"I will not train you! I will not let another person get killed or put in danger just because you finally decided waking up was a good idea. Don't you remember? You killed your twin brother, Nick!" the Queen shouted, her voice breaking with guilt and pain just from speaking his name.
Her words struck me like ice through my veins.
The room fell silent as a painful memory overcame her.
Flashback
The storm had raged that night—dark clouds twisting above the castle, lightning tearing the sky as if the heavens themselves cried out in fury. The guards were screaming. Magic clashed in the halls like a battlefield.
I was only a child, trembling with uncontrollable power I didn't understand. Nick stood before me, pleading with tears in his eyes.
"Anna, please… stop. You're hurting everyone…"
I didn't respond—I couldn't. Something had taken over me. A blinding burst of energy exploded from my hands, and when the smoke cleared… Nick was gone. Nothing left but his pendant, scorched and cracked on the cold marble floor.
The Queen fell to her knees that night, clutching the pendant and sobbing, convinced she had lost both her children in a single moment—one dead, the other cursed by power.
[Flashback Ends]
"I watched it happen," the Queen whispered now. "No one could survive that… no one."
But Merrin stepped forward, her expression firm.
"He's alive," Merrin said now, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Your son is alive, Your Highness. And the truth has been kept from both of you for far too long."
I looked back at the Queen, my voice trembling but steady. "Then I will find him. And I will find out what really happened that night."
I wanted to learn how to control the powers that stirred inside me, but I knew if I asked again, I'd probably get the same dismissive answer.
Then, out of nowhere, a small whisper echoed in my mind, soft but urgent: "Move out of the way… he is coming."
Startled, I responded aloud before I could stop myself, "Who's coming? Why are they coming? And… why am I talking to myself?"
The air around me shifted—growing cold, heavy, as if the room itself was holding its breath.
Suddenly, the torches along the walls flickered violently, casting long, erratic shadows. A gust of wind rushed through the corridor, though no windows were open. I stepped back instinctively, my heart pounding like a war drum.
The voice in my head returned—clearer now, sharper.
"You need to hide… now."
A swirling hole began to form out of nowhere, its edges crackling with dark energy, distorting the air around it like heat waves rising from scorched stone. The ground beneath my feet vibrated as the portal widened. Then—without warning—a single leg stepped through.
My breath caught in my throat as the rest of the figure slowly emerged from the void.
First a broad shoulder, then a towering frame cloaked in shadows. His face remained hidden beneath a dark hood, but I could feel the weight of his gaze—like ice pressing against my skin.
Whoever he was, he wasn't just stepping through space.
He was crossing into this world with purpose.
Merrin stepped in front of me, her stance protective as she shouted, "What do you want? Go away—there's nothing here for you!"
The figure paused just beyond the threshold of the portal, the shadows around him curling and twisting like smoke reacting to his thoughts. For a moment, he said nothing—only the low hum of dark energy filled the air.
Then, his head tilted slightly, as if studying Merrin like one might observe an insect trying to block a blade.
"How quaint," he said, his voice low and cold, with a strange echo as though it came from a place far beyond this world. "A loyal protector... still clinging to hope."
The shadows around his body flared outward like wings of darkness, licking the walls and floor with tendrils of black mist.
"You cannot stop what has already begun," he continued, stepping forward slowly. "Move aside, girl, or be the first to fall."
But Merrin didn't move. Her hands clenched into fists, and I could see the faint glow of defensive magic beginning to swirl around her.
Even as fear twisted in my gut, I felt a surge of something else—something older, deeper—stirring inside me in response to the threat.
Merrin stood her ground, defiant as the figure loomed closer. The temperature dropped with every step he took, and the air grew thick with tension—like the moment before a storm breaks.
And then, something in me snapped.
A sharp, sudden pulse erupted from deep within my chest—like a key turning in a long-forgotten lock. My vision blurred, and for a heartbeat, the world slowed. I could hear my own heartbeat, strong and loud, but beneath it, another sound rose—like the ringing of ancient bells buried beneath the earth.
Light burst from my palms without warning—faint at first, but growing with intensity. It shimmered with hues I couldn't name, swirling like a living current around my fingers. The cold vanished instantly as heat surged through my veins, not burning, but alive.
The Man froze mid-step, his hood tilting as if surprised.
Merrin turned her head slightly, her eyes wide. "Anna…?"
I didn't know what I was doing, only that it felt right. I raised my hands instinctively as the energy formed a barrier between us and the approaching figure—brilliant, blinding, and humming with power.
The Shadow Warden growled low under his breath. "So… the seal is breaking."
The ground trembled beneath us.
Merrin stepped back toward me, still shielding me out of habit, but now her expression had shifted—from protective to awe-struck. "Anna… your powers… they're returning."
And I could feel it too.
This was just a fragment. A spark.
But it was mine.
And it had just awakened.
The shimmering barrier of energy pulsed around me, casting a soft glow over Merrin and the Shadow Warden. Power rushed through my limbs—wild and unfamiliar, but no longer terrifying.
The Shadow Warden's cloak stirred as if sensing danger. He took one step back, his voice like thunder wrapped in silk. "You were never meant to wake, girl. Not like this."
