POV: KIERAN SOLIS
Timeline: Three days after discovering the manipulation
Location: Nocterra Castle
---
Everything seems fine.
That's what scares me most.
Three days of peace.
Three days of normal.
Three days of mental wards holding strong, communication protocols working perfectly.
---
"You're overthinking," Kaelis says through the communication mirror.
We do this every morning now.
Video call—well, magical mirror call—to verify we're both real, both okay, both not being manipulated.
"I'm not overthinking. I'm being cautious."
"You're being paranoid."
"Same thing!"
He laughs. Behind him, I can see the Tidelands' morning light filtering through water. He looks good. Healthy. Happy.
"Verification questions?" he asks.
This is part of the protocol.
Questions only we would know the answers to.
"What's the name of the bakery in Brooklyn where I got the chocolate chip cookies?" I ask.
"Levain Bakery. 74th Street." He grins. "My turn. What did you call me the first time we met?"
"A chaos child who floods chambers." I smile. "What was the first thing we both said when we saw each other?"
"'This is weird.'"
We say it together, then laugh.
"See?" Kaelis says. "We're fine. The wards are working. No one's in our heads."
"Yeah," I agree.
But something still feels off.
"I'll see you tomorrow? For training?"
"Definitely. Nyx is teaching me this new water technique that's supposed to be impossible, but I'm going to master it out of spite."
"That's very on-brand for you."
"I know, right?"
We say goodbye.
The mirror goes dark.
---
I sit there, staring at my reflection.
Everything seems fine.
But my gut says otherwise.
---
"You're brooding," Ravion observes at breakfast.
"I'm thinking."
"You're brooding while thinking."
"That's just my face."
He raises an eyebrow. "That's my face. You're copying my face."
"I've been married to you for weeks. Your face rubbed off on me."
"That's not how faces work."
"You don't know that."
Despite everything, he smiles. "What's wrong? Really."
"I don't know. Everything seems fine. Too fine." I push my eggs around my plate. "What if we missed something? What if the Shadow Court is still here, just… quieter?"
"Then we deal with it when it appears." He reaches across the table, takes my hand. "Kieran, we can't live in constant fear. They want us paranoid. Divided. Suspicious of everything."
"I know."
"So we do the opposite. We live. We trust. We verify—but we don't let fear control us."
He's right.
Logically, he's right.
But something in my gut is screaming that we missed something.
---
That afternoon, I'm in the library when it happens.
A servant appears—young guy, maybe twenty, named Marcus. He's been working here for months. Completely trustworthy.
"Your Majesty," he says with a bow. "A message arrived for you. From the Tidelands."
He hands me a sealed letter.
Blue wax seal.
Nyx's symbol.
I break it open.
---
Kieran,
Something's come up. Kaelis had another power surge. Nothing dangerous, but he's shaken. Can you come? He's asking for you.
Bring Ravion if you want. We're at the neutral ground. It's urgent.
— Nyx
---
My stomach drops.
Another power surge.
But Kaelis was fine this morning. He would've said something during our check-in.
Unless it happened after.
Unless he's actually in trouble and needs help.
I should verify.
Should call through the mirror.
Follow protocol.
But what if he's hurt?
What if he needs me now and I waste time being paranoid?
---
"Marcus," I say. "Where's His Majesty?"
"In a council meeting, Your Majesty. Should I interrupt?"
I hesitate. Council meetings are important.
And this might be nothing.
Or it might be my twin needing me.
"No. I'll go alone. Tell him I went to the neutral ground. Emergency with Kaelis."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
I'm already moving.
Grabbing my cloak.
Heading for the portal chamber.
The logical part of my brain is screaming:
VERIFY!
CHECK!
THIS COULD BE A TRAP!
But the twin bond is pulling.
Urgent.
Desperate.
Kaelis needs me.
---
I step through the portal.
The neutral ground is empty.
Not just empty.
Silent.
Wrong.
The forest clearing where we fought Isolde. Where we've met several times since.
It should feel familiar.
It doesn't.
"Kaelis?" I call out. "Nyx?"
Nothing.
The twin bond pulses in my chest.
He's here. Somewhere.
I move forward, into the clearing.
"KAELIS!"
---
"Hello, Kieran."
I spin around.
A woman stands at the edge of the clearing.
Silver hair.
Color-changing eyes.
Shadow robes.
Mira.
The Shadow Court agent.
"You," I breathe.
"Me." She smiles. "You know, you made this almost too easy."
"Where's Kaelis?!"
