Jayden didn't sleep.
He sat upright all night, staring at the crumpled note on his nightstand.
"The darkness knows your name. And one of your siblings is already lost."
Lost.
Not "in danger." Not "wounded." Lost.
He didn't know if it meant corrupted, possessed, or worse.
And the signature—L.—it could only be Leonora. Which was somehow even more alarming than the note itself.
When dawn finally spilled gold over the palace spires, Jayden dressed quickly, slipped past the guards, and made his way into the eastern gardens—the only place in the palace where whispers weren't tracked and eyes didn't follow.
He wasn't alone.
Aerin stood beneath a tree of burning blossoms, one foot pressed against the bark, idly flipping a dagger in one hand.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, without looking at him.
"I got a note. From Leonora, I think. It said one of my siblings is already—"
"Corrupted," Aerin said flatly. "Yeah, I figured."
Jayden blinked. "What?"
"Thalen," she said, flicking the dagger into the trunk. "Definitely Thalen."
"You don't even know him."
"I don't need to know him. His hair is too perfect. His teeth are suspiciously white. And last night at dinner he kept staring at me like I was a dessert he couldn't pronounce."
Jayden winced. "You're saying he's… already a Shadowborn?"
"No," Aerin said, pulling the dagger free. "I'm saying he smells wrong. Something is rotting inside him. I can feel it."
Jayden turned, eyes scanning the ivy-wrapped walls. Something was shifting in the air—a hum beneath the silence, like the entire garden was holding its breath.
Then a rosebush moved.
A shadow slithered across the marble path.
Jayden spun, heart pounding. "Did you see that?"
"Yes," Aerin muttered. "And it wasn't a squirrel."
They followed the path deeper into the garden, where the walls of the palace gave way to ancient, forgotten stonework—places even the royals no longer visited.
Jayden paused. "This part of the garden was sealed off after—"
"—after Princess Elira accidentally summoned a ghost army during a tea party," Aerin finished. "Yeah, I read the tabloids."
They stepped through an archway wrapped in moonvine—and froze.
In the center of the clearing stood a figure in a silver mask, cloaked in storm-colored fabric, motionless.
Jayden opened his mouth to speak—but the figure moved first.
One moment, it was standing. The next, it was behind them.
Aerin whirled, flame bursting from her hand.
But the figure raised a gloved finger. "Don't," they said quietly. "The wards will awaken."
Jayden's heart hammered. "Who are you?"
The figure tilted their head. "An enemy of your enemies. And sometimes… an ally of your nightmares."
Aerin snorted. "Okay, brooding much?"
The masked figure ignored her. "Your palace is bleeding," they said. "The shadows have already entered. They are feeding on the hearts of those closest to the crown."
Jayden stepped forward. "What do you mean? Who are they feeding on?"
The figure didn't answer directly. Instead, they held out a small, curved object.
It was a mirror shard, pulsing faintly with moonlight.
"Show this to your sister," the figure said. "The one who sent the note."
Then they were gone.
No sound. No flash. Just vanished—like a dream that ended too fast.
Aerin stared at the space where the stranger had stood. "Okay. That was creepy. Also hot. But mostly creepy."
Jayden clutched the shard. "Leonora. We have to find her."
Leonora's Secret
They found her in the Solarium of Spells, surrounded by books, potions, and three exhausted servants attempting to tame her increasingly unhinged hair.
She looked up as they entered.
"If this is about breakfast, I already sent a formal complaint."
Jayden held out the shard. "Someone left this for you."
Leonora's face changed the instant she saw it.
She stood. Her voice dropped. "Where did you get this?"
"A masked figure in the garden. Said the palace is bleeding. Said this would mean something to you."
Leonora snatched it, held it up to the sunlight—and the shard came alive.
An image appeared. Faint, glowing silver.
A face.
Thalen's face.
But not normal. Distorted. His skin flickered with shadow-veins. His eyes were black voids. And in his hand—
"He has the Moon Sigil," Leonora whispered. "But that's impossible. That mark belongs only to the Heir of the Veil."
Jayden's breath caught. "Then why does he have it?"
Leonora lowered the shard. "Because he stole it."
She looked at Jayden. Her eyes—so often full of mockery—were now sharp with rage.
"I think our dear brother Thalen made a deal with the Shadowborn . And I think he intends to kill you."