Kira's POV
I can hear Lucian's thoughts.
Not just feel his emotions—I can hear actual words in my head that aren't mine. His voice, clear as if he's speaking, except his lips aren't moving.
This can't be real. This shouldn't be possible.
"Get out of my head!" I shout, scrambling away from him.
I'm not trying to be in your head! His thought-voice sounds panicked. How do I make it stop?
The old woman watches us with those glowing eyes, looking amused. "You cannot make it stop. The soulbond has completed its final stage. You are truly one now."
"No." I shake my head frantically. "No, no, no. I don't want this. I don't want to be connected to him!"
Through our bond—through our merged souls—I feel Lucian's hurt at my words. And worse, I feel his agreement. He doesn't want this either.
We're stuck together, and we both hate it.
"Who are you?" Lucian demands, getting to his feet. He puts himself between me and the woman, protecting me even though he doesn't want to be bound to me. "How do you know about soulbonds?"
"I am Nyx, the last Twilight Keeper." The woman steps closer, and power radiates from her like heat. "I've been waiting three hundred years for a shadow-light bond to form again."
"Again?" I stand up slowly, my legs still shaking. "You mean this has happened before?"
"Once. Long ago, when shadow and light were not enemies but partners." Nyx's eyes go distant. "Before the Great Division, before the Courts split, before hatred became the rule. Two wielders bonded just as you have—and they saved the world from the first Void invasion."
My heart pounds. "What happened to them?"
"They died." Nyx says it simply, like she's talking about the weather. "The bond gave them enough power to seal the Void, but the cost was their lives. Both of them, together, as they'd become one soul."
Through our connection, I feel Lucian's dread matching mine.
"You're saying we have to die?" he asks quietly.
"I'm saying the ritual requires sacrifice." Nyx looks between us. "But perhaps this time will be different. Perhaps you two are stronger than those who came before."
"Or perhaps we'll just die faster," I mutter.
Stop being so pessimistic. Lucian's thought cuts through my mind.
Stop listening to my thoughts!
I literally cannot help it!
"Enough!" Nyx's voice cracks like thunder. "You bicker like children while the world burns. The Void is spreading. Mordain is gathering his cult. And you two are wasting time arguing in an alley."
She's right. I hate that she's right.
"Fine." I look at Lucian, really look at him. His cold blue eyes aren't so cold anymore. Through our bond, I see the scared boy underneath the warrior. The brother grieving his loss. The man drowning in guilt and rage. "We work together. But only until the Void is stopped."
"Agreed." His jaw tightens. "Then we find a way to break this bond."
Liar, whispers a traitorous part of my mind. You don't want to break it. Not really.
Through the bond, I feel his response: Neither do you.
We both look away, hating how right we are.
"Good," Nyx says. "Now, about your curse—"
Pain explodes through my body.
The curse attacks without warning, a thousand times worse than before. Shadows erupt from my skin like snakes, writhing and screaming. They're wild, uncontrolled, hungry.
And this time, they're not just attacking me.
They reach for Lucian.
"Kira, no!" He tries to dodge, but the shadows are too fast. They wrap around him, squeezing, burning through his light magic like acid through paper.
Through our bond, I feel his agony. It's my curse, but he's feeling it too. We're so connected now that my pain has become his pain.
"Stop!" I scream at the shadows. "Let him go!"
But they won't listen. The curse has grown stronger, fed by the power explosion from our bond. It's not satisfied with just killing me anymore.
It wants to kill us both.
Lucian falls to his knees, his light magic flickering. Through our connection, I feel him getting weaker. Dying.
No. Not him. Anyone but him.
The thought surprises me. When did I start caring if he lives or dies?
Since the moment we bonded, his thought-voice whispers weakly. You feel it too. We're supposed to protect each other now.
"Kira!" Nyx's voice cuts through the chaos. "The bond works both ways! You can draw on his light magic to fight the curse!"
"But that will kill him faster!"
"And if you don't, it will kill you both anyway!"
She's right. Through the bond, I can feel Lucian's life force draining. We have seconds, maybe less.
I reach through our connection, grabbing onto his light magic. It burns like touching the sun, but I hold on. I pull his power into me, mixing it with my shadows.
The curse screams. It hates the light. Hates the burning, cleansing brightness.
But instead of destroying each other, shadow and light start to merge. They twist together, creating something new. Something that glows silver-gold, like twilight.
The curse fights harder, but the twilight magic is stronger. It wraps around the black veins on my arms, burning them away. Not destroying the curse completely—just pushing it back. Giving me control again.
The shadows retreat. The pain stops.
Lucian and I collapse, gasping for air. We're both alive. Barely.
"What—" I can't finish the sentence.
"Twilight magic," Nyx says, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "The balance between shadow and light. The power that will let you seal the Void."
Through our bond, I feel Lucian's realization. "We can't ever separate. If we do—"
"The curse will kill her instantly," Nyx finishes. "And without the bond, you'll lose your connection to twilight magic. You need each other to survive now."
I want to scream. Want to rage against this impossible situation. I'm stuck with the man who hunted me for three years. Stuck in his head. Stuck feeling his emotions. Stuck needing him just to stay alive.
And through our bond, I feel that he's thinking the exact same thing about me.
"How long?" Lucian asks Nyx. "How long until the Void consumes everything?"
"Ten days. Maybe less." She looks toward the dark sky. "Mordain is accelerating his plan. The cult is performing rituals all across both Courts, tearing reality apart. You must reach the Temple of Twilight before it's too late."
"Where is this temple?" I demand.
"Deep in the Threshold. A two-week journey through dangerous territory." Nyx's expression turns grim. "And Mordain will send everything he has to stop you. He knows what you've become. He knows you're the only threat to his plan."
"Two weeks?" Lucian's voice is flat. "But you said we have ten days."
"Then I suggest you travel quickly." Nyx starts to fade, becoming translucent. "And pray you reach the temple in time. Because if you fail—"
She vanishes completely.
Lucian and I sit in the destroyed alley, covered in blood and ash, bound together by magic we don't understand.
"We should go," he says finally. "We need supplies. A safe place to plan."
"I have a safe house. My friend Zephyr—" I stop. Through the bond, I feel Lucian's alarm. "What?"
"I know where your safe house is." His face goes pale. "I've been tracking you for three years. I know all your hiding spots."
Fear claws at my throat. "Have you told anyone?"
"No. I wanted to catch you myself." He stands up, offering me his hand. Through the bond, I feel his sincerity. "I swear I haven't told the Light Court. Your friend is safe."
I take his hand, hating that I believe him. Hating that the bond makes lying impossible between us.
We're about to leave when a new crack appears in the air. Not the Void this time—something else. A portal, shimmering with dark magic.
Maven steps through. But her eyes are clear now, no longer glazed over. She's free from Mordain's control.
And she's holding a knife aimed at my heart.
"I'm sorry, Kira," she says, tears streaming down her face. "But Mordain has my sister. If I don't kill you, he'll kill her."
She lunges before I can respond.
Through the bond, Lucian and I both feel the same thought at once:
Protect each other.