Ember's POV
Mother drags me through a hidden passage behind the tower wall. Behind us, I hear the crash of magic—Kaelan fighting Celeste and her dark mages.
"We have to go back!" I try to pull free. "Kaelan's alone against all of them!"
"He's the Shadow King. He can handle himself." Mother's grip is iron-strong. "You're the one they want, Ember. You're the key to everything."
We burst out into a corridor I don't recognize. Castle guards rush past us toward the tower. None of them stop us.
"Where are we going?" I demand.
"Somewhere Celeste can't follow." Mother pulls me down a staircase that spirals deep underground. "Somewhere even Kaelan doesn't know about."
That makes me nervous. "How do you know about secret places in his castle?"
"I've been here for twenty-three years. You learn things." She pushes open a door carved with symbols that hurt to look at. "In here. Quickly."
The room beyond is small and packed with books, scrolls, and magical artifacts. A single candle floats in the center, casting strange shadows.
Mother seals the door behind us. Instantly, the sounds of battle cut off. Complete silence.
"What is this place?"
"A memory vault." Mother sinks into a chair, suddenly looking exhausted. "The Consortium can't track us here. Magic doesn't work the same way inside. We have maybe an hour before they figure out where we went."
I lean against the wall, my mind spinning. "Start talking. All of it. Everything you haven't told me."
She closes her eyes. "Where do I even start?"
"Start with why you're my aunt's sister but I never knew." Anger heats my words. "Start with why you let Father poison me for twenty years. Start with why there are two prophecies and nobody bothered to mention it!"
"I was trying to protect you!" Mother's eyes snap open. "Do you understand what you are, Ember? What you were always meant to become?"
"A weapon, apparently."
"Not a weapon. A choice." She stands and pulls down a book, flipping to a page covered in ancient text. "Six hundred years ago, a seer predicted that two beings would be born—one of fire, one of shadow. When they met, their bond would create power strong enough to reshape reality itself."
My stomach drops. "Reshape reality?"
"The prophecy splits here." Mother shows me the page. The text branches into two paths. "One path says the bond will heal the Veil between realms, creating peace and prosperity. The other says the bond will shatter the Veil completely, merging the realms and killing millions in the process."
"Which one is true?"
"Both. Neither. It depends entirely on one thing." Mother looks at me with tears in her eyes. "Whether you and Kaelan bond out of love or out of obligation."
The words hit me like a physical blow. "What?"
"If you complete the bond because you truly love each other, the good prophecy comes true. If you do it just to survive, just because the magic forces you to..." She shakes her head. "Everything dies."
I slide down the wall to sit on the floor. "That's insane. How are we supposed to fall in love in twenty-eight days?"
"Twenty-seven now," Mother corrects softly. "And that's why the Consortium has been manipulating both your lives since before you were born."
"What do you mean?"
"They're trying to force the bad prophecy." Mother kneels beside me. "They poisoned you to keep you weak and angry. They pushed your father to betray you so you'd be desperate enough to cross the Veil for any reason—even just to escape. They want you to complete the bond out of fear and necessity, not love."
"Why? Why would they want millions to die?"
"Because in the chaos of merging realms, they'll seize power. They'll rebuild both worlds in their image." Mother grips my hands. "Your father is one of them. So is Celeste's mother—my sister Morgana. So is half the ruling council in both realms."
My head is spinning. "And Kaelan? Is he part of this?"
"No. He's a victim like you." Mother hesitates. "But Ember, you need to know—the corruption eating him alive isn't natural. The Consortium cursed him three hundred years ago, tying his life force to his soulmate's. They knew that eventually, he'd get desperate enough to bond with you for survival, not love."
Everything clicks into horrible place. "It's all been planned. Everything."
"Not everything." Mother squeezes my hands. "Your power. That wasn't planned. You were supposed to stay weak and controllable. But somehow, despite twenty years of poison, your magic is stronger than any fire mage in history. That scares them."
"Good. They should be scared." Fire sparks across my knuckles. "What do we do now?"
"We break the game." Mother pulls out another scroll—this one glowing with silver light. "There's a third option nobody talks about. A way to complete the bond that satisfies neither prophecy."
"How?"
"You reject the bond entirely. You and Kaelan both walk away. The magic dies, he dies, you probably die, but the Consortium's plan fails completely. Both realms stay separate and safe."
Horror floods through me. "That's the third option? Mutual suicide?"
"I told you it wasn't good." Mother's voice breaks. "I spent twenty-three years in that tower searching for a better answer. I couldn't find one."
The door suddenly rattles. Someone's trying to break the seal.
"They found us already?" I jump up.
"Impossible. The vault should hide us for—" Mother's eyes widen. "Unless someone inside the vault is calling to them."
We both turn to look at the floating candle. It's not a candle at all—it's a tracking spell, burning bright as a beacon.
"Who put that here?" I demand.
"I did," says a voice behind us.
We spin around. A section of wall slides open, and Kaelan steps through. But something's wrong. His eyes are pure black, and the corruption has spread across his entire face.
"Kaelan?" I take a step toward him, but Mother grabs me.
"That's not Kaelan anymore. The Consortium has taken control of the corruption. They're using him like a puppet."
Kaelan—or the thing wearing his body—smiles. "Hello, Ember. Hello, Seraphina. We've been looking for you."
His voice sounds wrong. Like multiple people talking at once.
"Fight it, Kaelan!" I shout. "I know you're in there!"
"Oh, he's in here. He's screaming, actually." Not-Kaelan tilts his head. "Screaming for you. Begging us not to hurt you. It's quite pathetic."
"Let him go!"
"Can't do that. We need him to complete the bond." He raises his hand, and shadow magic swirls around it. "And we need you alive but cooperative. So here's what's going to happen—you're going to come with me quietly, or I'm going to use Kaelan's body to kill your mother while you watch."
Mother shoves me toward a different wall. "There's another exit. Run!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"RUN!" She throws herself at Not-Kaelan, fire blazing from her hands.
He catches her by the throat and lifts her off the ground. "Bad choice."
"MOM!" I scream.
"I said RUN!" Mother's fire explodes outward in a desperate blast.
The explosion throws me backward through the wall. I crash into another corridor, my ears ringing.
When I scramble to my feet and look back, the memory vault is collapsing. Stone and magic falling like rain.
"MOM!" I try to run back, but the passage seals itself with a wall of shadow magic.
Through the shadows, I see Not-Kaelan standing in the rubble. He's holding something.
Mother's necklace.
"She's not dead," he calls out. "Yet. But she will be if you don't do exactly what we say."
Rage like I've never known floods my body. Fire erupts around me—not just flames, but cosmic fire mixed with shadow. The corridor lights up like a sun.
"Let. Her. GO!"
"Complete the bond with Kaelan—the real Kaelan—and we'll consider it." Not-Kaelan's black eyes gleam. "You have twenty-seven days. We'll be in touch with instructions."
The shadow wall solidifies completely, cutting me off.
I stand alone in the corridor, my mother captured, Kaelan possessed, and the Consortium holding all the cards.
Twenty-seven days to save everyone.
Or twenty-seven days until I destroy the world.
Suddenly, warmth blooms in my chest. The soul bond. I can feel Kaelan—the real Kaelan—fighting inside his own mind. He's trying to send me a message.
Words form in my thoughts, in his voice: "North tower. Sunset. Come alone. I can fight them for a few minutes. We need to talk. Don't trust anyone. Not even—"
The message cuts off.
I run for the north tower, my heart pounding.
I have no plan. No allies. No idea what I'm doing.
But I'm done being their pawn.
It's time to break the game.