The Obsidian Keep stood still under the pale glow of twin moons, its once-quiet halls now whispering of ancient dangers and inevitable war. Every shadow seemed to move. Every flickering candle felt like a warning.
Seraphina couldn't sleep. Not with the queen's voice still echoing in her mind.
"I've come for what is mine."
The words slithered like snakes, tightening around her lungs, suffocating her peace. She paced Lucien's study, the prophecy scroll clenched in one hand, her other pressed to the cold stone wall as if grounding herself to reality would stop the magic from spiraling.
She wasn't ready for this. But ready or not, it had begun.
Lucien entered quietly, his dark presence both calming and electric. "You need rest," he murmured.
She turned to him, eyes bright but tired. "There's no time."
He closed the distance between them. "You won't face this alone."
"I'm not afraid for me," she whispered. "I'm afraid of what I might become."
Lucien paused. "Explain."
Seraphina opened the scroll again, revealing the burning ink. "The prophecy mentions a split. Three forms. Woman, beast, and crowned shadow. The split isn't about kingdoms or choices—it's about me. I think the curse doesn't just kill… it divides."
Lucien frowned. "You think your soul might fracture?"
Seraphina nodded. "I've already felt it. When Lyssaria appeared, part of me wanted to run—but something else… something ancient wanted to meet her magic with fire."
Lucien's jaw tightened. "You carry your mother's blood. And your grandmother's."
He moved to the ancient bookshelf and pulled out a forgotten tome. It was bound in crimson leather, etched with the symbol of the Veil Court. "Your lineage is more than royal. It's cursed. The last time the Veil Queen was defeated, it was by a Luna with fire in her soul and shadows in her steps."
"My grandmother," Seraphina whispered.
Lucien nodded. "The queen has waited generations for a rebirth. And now… she believes it's you."
Seraphina sat slowly, the weight of legacy pressing her down.
---
At dawn, they met with the Keep's war strategists. Maps were replaced with crystal mirrors, tracking Queen Lyssaria's movements across the realms. But she had vanished. Like a wraith.
"We need to draw her out," said General Ashar, a broad-shouldered fae-wolf with eyes like steel. "She fears what the Luna can become. That fear is our weapon."
"No," Lucien growled. "Seraphina is not bait."
But Seraphina raised her hand. "I'll do it. I want her to come. I need her to."
Lucien's eyes flared. "We've barely begun your training."
Seraphina turned to him. "Then let's not waste time."
---
The Obsidian Vault was opened for the first time in a century. A chamber built into the mountain's heart, it housed magic relics too powerful to be left unguarded. Here, Seraphina would train.
Her teacher: Valara the Bound Flame—once a High Priestess, now a warrior cursed with eternal life and endless fire. Her body radiated heat. Her voice burned.
"Magic isn't light or dark," Valara said. "It's will. And your will, child, is fractured."
Seraphina's first lesson was agony. Flames roared around her. Illusions clawed at her mind—visions of her mother burning, Lucien bleeding, the Keep falling. Each time she flinched, the flames intensified.
"Focus!" Valara snapped.
"I'm trying!"
"You're fearing."
"I don't want to become like her!"
The fire stopped.
Valara approached. "And that is why you won't. But fear makes monsters. Embrace the fire—not to destroy—but to protect."
---
Days passed. Then weeks.
Seraphina grew stronger. Faster. She learned to weave fire from her breath, shield herself in molten light, summon illusions so real they made seasoned guards weep. Yet her most potent skill remained dormant.
The Shadow Mark.
Lucien brought her the mirror from the prophecy. "Look."
She saw herself: eyes glowing, hair aflame, a crown of midnight thorns atop her head.
Lucien stood behind her. "Your soul has touched shadow before. When you survived your parents' murder. When you endured years of exile. When you kissed me and felt the world shift."
"I thought it was love."
"It is. But love doesn't just heal. It awakens."
---
One night, a raven crashed into the Keep's windows. Bleeding silver.
A message was bound to its leg.
Moonrise. Two nights. The Forgotten Temple. Come alone. Or I burn every village between here and the Vale.
Lucien crushed the scroll. "She wants a meeting."
"It's a trap," Seraphina said.
"Exactly. Which is why I'm going with you."
She looked up. "No. You'll be watching. But I go alone. Just like she said."
Lucien growled. "I won't let you die."
Seraphina smiled faintly. "Then trust that I've learned to live."
---
The Forgotten Temple rose from the woods like a corpse unearthed. Vines curled around its bones. Statues of ancient gods wept moss.
Seraphina entered, alone.
The air reeked of rose and rot.
Lyssaria waited, seated on a throne of bone and crystal. Her veil fluttered with every breath.
"Child of fire," she crooned. "You wear your mother's pain like perfume."
Seraphina stepped forward. "And you wear madness like silk."
Lyssaria laughed. "Oh, clever little flame. But you don't understand. I don't want to kill you."
She stood. "I want to free you."
"From what?"
"The leash of the wolves. The burden of light. You are shadow, girl. You are mine."
"No."
"Yes. And when your body splits, I will rise from it—reborn."
Lyssaria removed her veil.
Her face was half Seraphina's.
Not illusion.
Not magic.
Blood.
"Sister?"
Lyssaria smiled. "Not quite. But close enough to steal your soul."
She lunged.
Fire erupted. Seraphina screamed—not in fear, but in fury.
The flames met shadow in midair. The entire temple shook.
Outside, Lucien and Valara battled wraiths that poured from the trees. Dozens. Hundreds.
Seraphina's scream became a war cry. Her body lifted into the air. A crown of fire. A veil of shadow.
And from within her chest, the Shadow Mark exploded.
Lyssaria was thrown back. Her scream echoed for miles.
"I will return!"
Seraphina collapsed as the temple cracked.
Lucien caught her.
She was breathing.
But barely.
Her last words before darkness claimed her were soft.
"She's not my sister… she's my other half."
And then all went still.