"Not here. He's safe in the Tidelands. With Nyx. Completely unaware of this little… detour." Her smile widens. "That letter? Fake. That servant who delivered it? Under my control. This entire thing?" She gestures around. "A trap."
Fuck.
FUCK.
I turn to run—
Shadows erupt from the ground.
Not Ravion's shadows.
Different. Darker.
They wrap around my legs, my arms, pulling me down.
I hit the ground hard.
"Let me GO!"
"I don't think so." Mira walks closer. "You've been very difficult—you and your twin. Resisting our influence. Building mental wards. Verifying reality." She crouches beside me. "But everyone has weaknesses. And yours? Is him."
She touches my forehead.
Pain explodes through my skull.
Images flash:
Kaelis screaming.
In pain.
Crying out for me.
Nyx trying to help—but failing.
My twin dying.
Alone.
Scared.
Needing me.
"STOP!" I gasp.
"This is what will happen," Mira says softly, "if you don't cooperate. Kaelis will suffer. Nyx will fail. And you'll be here—helpless—watching through your connection as your twin brother dies."
"You're lying—"
"Am I?" She presses harder. More images. More pain. "Or is this a vision? A possible future? Can you really risk it?"
"What do you want?!"
"Simple. Come with us. Quietly. No fighting. No alerting your husband or his allies." Her eyes gleam. "Do that, and Kaelis stays safe. Refuse—"
The images intensify.
"—and watch what happens to him."
I'm crying. Can't help it.
The images are too real. Too vivid.
"You're manipulating me—"
"Of course I am. That's what we do." She stands. "But can you risk being wrong? Can you risk his life on the chance that I'm bluffing?"
No.
No, I can't.
If there's even a chance she's telling the truth—
"Fine," I choke out. "I'll come. Just—just leave him alone."
"Smart boy." She waves her hand. The shadows release me.
I stand on shaky legs. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere safe. Somewhere you can't be rescued." She pulls out a crystal. "Somewhere your Dark King will never find you."
The crystal flares.
A portal opens.
"After you," Mira says sweetly.
I look back at the clearing one last time.
Ravion will notice I'm gone.
Will come looking.
But by then—
I step through the portal.
It snaps shut behind me.
And I'm gone.
---
KAELIS' POV
Something's wrong.
I don't know what.
Don't know how I know.
But the twin bond is screaming.
I'm in the middle of training with Nyx when it hits—sharp, sudden pain in my chest that makes me double over.
"Kaelis?!" Nyx catches me. "What's wrong?"
"Kieran—" I gasp. "Something's wrong with Kieran!"
"The bond?"
"It's—it's pulling. Like he's far away. Farther than he should be." I press my hand to my chest. "Something happened. Something bad."
Nyx's expression goes hard. "The communication mirror. Now."
---
We race back to my chambers.
Nyx activates the mirror.
It flares.
Ravion appears—looking panicked.
"Is Kieran with you?" he demands immediately.
"No. Why would he—"
"He left a message. Said he was going to the neutral ground. That Kaelis had a power surge and needed him." Ravion's jaw clenches. "I just got out of the council meeting and he's gone."
"I didn't have a power surge," I say. Horror dawning. "I've been training all day. I didn't send any message—"
"Fuck." Ravion slams his hand on something off-screen. "It was a trap. They lured him out."
"The Shadow Court," Nyx growls.
"We need to go. Now. Track him through the bond—"
"I'm trying!" I close my eyes, focusing on that thread connecting us. "He's… far. Too far. I can't pinpoint—"
The bond flickers.
Weakens.
"No. No no no—"
"What?" Nyx grabs my shoulders. "What's happening?"
"The bond is fading. They're blocking it somehow." Tears stream down my face. "I can't feel him. I can't—"
It goes completely silent.
Dead.
"He's gone."
---
"No." Ravion's voice is deadly calm. "He's not gone. They took him. Which means we're getting him back."
"How?!" I'm shouting now. "We don't know where he is! The bond is blocked! They could have taken him anywhere!"
"Then we tear apart every realm until we find him," Ravion says. His shadows writhe, responding to his fury. "They took my husband. They just declared war."
"We find them," Nyx agrees, eyes glowing. "We get Kieran back. And then—" His smile is vicious. "—we make them regret ever touching our family."
But all I can feel is the empty space where Kieran should be.
The silence where my twin's presence used to sit.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "This is my fault. They used me to get to him—"
"Don't." Ravion's voice cuts through. "This is not your fault. This is Isolde. The Shadow Court. And they will pay."
"But—"
"We're getting him back," Ravion says firmly. "All of us. Together. Do you understand?"
I nod.
"Then get ready." He looks at Nyx. "We're going hunting."