The glow beneath my skin faded slowly, but the weight of the vision clung to my chest like smoke. I sat in silence beside Kai, the echo of Jaz's warning still ringing in my mind.
There's another... someone born of the rift... a shadow made from you.
But as I stared at the faint light still pulsing at the center of my chest, something shifted.
Not the blade.
Something else—something subtler. Older.
My hand moved to the simple pendant that hung against my skin, resting just above my heart. The one Merrin had given me before I crossed through the veil.
I hadn't thought much of it until now. It had always felt warm to the touch—comforting, familiar. But now, it burned. Not with pain—but with a sudden, awakening memory.
A boy's laugh. Running barefoot through tall grass. Two small hands clutching mine. Blue eyes that mirrored my own.
Nick.
My twin brother.
My breath caught.
I'd been so consumed by the blade… by Kai and Jaz, by Janie's curse and my past life as Anaria, that I hadn't seen it. The rift Janie opened didn't just fracture my soul—it split a timeline. Split me.
And Nick—my mirror—had always been more than just family.
He was the tether. The living anchor that kept the curse locked into my bloodline.
I turned to Kai, voice tight with realization. "It's not just another version of me. It's Nick. He's the key. Janie didn't just create a cycle—she split a bond. And my twin is caught in the center of it."
Kai's brows drew together in alarm. "You're saying your brother—he's part of the curse?"
I nodded, clutching the pendant tighter. "He's the other half. The one no one saw coming. While I carry the blade's burden… he carries the shadow. We were born at the same moment, but torn in different directions by magic we didn't even know existed."
The pendant flared once in my hand, and this time I didn't just see light—
I heard Nick's voice.
"Anna… I'm still here. But she's coming. She knows you remember now."
I gasped, stumbling to my feet. "He's in danger. That shadow—the version of me or whatever Janie created—it's coming for him."
Kai stood too, now fully alert. "Then we go. Now."
"Back to my timeline," I said. "It started there. And if we don't protect him… it could end there too."
The pendant pulsed again—this time in sync with the blade—and I felt it.
The pendant pulsed again in my hand—brighter this time, resonating with the steady hum of the blade inside me. I could feel them syncing… responding to a single truth:
Nick was the key.
"We have to go," I said, my voice sharper now. Urgent. "Before she finds him."
Kai stepped beside me, his expression grim but certain. "Then I'll get us there."
He held out his hand. The blade's mark on his wrist flared with white-blue light. Magic flared through the air, drawn not from raw power, but from something deeper—our bond, and now… the path ahead.
He whispered ancient words—ones I didn't recognize but felt deep in my bones. The blade inside me pulsed in agreement, and the air before us began to warp.
Like glass flexing under pressure, a rift opened—glowing around the edges in the same color as the pendant.
Through it, I could already feel the pull of my timeline. The smells. The cold breeze. The ache of familiarity.
And someone was waiting.
Merrin.
She stood at the far edge of the portal, her cloak rippling in the wind, her expression calm—yet her eyes brimmed with intensity, like she had been waiting for this very moment.
"She knew," I breathed. "Merrin knew this would happen."
Kai reached for my hand. "Then let's not keep her waiting."
We stepped through the rift together.
On the Other Side
The air hit us instantly—cooler, sharper. We were back in my timeline. The world hadn't changed much on the surface… but I could feel the difference. The tension in the magic. The pull of something watching. Waiting.
Merrin stepped forward, her face etched with something close to pain.
"You remembered," she said. "And the pendant answered."
"You knew about Nick," I said, voice trembling. "Didn't you?"
She hesitated only a second before nodding. "I did. But it wasn't my place to tell you. Not until the blade awakened… and you chose love freely. That was the only way the curse could begin to unravel."
I glanced at Kai, his hand still wrapped in mine.
"Where is he?" I asked. "Where's Nick?"
Merrin's eyes darkened.
"He's still safe—for now. But the shadow is already moving. If you don't reach him first, Anna… she'll bind the curse all over again. And this time, not even love will be enough to stop it."
Merrin's words hit harder than I expected.
"She'll bind the curse all over again. And this time, not even love will be enough to stop it."
I felt it in my chest—that unbearable pull. Nick was part of me. Twin flame. Blood-bound. If he fell, so would I. So would everything.
And suddenly, I knew what I had to do.
I turned to Kai slowly, still holding his hand… but this time, I began to pull away.
"Anna?" he asked, eyes narrowing with concern. "What is it?"
I shook my head. "You can't come with me."
His brows knit together. "What are you talking about?"
"I have to do this alone, Kai."
"No," he said immediately, stepping forward, his voice tight. "No, we're in this together. That's what we said—what we meant."
I looked up at him, heart aching. "This isn't about us. This is about something older. Deeper. The curse is tied to my blood, to my twin. I'm the one the blade answers to, and if it demands something of me now... I won't put you in its path again."
He reached for me, but I stepped back.
"Anna, we've come this far together. Don't do this."
"That's just it," I said, voice thick with restrained tears. "Every time I rely on you, the curse finds a way to twist it. I have to break the cycle, and I can't do that if I keep hiding behind you. If I keep letting you protect me."
