Aria couldn't move.
The vision had faded—but the feeling hadn't. Cold dread still clung to her like a second skin.
That girl—the one who looked exactly like her—had whispered only one word.
"Sister."
But it wasn't endearing. It was ominous—like the wind right before a storm.
She paced the stone hallway of the fortress, every echo of her steps sounding like a countdown. Theron trailed behind her, silent but tense.
"I need answers," she said finally. "Not riddles. Not scrolls. Truth."
He nodded. "Then come with me."
---
Theron led her to a chamber hidden beneath the fortress—one Ronan hadn't shown her. The walls were carved in languages long forgotten. Bones were embedded in the stone. Symbols glowed faintly in the dark.
"This is where the council hides what they fear," he whispered.
In the center of the room: a large obsidian mirror. Cracked. Bleeding shadow.
Aria stepped closer. Her breath caught. The reflection was wrong—her image… blinked without her.
Then the mirror shimmered, and the girl appeared again.
Not a dream. Not a trick. Real.
She had Aria's face. Her voice. But her energy was cold—like winter swallowing flame.
---
"I was born the same night as you," the girl said through the mirror. "When the blood moon split your soul."
Aria's knees nearly buckled. "You're… me?"
"No," she said. "I'm what they sealed away. The other half. The shadow part they feared."
Theron stepped forward. "You're the darkness that was split from the First Alpha. The reason the shadowspawn answer to Aria… is because they're part of her."
The mirror pulsed. Cracks spread.
"You've awakened, Sister," the reflection whispered. "And when you do… I will too."
---
Later that night, Aria stormed into Ronan's chambers, rage pulsing in her magic. He stood by the fire, pouring over war maps, unfazed.
"You knew, didn't you?" she demanded.
He didn't deny it.
"She was locked away long before you were born," he said. "The First Alpha couldn't destroy her… so she split herself to survive. One light. One dark."
"And you all wanted to use me to control her."
"No," Ronan said. "I wanted to protect you before they did."
Aria's powers flared silver, lighting the room. "You branded me. You locked me up. You lied to me!"
"I did," he admitted. "But I would do it again if it meant keeping her from breaking loose."
Aria stepped closer, breath trembling. "She's part of me. If she dies… I might too."
"And if she lives?" he whispered. "What happens when she decides she's the real one?"
---
Meanwhile, far away…
In the ruins beneath the mountain, the mirror shattered.
And out stepped the girl.
Her eyes, unlike Aria's glowing silver, burned pitch black. Her voice like silk woven in poison.
She looked at the world—and smiled.
"I'm free now," she whispered. "And she'll never be strong enough to stop me."
---
Cliffhanger Twist:
Back at the fortress, Aria stares at her palm. A mark is spreading from her brand.
It's no longer silver.
It's turning black.