POV: DUAL (KAELIS → RAVION)
Timeline: Three days later
Location: Tidelands - Recovery Chambers
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KAELIS' POV
I wake up slowly.
Soft bed. Glowing blue light. Water sounds. Home.
The Tidelands.
I'm alive.
WE'RE alive.
"Finally." Nyx's voice. He's sitting beside the bed. "You've been unconscious for three days."
"Three DAYS?!" I try to sit up. My body screams in protest. "Ow. Ow ow ow—"
"Easy." He helps me, carefully arranging pillows. "Your body is recovering from channeling that much power. You pushed yourself beyond your limits."
"Did it work though?"
"We're here. You're alive. I'd say it worked." He brushes hair from my forehead. "How do you feel?"
"Like I got hit by a truck, fell off a cliff, and then got hit by another truck at the bottom."
"Accurate." He presses a kiss to my forehead. "The physicians say you'll be fine. Just need rest. Lots of rest."
"Where's Kieran?"
"Nocterra. With Ravion. Same condition as you." Nyx pauses. "We thought it best to let you both recover in your own realms. But we've been in constant contact. He's fine. Awake now too, actually."
"Can I—can I talk to him?"
"Of course." Nyx pulls out a communication mirror. Activates it.
Kieran's face appears. He looks as rough as I feel.
"Hey twin," he says, smiling weakly.
"Hey twin." I'm smiling too. "We look terrible."
"The worst." He laughs, then winces. "Ow. Note to self: don't laugh. It hurts."
"Everything hurts."
"EVERYTHING."
We're both quiet for a moment.
"We did it," Kieran finally says. "We actually survived. Together."
"Together," I agree. "And we're not separating again. Ever. I don't care what Isolde does, she's not—"
"About that." Ravion's voice from off-screen. He appears beside Kieran. "We need to talk. All four of us."
Nyx shifts beside me. "About what?"
"About what we learned." Ravion looks grim. "About Isolde. About the prophecy. About… everything."
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RAVION'S POV
I've been investigating.
For three days, while the princes recovered, I've been digging into Queen Isolde's history. Her past. Her secrets.
What I found changes everything.
"Isolde," I begin, "is not Kaelis' real mother."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Through the mirror, I watch Kaelis go very still.
"What?" His voice is barely a whisper.
"I found records. Hidden deep in Arventis archives. Protected by shadow magic—MY shadow magic, which meant I could break it." I pull out documents. Hold them up to the mirror. "Twenty-two years ago, King Aldric was married to Queen Seraphina. She gave birth to twin sons."
"Twins," Kieran breathes. "Us."
"Yes. Both born under bleeding stars. The prophecy activated immediately." I flip through pages. "But then Seraphina died. Supposedly from childbirth complications. And one of the twins… disappeared. Vanished from the castle the same night. Presumed dead."
"Kieran," Nyx says slowly. "She threw him away."
"Into the Night Forest," I confirm. "The records are fragmentary but clear enough. Queen Seraphina died under suspicious circumstances. One twin disappeared. And immediately after, Isolde—who had been Royal Advisor—became Regent Queen. Raised the remaining twin as her own son."
"Kaelis," Kieran whispers through the mirror.
I look at Kaelis directly. At this boy—this KING—who's entire life has been a lie.
"She's not your mother," I say gently. "She never was. She MURDERED your real mother. Took you. Threw your twin brother away to die. And spent twenty-two years lying to you about everything."
Kaelis doesn't move. Doesn't speak. Just stares.
"There's more," I continue. "King Aldric—your real father—died five years ago. Also suspicious circumstances. Slow poisoning over months. The same poison signature that was used on Kieran recently."
"She killed my father too," Kaelis says. No emotion. Voice flat. "She killed both my parents. Separated me from my twin. And raised me as her own. For what? Power?"
"Yes." I hate giving him this answer. "The prophecy said twin princes together would have ultimate power. She wanted that power. So she took you, disposed of Kieran, and planned to eventually use you for a ritual that would transfer the prophecy's power to herself."
"But Kieran didn't die," Nyx adds. "The Forest sent him through time. Protected him. And when they swapped places—"
"The prophecy activated anyway," I finish. "Both twins in the same timeline. The prophecy complete despite her attempts to control it."
More silence.
Then Kaelis laughs.
It's not a happy sound. It's broken. Shattered.
"So everything," he says. "EVERYTHING was a lie. My mother wasn't my mother. My childhood was stolen. My twin was thrown away like garbage. My father was murdered. And all of it—ALL of it—was so she could steal power she didn't earn."
"Kaelis—" Nyx reaches for him.
"I want to see her." Kaelis' eyes are burning. "Where is she?"
"We don't know," I admit. "She was lost in dimensional transit. Could be anywhere. Any realm. Any—"
"Find her." Kaelis' voice is absolute command. "Find her. Bring her here. I want to look her in the eyes when I tell her exactly what she is."
"Kaelis," Kieran says through the mirror. "Maybe we should—"
"She killed my mother. OUR mother." Kaelis looks at his twin. "She threw YOU into a forest to DIE. She tortured you. Poisoned you. Tried to drain our power and kill us both." His jaw sets. "I want her to answer for it. All of it."
"She will," I promise. "We'll find her. And when we do—"
"When we do, she faces justice," Nyx finishes. "Not revenge. Justice. Legal. Proper. In front of all the realms."
"That's too kind," Kaelis mutters.
"Perhaps." Nyx's hand finds his. "But it's what separates us from her. She acts from hate and greed. We act from justice and love."
Kaelis is quiet for a long moment.
Then: "Fine. Justice. But I'm there. When she's captured. When she's tried. When she's sentenced. I'm THERE."
"We both are," Kieran adds from the mirror.
"All four of us," I agree.