Alexandra's POV
When fate gives you a name, you don't run from it. You hunt it down before it hunts you.
That's what Rae said the night we left the forest.
Her words clung to me as we rode through the dark, silent hills, the motorcycle slicing through wind and tension like a sharp sword. We didn't speak for a long time. There was too much to say and no time to say it. The only thing that mattered now was what came next:
Find the boy.
Find my brother.
Before Lucien made him into something I couldn't bring back.
We stopped in a small, forgotten town two hours outside the city. Hidden between pine-covered cliffs, the place looked like a graveyard of memories—quiet streets, shuttered shops, a chapel with cracked stained glass. A whisper of a town clinging to life.
According to what Lucien left me in that cursed realm—a memory, a vision, or maybe a planted clue—this was where he had last been seen.
The child who shared my blood.
The child being turned into my killer.
The inn keeper barely looked up when we entered. He gave us one key, didn't ask names, and went back to reading his newspaper. Rae and I made it to the room in silence.
Once the door closed, I finally let go of the tension knotting my spine.
Rae paced. "So, how do we find him? What do we even look for?"
I reached into my coat and pulled out the Eye—it pulsed faintly again, warmer than usual.
"I don't think we'll need to look," I said slowly. "He's going to find me."
Rae stopped pacing. "Why do you say that?"
I looked out the window at the empty street below. "Because he's already here."
Night fell.
The silence was louder than ever.
Something about this town felt… paused. Like time had stopped and was waiting for us to catch up.
I sat cross-legged on the floor, holding the Eye in my palms. It was warm. Alive. It tugged at something in my chest.
"He's close," I murmured.
Rae stood by the window. "Are you sure?"
I nodded.
A second later, the light flickered.
Then the knock came.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Slow and calm.
I stood, Rae behind me, and opened the door.
No one was there.
Just an envelope on the floor. White. No markings.
I picked it up, opened it.
Inside, was a photo.
A boy. Maybe sixteen. Eyes just like mine. Standing in front of the chapel down the street.
And on the back, one word in scrawled handwriting:
TONIGHT.
We moved fast.
The chapel was as broken as it looked. Its doors creaked open when I touched them. Inside, the air was thick with dust and something colder. Something darker.
Rae's footsteps echoed behind mine.
Then I saw him.
At the altar.
Alone.
He turned slowly.
And my breath seized.
He looked like me. But younger. Paler. His hair was darker, longer. But his eyes… they were mirrors.
He didn't speak.
He just stared.
"Are you…" I hesitated. "Are you my brother?"
His voice was like mine, but colder. "That's what they tell me."
I took a step closer. "Do you know who I am?"
He raised his head. "The enemy. The flame. The final trial."
My chest tightened. "You don't have to do what they say."
"I don't," he said. "I want to."
Rae stepped forward. "Why? She's your sister!"
He looked at her. "Sister by blood. Not by bond. She left me. Forgot me, and Replace me."
"I didn't even know you existed," I whispered.
He narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't change what I've become."
He raised his hand—and black flame burst across the chapel.
I shielded Rae, pushing her behind me.
"No," I said, louder now. "I won't fight you."
He walked toward me, fire curling around his hands. "Then you'll die."
I stood my ground. "Not today."
The Eye flared in my chest, and gold light exploded from my hands.
Fire met fire.
Brother against sister.
Flame against shadow.
And the chapel shook.
The last thing I saw before the world cracked open—
Was his face.
Smiling.
And behind him—
Lucien.
Watching.
The explosion of fire left nothing but silence.
The chapel walls were gone. The ceiling was torn open. Smoke curled around the broken pews and scorched stone, glowing embers floating through the air like fireflies mourning the dead.
I coughed, ash scraping my throat, and stumbled to my feet.
Rae lay nearby, bruised but breathing. I rushed to her side. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, dazed. "You?"
I didn't answer. I wasn't sure.
My hands still glowed faintly gold, the light receding slowly back beneath my skin. The fire inside me wasn't done—it had only been awakened. And now it pulsed like a second heartbeat, louder with each breath I took.
Across the ruined floor, my brother stood untouched.
His clothes were torn, but he hadn't moved. His expression wasn't one of pain or defeat.
It was… wonder.
"I didn't know you were that strong," he said, his voice soft, almost admiring.
"I didn't want to be," I replied, stepping between him and Rae.
He raised his head. "That's why I'll win."
I blinked. "What?"
"You don't want the power. I do."
His words hit like ice. Not anger. Not vengeance. Just pure, chilling belief.
He wanted this.
To fight me. To destroy me.
"Lucien lied to you," I said. "He twisted you."
He laughed once. "Maybe. But he showed me what I was. And what I can be."
"You're my brother," I whispered.
"And you're my final test."
A pulse of black fire flared around him. He raised his hand again.
But this time, he didn't strike.
He vanished.
Gone—like smoke blown away by the wind.
I gasped. "No!"
Rae stood, limping slightly. "He's not done."
"No," I said, eyes fixed on the sky. "He's just getting started."
I could still feel him—like a shard of shadow lodged deep inside my soul. Connected by blood, magic, and prophecy.
And worst of all?
He was stronger than I realized.