SERA'S POV
The woman in the doorway is me.
Same face. Same dark hair. Same golden eyes that shine like liquid sunlight.
But where I'm dressed in a simple gray dress, dirty and torn, she wears a gown of pure white light that seems to glow from within. Where I'm chained to a wall, she stands free and powerful.
And where I feel broken and confused, she looks radiant.
"Hello, little sister," she says, her voice like honey. Sweet. Warm. But something about it makes my skin crawl.
Sister. This is her. The twin who wants me dead.
I shrink back against the wall, chains rattling. Caspian moves immediately, stepping between us. His whole body is tense.
"Lady Luminara," he says, voice flat and respectful. "I wasn't informed of your visit."
So this is Luminara. My twin. My enemy.
She smiles at Caspian, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "The Council doesn't need to inform servants of our movements, Keeper. Step aside."
"My orders are to keep the prisoner secure and isolated," Caspian says carefully. His chest mark glows faintly under his shirt. "No visitors without—"
"I said, step aside." Luminara's voice hardens. The light around her brightens, filling the cell with harsh noon-day glare. "Or do you need me to remind you what happens when mortals disobey?"
Caspian's jaw clenches. The mark on his chest burns brighter—I can see it through his shirt now, blazing with painful light. The curse is forcing him to obey.
He steps aside.
Luminara glides into my cell like she owns it. She probably does. She studies me with those golden eyes—my eyes—and I see something flicker across her face.
Disappointment?
"You really don't remember me," she says softly. "I thought perhaps you were pretending. But no—you truly have no idea who I am."
"You're my sister," I say, hating how my voice shakes. "You're the one who wants me dead."
She laughs. Actually laughs, bright and musical. "Oh, Sera. So dramatic, even without your memories. I don't want you dead. I want you safe."
"Liar." The word slips out before I can stop it.
Her smile freezes. For just a second, I see something cold and hateful flash in her eyes. Then it's gone, replaced by that warm, concerned expression.
"You were always stubborn," she says. "Always so certain you knew best. That's what got you into this mess, sister. You thought you could challenge the Divine Council. Thought you could change the natural order." She shakes her head sadly. "And look where it got you. Chained in the dark, stripped of everything you were."
"If you don't want me dead," I challenge, "then why did you send an assassin yesterday?"
Luminara's eyes widen in perfectly performed shock. "An assassin? Here?" She turns to Caspian. "Is this true, Keeper?"
Caspian's face is stone. "A divine warrior attacked yesterday. He carried orders signed by the Council and... by you."
"Impossible." But I see something flicker in her expression. Calculation. She's deciding how to play this. "I signed no such orders. Someone must have forged my signature. Perhaps..." She looks at me with fake concern. "Perhaps you have enemies I don't know about, Sera. People who want you gone for their own reasons."
It's a lie. I know it's a lie. But I can't prove it.
"Why are you really here?" I ask.
Luminara moves closer, close enough that I can smell her—like sunshine and flowers, sickeningly sweet. She reaches out to touch my face and I try to pull away, but the chains won't let me.
Her fingers are warm against my cheek. Gentle. It makes my skin crawl.
"I came to see if there was anything left of my sister," she whispers. "If maybe, somewhere under all this anger and confusion, you might remember that I loved you once. That we were everything to each other."
Something twists in my chest. A feeling I can't name. Is it a memory trying to surface? Or just my body reacting to her touch?
"I don't remember loving you," I say.
Pain flashes across her face—real pain, unless she's a really good actress. "No. Of course you don't. They took that from you too." She pulls her hand back. "But perhaps that's for the best. Easier this way."
"Easier for who?"
She doesn't answer. Instead, she turns to Caspian. "How long before her memories return?"
"They might never return," Caspian says. "The seal is—"
"Don't lie to me, mortal." Luminara's voice drops to something dangerous. "I can feel her power growing. The seal is cracking. So I'll ask again: how long?"
Caspian's chest mark blazes. The curse is trying to force the truth out of him. I see him struggling against it, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Weeks," he grits out. "Maybe months. Or it could happen tomorrow. There's no way to know."
Luminara studies him for a long moment. Then she smiles. "You're lying. Or at least, you're not telling me everything." She leans in close to him. "Be careful, Keeper. Your curse binds you to serve us, but I could make your life much more painful if I wanted to."
"I serve faithfully," Caspian says through clenched teeth.
"We'll see." Luminara moves toward the door, then pauses. "Oh, and Sera? When your memories do return—if they return—remember this: I gave you every chance to surrender. Every opportunity to accept your punishment gracefully. What happens next..." She looks back at me with cold, dead eyes. "That's on you."
She sweeps out in a blaze of light.
The door slams shut. Darkness floods back in.
I'm shaking. My whole body trembling with fear and rage and confusion.
Caspian rushes to me immediately. "Are you hurt? Did she do anything—"
"She's lying," I cut him off. "About everything. I could feel it."
"I know." His hands hover near my chains, like he wants to remove them but can't. "But she's also right about one thing. Your seal is cracking faster than it should. And when it breaks completely..."
"She'll kill me before I can remember the truth."
"Yes."
We stare at each other in the dim light. His gray eyes are full of determination and fear.
"Then we need to break the seal first," I say. "Now. Before she comes back."
"It's dangerous. The process could kill you. Could drive you mad. Could—"
"I don't care." I lean forward until we're almost nose to nose. "I'd rather die trying to remember who I am than live as her prisoner forever."
Caspian's breath catches. For a long moment, we just look at each other.
Then he nods. "Tonight. After dark. I'll bring someone who can help."
"Who?"
"A mage who hates the gods as much as I do." He stands, backing toward the door. "But Sera—once we start this, there's no going back. If the gods find out..."
"They'll kill us both," I finish. "I know."
He reaches the door, hand on the frame. "Are you sure?"
I think about Luminara's fake smile. Her cold eyes. The way she touched my face like she owned me.
"I'm sure," I say. "Whatever I was before, whatever I did—I need to know. Even if the truth destroys me."
Caspian nods once, sharp and decisive. Then he's gone.
I'm alone in the darkness again.
But this time, I'm not afraid. This time, I have a plan.
This time, I have hope.
And I have no idea that the person Caspian's bringing tonight will change everything—in ways I can't possibly imagine.