upside the head and demand answers."
I laugh. "Deal."