Selene paced across the blackened marble of her war chamber, eyes fixed on the burning map of Arden. Arcane flames danced along its edges, showing troop movements, spy trails, and Kael's defiance.
"He should be dead," she muttered, voice cold as midnight.
Her advisor, Lord Virel, bowed low. "And yet he breathes, my queen. And now... he awakens crystal veins. Just like the myths."
Selene slammed her fist into the table, shattering the glass goblet beside her.
"I killed him. I held the blade. I heard his final breath."
Virel cleared his throat. "Perhaps, my queen... you miscalculated the goddess's interest."
She turned to him slowly. "Bring me the Arcanist Twins. If the goddess favors Kael, we'll ask the old gods for permission to burn her too."
POV: Mira
Mira stood at the tower window, watching her brother train with Ronan and Lyssa in the courtyard below. His movements were faster now—unnatural. His skin shimmered faintly, the glyphs like tattoos etched in divine ink.
He's becoming something else, she thought.
Something more.
She touched the silver locket around her neck—the one he gave her when she was five. "I'll protect you," she whispered. "Even from yourself."
Her eyes narrowed on Lyssa, who blocked one of Kael's strikes with eerie precision, smiling all the while.
Mira's fingers clenched around the window frame.
She doesn't love you like I do, Brother. She's dangerous. They all are.
Only I am worthy.
POV: Lyssa
That night, Lyssa cleaned Kael's blade in silence, humming an old lullaby.
She traced her finger along the hilt.
"You're becoming stronger," she whispered. "But you still trust too easily. I'll kill for you, Kael. I'll kill everyone, if that's what it takes to keep your smile."
She paused, glancing at the door where Mira lingered.
Their eyes met.
And for the first time, two storms silently declared war.