But before he could move again—before I could even speak—another voice cut through the crackling air, firm and commanding.
"Enough."
A burst of golden light descended from above, slamming into the floor between us and the Warden. The energy forced him to stumble back with a snarl. From the light stepped a tall figure draped in royal white and silver, her crown glinting even in the chaos.
The Queen.
My mother.
Her eyes burned with a fire I hadn't seen in years. Her presence pushed back the shadows, her magic like the steady warmth of a sun that refused to be eclipsed.
"You've crossed a line, Warden," she said coldly. "This realm is still under my protection."
The Shadow Warden didn't flinch, but I sensed the change in him—less confident now, more calculating. "You kept the girl locked away, stripped her of truth and power. You think you can stop what's coming?" He let out a dark laugh. "Fools, all of you."
His cloak curled inward, and with a final pulse of black mist, he stepped backward into the portal—which sealed shut like a wound healing in midair.
Silence followed.
My legs trembled beneath me as the energy I'd released faded slowly. The barrier dissolved into dust-like sparks, and my breathing came in ragged gasps.
The Queen turned to me then. Her eyes softened with something between pride and sorrow.
"I told you not to wake your power," she whispered. "But I see now… it was never mine to contain."
I stared at her, so many questions burning behind my eyes—but only one came out.
"You knew he would come, didn't you?"
The Queen closed her eyes.
"Yes," she said. "And he won't be the last."
"What do you mean he won't be the last, Mother?" I asked, my voice trembling, not just from fear—but from the storm of unanswered questions churning inside me.
The Queen looked away, her gaze fixed on the spot where the mystery man had vanished. Her expression was haunted, as though she were staring into a memory rather than the room before her.
"There are others like him," she said quietly. "Old beings, bound to the shadows—drawn to your power now that it's awakening. I tried to keep them at bay by sealing your memories, hiding your presence... hiding you. But the moment your magic resurfaced, it sent a signal."
She turned back to me, eyes heavy with regret. "They know you're alive, Anna. And they will come. One by one. Until either you reclaim what was taken from you... or you fall."
Her words echoed in my ears.
Reclaim what was taken.
Suddenly, a sharp pain spiked behind my eyes. I gasped and staggered backward, clutching my head. Images crashed into me like a wave breaking against stone—fragmented, blurred, but familiar in the deepest part of me.
A silver forest bathed in moonlight. A boy's laughter—Nick's. Our hands glowing as we played with sparks of light that danced in the air like fireflies.
A circle of hooded figures chanting in an ancient tongue. The Queen standing between them and me, her voice trembling. "She's just a child—there must be another way!"
Then darkness. Cold hands. And a whisper: "Seal it… before the others find her."
I dropped to my knees as the memory faded, my heart racing and breath shallow.
"Anna!" Merrin was beside me in an instant, steadying me, her voice sharp with worry.
I looked up at the Queen, my voice hoarse. "You didn't just hide me… you let them take part of me."
The Queen's eyes glistened with tears she didn't let fall. "To protect you. I made a choice… one I knew you'd hate me for if you ever remembered."
My fists clenched against the floor.
"I remember the light," I whispered. "I remember Nick. I remember… being powerful."
And for the first time in years, the magic inside me didn't feel foreign. It felt like it belonged.
Because it did.
I rose shakily to my feet, the last flickers of the memory still pulsing behind my eyes. The ache in my chest wasn't just from the magic—it was from the realization that the woman who raised me had hidden something far more terrible than I ever imagined.
"You made a choice," I said, my voice low and cracking with hurt, "but you didn't give me one."
The Queen stood silently for a moment, her regal composure faltering under the weight of the truth.
I took a step closer, the air between us heavy with everything unspoken. "What was the ritual? What did you let them do to me, Mother? Who are the others?"
She exhaled slowly, as if releasing something she'd been holding in for years. "You were born under a convergence," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "A rare moment when all the elemental planes aligned. It only happens once every few thousand years. Children born during that moment are touched by the Veil—the thin line between light and shadow, between this world and the realms beyond."
I stared at her, unsure whether to feel awe or horror.
"You and your brother were both born of it," she continued. "Twins. Two sides of a rare power. But the balance was fragile. And the Council feared what that power could become if… corrupted."
"The Council," I repeated. "They were the ones in the memory. The ones chanting."
She nodded. "They called for separation. They wanted to split the bond between you and Nick—to prevent your powers from merging, from becoming something they couldn't control. The ritual you saw… it was meant to seal you. To break the connection."
I could hardly breathe.
"And the others?" I demanded. "The Shadow Warden, and whoever else is coming?"
"They were once guardians of the Veil," she said grimly. "But when the ancient seals fractured centuries ago, some of them were twisted by the darkness they were meant to contain. They've been waiting for another convergence—waiting for you."
I took a step back, the weight of it crashing down on me. My whole life had been shaped by fear, by half-truths, by people choosing for me.
Not anymore.
I raised my head, magic sparking faintly at my fingertips.
"Then I want the full truth," I said. "No more lies. No more hiding. If they're coming for me—then I need to know who I really am."
The Queen hesitated... then gave a slow nod.
"Then it's time," she said. "To take you to the Temple of the Forgotten Flame. Where it all began… and where it all must be remembered."