Cassian's POV
The holy marks burned.
I pressed my hand against my chest, feeling the heat pulse beneath my skin. Golden light seeped through my fingers, throwing shadows across my bedroom walls. It hurt, but I smiled anyway.
Pain meant the goddess was working through me. Pain meant I was becoming stronger.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
I turned to find High Priestess Lyanna standing in my doorway. I hadn't heard her enter, but that was normal. The priestess moved like smoke—silent and hard to catch.
"The marks are spreading," I said, trying to keep the pride out of my voice. Trying and failing.
Lyanna glided closer. Her white clothes seemed to glow in the morning light. When she looked at me, her eyes were old and knowing.
"The goddess has big plans for you, Cassian Thorne." She touched the golden marks on my chest. Her fingers were ice-cold. "You will be the greatest hero this kingdom has ever seen."
My heart soared. "I won't upset her. Or you."
"I know you won't." Lyanna smiled, but something about it made my skin itch. "That's why I must warn you about a threat to your destiny."
I straightened immediately. "What kind of threat?" "A boy named Kieran Ashford."
The name meant nothing to me. "Who is he?"
"A shadow mage." Lyanna's voice turned cold. "He practices dark magic—the kind that corrupts and destroys. He will join the Royal Academy the same time as you. And if left unchecked, he will poison everything good in this land."
Shadow power. I'd learned about it in my studies with the lady. Evil power that fed on darkness. Magic that made people into monsters.
"Why doesn't someone stop him now?" I asked.
"Because he's smart. He hides his real nature behind a noble family name. His father is a general. His sister claims to be innocent. But I've seen the future, Cassian." Lyanna's eyes bored into mine. "If Kieran Ashford lives, thousands will die. The kingdom will fall into chaos."
My hands clenched into fists. "Then I'll stop him."
"Good boy." Lyanna patted my cheek like I was a dog who'd learned a new trick. "But you must be patient. You cannot simply kill him outright. That would make you look like the evil. No—you must expose him first. Make everyone see his evil. Then, when you destroy him, the kingdom will celebrate you as their hero."
I nodded slowly, understanding. Heroes didn't kill people in cold blood. Heroes waited for the right time. Heroes made sure everyone knew they were doing the right thing.
"How will I expose him?"
"Befriend him," Lyanna said simply. "Gain his trust. Learn his skills. Then, when the time is right, use those lies to destroy him."
The idea felt wrong somehow. Befriending someone just to hurt them later. But if this Kieran Ashford was truly evil, if he really would destroy the country...
"It's your holy duty," Lyanna added, as if reading my thoughts. "The goddess herself commands it." That decided it. The goddess had picked me for a reason. She'd given me these powers for a reason. If my goal was to stop an evil shadow mage, then that's exactly what I'd do.
Even if I had to pretend to be his friend first.
"I understand," I said.
Lyanna smiled bigger. "I knew you would. You're special, Cassian. Different from other boys your age. You understand suffering. You understand that sometimes we must do tough things for the greater good."
She turned to leave, her clothes whispering across the floor.
"Priestess?" I called after her. "How do you know all this? About Kieran Ashford and the future?"
She stopped in the doorway. For just a second, her image in my mirror looked strange—older, colder, more like a corpse than a person.
Then she turned back with her normal smile. "The goddess shows me dreams, dear boy. She shows me many possible futures. And in every single one where Kieran Ashford lives, the world burns."
After she left, I stood alone in my room. The holy marks on my chest had stopped hurting. They pulsed with steady, golden light.
I walked to my mirror and studied my image. Blond hair that caught the sunlight. Blue eyes that people called kind. A strong jaw. Good hips. The face of a hero. "Kieran Ashford," I said to my reflection, trying the name. "Shadow mage. Future evil."
My enemy.
Footsteps echoed in the hall. My father came in the doorway, grinning broadly.
"There's my boy!" He clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to make me stumble. "Ready for your big day?"
"Big day?"
"The Academy sent your acceptance letter this morning. You start in three months." His eyes shone with pride. "My son, the goddess's chosen hero. The whole country will know your name, Cassian. You'll be the greatest hero they've ever seen."
I smiled because he expected it. "I'll make you proud, Father."
"You already have." He ruffled my hair like I was still a little kid. "Now come on. Your mother wants to party. She's been crying happy tears all morning."
I followed him downstairs, but my mind was elsewhere.
Three months until the Academy. Three months until I met Kieran Ashford.
Three months to prepare for my fate.
That evening, I knelt in the temple before the goddess's figure. Golden light from a hundred candles flickered across her stone face. She looked beautiful and terrible at the same time.
"I won't fail you," I whispered. "I'll be the hero you need. I'll stop anyone who threatens your country."
The statue's eyes seemed to gleam in the lighting. Almost like she was looking right at me. Almost like she was happy.
I stayed there for an hour, praying and planning. Thinking about Kieran Ashford and how I'd destroy him. It would take time. Patience. I'd have to be smart about it.
But I would win. I always won.
The goddess had picked me for a reason.
When I finally stood to leave, something strange happened. The shadows in the corner of the temple moved wrong. Not like normal shadows cast by flickering lights. These moved on their own, sliding across the floor like live things.
Shadow power.
My heart raced. Was someone here? Watching me?
"Hello?" I called out.
No answer.
The shadows moved again, forming forms that might have been words. Or maybe just my imagination. But for just a second, I could swear they spelled out something.
She's lying.
Then the candles flared brighter, and the shadows disappeared.
I stood frozen, looking at the empty corner. Had that really happened? Or was I seeing things?
"Cassian?"
I spun around. High Priestess Lyanna stood in the temple door, silhouetted against the evening light.
"I felt a disturbance," she said softly. "Dark power in the temple. Did you see anything?"
"I... I'm not sure." My mouth felt dry. "The shadows moved strangely."
Lyanna's face hardened. "It's already started. Kieran Ashford must have felt your presence. He's trying you, seeing if you're a threat to his plans."
Was that it? Some kind of shadow magic attack? "He's dangerous, Cassian." Lyanna walked closer. "More dangerous than I thought. You must be very careful at the Academy. Watch him. Learn from him. But never—and I mean never—trust anything he says."
I nodded, but something nagged at me. Something about those shadows and their message.
She's lying.
What if— No. I pushed the thought away. The goddess had picked me. High Priestess Lyanna spoke for the goddess. And shadow magic was evil.
Those ghosts were probably just trying to confuse me. Make me wonder. That's what evil did—it turned truth into lies and lies into truth until you couldn't tell the difference.
I wouldn't fall for it.
"I'll be careful," I promised Lyanna.
She smiled and touched my cheek. Her fingers were so cold they almost burned.
"Good boy. Now go home and rest. Your destiny awaits."
I left the temple with my head held high. Behind me, I didn't see Lyanna's smile drop. Didn't see her eyes turn totally black for just a moment.
Didn't hear her say to the empty temple: "Four times now. Four tries to change fate. But this time, I'll make sure neither of you survives to try a fifth."