"Run!" Prince Veyric shouted. His vampire soldiers made a protective circle around Serenity and the others.
Their red eyes blazed like fire in the darkness. Sable laughed, her voice exactly like Serenity's but filled with poison. "You can't escape us forever, sister."
"I'm not your sister," Serenity said through hard teeth.
"Oh, but you are. We shared the same mom. Breathed the same air. Until you stole everything that should have been mine."
The shadow sisters behind Sable moved closer. Their faces were similar to Serenity's, but their eyes were black holes.
"Enough talk," Veyric ordered. "We leave now."
His troops fought the shadow creatures while everyone else ran through the castle's back passages. The sounds of fighting echoed behind them.
"This way," Veyric led them down a narrow stairs. "My carriages are waiting." But when they reached the courtyard, the cars were gone. Only bent metal and broken wood remained.
"They destroyed everything," Riven said grimly.
"Not everything." Veyric pointed toward the mountains. "There's another way."
"What way?" Kael demanded.
"We climb." The mountains rose like black teeth against the starry sky. Jagged rocks and steep cliffs stretched up into the clouds.
"Are you insane?" Sable snapped. "We'll freeze to death."
"Better than staying here," Serenity said. She could feel her twin's presence like ice in her blood. "Let's go."
They ran across the courtyard as shadow things poured from the castle. Serenity's power flared, forming a barrier of silver light behind them.
"How long can you hold that?" Veyric asked. "Not long enough."
They reached the base of the mountain and started climbing. The rocks were slippery with frost. The wind cut through their clothes like knives. Behind them, the shadow sisters followed. They moved across the stone like spiders, incredibly fast.
"Faster," Riven pushed. He helped Serenity over a particularly tough ledge.
"I'm trying," she gasped. Her hands were bleeding from the sharp rocks.
"There," Elder Thalia pointed with a shaking finger. "A cave."
High above them, a dark hole yawned in the mountainside. Warm light flickered from within.
"Someone's home," Kael noted
. "Good," Veyric said.
"We need shelter." They climbed faster, despair giving them strength.
The ghost sisters were gaining ground. Finally, they reached the cave opening. Serenity fell on the rocky floor, breathing hard.
"Well, well," a voice said from the darkness. "What have we here?"
A woman stepped into the firelight. She had curly brown hair and olive skin. Her eyes were like burning fire.
"Asha Linvale," Elder Thalia breathed. "You're alive."
"Disappointed?" The witch smiled, but it wasn't nice.
"I heard you thought I was dead."
"We all did."
"I let you think that. Easier to work without distraction." Asha's burning eyes fixed on Serenity. "Especially from meddling Seers."
"You know who I am?" Serenity asked. "Child, I've been watching you since you were born. Waiting for this moment."
"What moment?"
"The moment you'd come to me for help." Asha turned away. "Though I must say, you've made quite a mess of things."
The cave was bigger than it looked from outside. Books lined every wall from floor to sky. Crystals hung from the roof, glowing with soft light. In the middle, a fire crackled in a stone pit.
"This is your home?" Riven asked.
"Had been for twenty years. Ever since I went into hiding." Asha poked at the fire with a metal stick. "After what happened to your parents."
Serenity's heart jumped. "You knew my parents?"
"Knew them? Child, I was there when they died."
Silence fell over the cave. Even the fire seemed to burn quieter.
"Tell me," Serenity breathed.
"Why should I? You'll just make the same mistakes they did."
"What mistakes?"
"Trusting the wrong people. Believing in predictions. Thinking love conquers all." Asha's voice was bitter.
"Your parents thought they could change the world. Look how that ended."
"They were murdered," Serenity said angrily. "That's not their fault."
"Isn't it? They broke every rule. Mixed genes that should never touch. Created something the world wasn't ready for."
"They created me."
"They made a weapon. The question is, who will handle it?"
Outside the cave, something howled. Not a cat. Something else.
"They've found us," Veyric said grimly.
"Of course they have." Asha didn't seem worried. "Shadow creatures always find their way to power."
"Can you protect us?" Serenity asked. "I can protect myself. The rest of you..." She shrugged. "That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you're willing to learn."
"Learn what?"
"Magic. Real magic. Not the intuitive power you've been throwing around like a child with a sword."
Serenity felt hope flicker in her chest. "You'll teach me?"
"I'll consider it."
"What's the catch?"
Asha smiled, and for the first time, it reached her eyes. "Smart girl. The catch is that once you learn what I have to teach, there's no going back. You'll see the world as it really is. All the lies. All the trickery. All the people who want to use you."
She looked at Kael, Riven, and Veyric. "Including them."
"Hey," Riven objected. "I'm not—"
"You're all using her," Asha cut him off. "The Alpha needs her to break his curse. The killer needs her to ease his guilt. The vampire needs her to replace a lost love. And she's so desperate to be wanted that she can't see it."
"That's not true," Serenity said, but her voice shook.
"Isn't it? When was the last time someone wanted you for yourself? Not your power. Not your genes. Not what you could do for them. Just you."
Serenity opened her mouth to answer, then closed it. She couldn't think of a single time.
"Exactly." Asha nodded. "That's why you need to learn. To stand on your own. To choose your own path."
"Will you teach me or not?"
"I'll teach you. But first, you have to show you're serious."
"How?" Asha pointed toward the cave entrance. "Your ghost sisters are out there. Waiting. They won't attack while you're in here—my wards are too strong. But the moment you step outside..."
"They'll kill me."
"Maybe. Or maybe you'll finally learn to fight back."
"You want me to face them? Now?"
"I want you to stop running. Stop counting on others to save you. Show me you're worth teaching."
"That's suicide," Kael said. "She's not ready."
"She's never going to be ready if she keeps hiding behind other people's strength."
Serenity looked around the cave. At the books full of knowledge. At the rocks glowing with power. At Asha, who might be the key to understanding her powers. Then she looked at Kael, Riven, and Veyric. Three guys who wanted her help. Who needed her for their own reasons.
"What if I fail?" she asked Asha. "Then you die. But at least you'll die as yourself. Not as someone else's tool."
Outside, the howling got louder. Closer. "Decide," Asha said. "But decide quickly. Your sisters are getting impatient."
Serenity stood up. Her legs shook, but her voice was steady. "I'll do it."
"Serenity, no," Riven reached for her. "It's too dangerous."
"Everything's dangerous." She looked at him with sad eyes.
"But I can't keep running forever."
"You don't have to face them alone," Veyric said. "We'll fight beside you."
"Will you? Or will you just stand back and watch while I do what you need me to do?"
The vampire prince didn't answer. "That's what I thought."
Serenity walked toward the cave opening. "Asha's right. I need to stop depending on others."
"Child," Asha called after her. "One more thing."
"What?"
"Your sisters aren't just shadow creatures. They're pieces of you. The parts you've refused. The evil you've tried to hide."
"What does that mean?"
"It means to beat them, you have to accept them.
All of you. Light and dark. Good and evil. Love and hate."
"And if I can't?"
"Then they'll tear you apart from the inside."
Serenity took a deep breath and stepped outside. The night air was cold against her skin. Snow crunched under her feet.
"Hello, sister," Sable's voice came from the darkness. "Ready to play?"
Six shadow animals emerged from behind the rocks. They moved like liquid smoke, their faces changing between Serenity's features and something else. Something hungry.
"I'm ready," Serenity said. Silver light began to glow around her hands.
"Are you?" Sable stepped into view. "Because I brought a friend."
From the shadows came something that made Serenity's blood freeze. A woman with silver eyes and black hair. But older. Wiser. More beautiful than Serenity could ever hope to be.
"Hello, my daughter," the woman said in a voice like music. "I've missed you so much."
Serenity stumbled backward. "You're dead. I saw you die."
"Did you? Or did you see what they wanted you to see?" The woman who looked like Serenity's mother smiled. "I've been waiting so long to meet you. To finally take back what was stolen from me."
"You're not real," Serenity whispered. "I'm as real as your need for love. As your desperate wish that someone—anyone—would choose you first." The fake mother reached out her hand. "Come with me, darling. Let me show you what real power looks like."
Behind her, the shadow sisters laughed with Serenity's voice. And in the cave, Asha mumbled words that changed everything.
"She's not your mother, child. She's your biggest fear made flesh. The fear that you're not worth loving."
"Then what is she?" Serenity asked without turning around.
"She's the real test. Face her, and you'll understand your power. Run from her..."
"What?"
"And you'll become just another shadow."