His voice cracked. "You're not hiding behind me—you're choosing me. Just like I chose you."
I smiled sadly. "I'll always choose you, Kai. But this time… I have to choose me too."
A long silence stretched between us, heavy with everything unsaid.
Finally, I turned to Merrin.
"Take me to him."
Merrin glanced at Kai, who looked like he wanted to scream but knew he wouldn't stop me—not really. Not if he truly loved me.
"As you wish," Merrin said quietly.
Kai took one final step forward. "Just promise me you'll come back."
I nodded, barely holding it together. "I will."
And with that, I turned and walked away—toward Nick, toward the heart of the curse, toward the shadow Janie left behind.
The moment Anna stepped through the veil with Merrin, the air in the sanctuary grew colder. The magic she carried, the warmth of her presence, even the subtle thrum of the blade's bond—all of it dimmed the second she left his side.
Kai's Pov:
Kai stood motionless.
Not because he didn't want to chase after her—but because he understood. Anna needed to do this alone. It was her truth to confront. Her pain to finally unravel.
But still… the silence she left behind was deafening.
He clenched his fists, jaw tight. A thousand memories swirled in his chest—her laugh, the way she said his name, the way she kissed him like he was home. Every part of him screamed to go after her.
Instead, he turned toward the altar.
The blade—his link to her—still flickered faintly, echoing her heartbeat across the bond. He knelt beside it, pressing his palm to the stone.
"If she calls for me…" he whispered to the magic itself, "I'll find her. Across time, across the void—through the curse itself, I will reach her."
He closed his eyes and began to draw on his own magic—not to follow her, but to amplify the thread between them. To prepare for the moment when she'd need him most.
He summoned his cloak, his armor, and the twin shard of the blade he had once buried deep within the temple ruins—his piece of the curse. He strapped it to his back with purpose.
If fate tried to silence Anna again, it would have to go through him first.
The chamber was quiet. Too quiet.
Kai sat cross-legged at the center of the circle, the ancient blade shard before him, glowing faintly on the stone floor. His magic pulsed around him like a barrier—calm, focused, ready.
He'd held himself steady for hours, his mind anchored to the last moment Anna looked at him, kissed him, and walked away.
I will come back to you.
Her voice was still fresh in his ears.
And then—the silence shattered.
A sudden spike of heat tore through the bond. The blade flared violently. A light exploded outward from its center, searing across the air and knocking Kai onto his back.
His breath hitched. The magic crackled, wild and unstable—like lightning tearing through a storm.
He clutched at the mark on his wrist—burning now—and saw her face flash in his mind. But this time she wasn't reaching for him in peace.
She was fighting.
Her hands were glowing, the pendant pulsing around her neck. And beyond her, shadows twisted—ancient and familiar.
The vision hit him hard:
Anna standing before a crumbling altar, facing a girl with her face—but darker. Hollow-eyed. Wearing the same blade pendant… inverted.And in the background, bound by magic and chains of memory—Nick. Pale. Still. Watching everything.
Kai gasped as the vision ended.
He gripped the shard tightly and stood, heart pounding.
"It's begun."
The chamber flickered again. The blade's magic surged outward, this time not just pulsing—but calling. The magic was trying to open a path. To bring him to her.
He closed his eyes.
Not yet.
If she had a chance to win this on her own, he'd give her that. But he would be ready.
And if the bond shattered—if her heartbeat skipped just once too long—he would come for her. No matter where she was.
No matter what price it cost him.
Anna's Pov:
The path twisted as I moved through it—stone giving way to ash, time unraveling like threads around my feet.
Merrin's footsteps had long since faded behind me. She had led me to the threshold, but this final crossing was mine alone.
Each breath was heavier than the last. The pendant pulsed like a heartbeat at my throat, and the blade's energy shimmered just beneath my skin.
Ahead, the world narrowed into a ruined altar—cracked and crumbling, surrounded by shattered mirrors floating mid air. Each one reflected a piece of me—but not me.
Her.
She stood at the center, back to me at first—cloaked in black, long hair tangled with threads of smoke. The same face. The same eyes. But colder. Tainted. Like a version of me who had never been allowed to love.
The shadow Anna.
And behind her—chained to the altar with bands of glowing silver—was Nick.
My twin.
My mirror.
He looked up the moment I saw him. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.
Pain bloomed in my chest like fire. "Nick!" I took a step forward.
The shadow turned.
Her eyes were mine—but lifeless. Her voice was silk wrapped in poison. "So. The broken twin finally returns."
My hands curled into fists. "Let him go."
She tilted her head slightly, curious. "Why would I do that? He's the only reason I exist."
"You're not me," I said coldly. "You're what Janie twisted me into—a half-life, a weapon to keep the curse alive."
Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "No, Anna. I'm what you buried. I'm everything you silenced when you chose love over legacy."
I felt the blade stir beneath my skin. "You don't understand. Love didn't make me weak. It made me free."
Her smile faded.
I stepped closer, the pendant now blazing with light.
Nick looked up again, his eyes locking with mine—pleading, afraid. Still alive. Still fighting.
And then, softly, I heard him.
"She's feeding off me. She is part of you… but she doesn't have to win."
The shadow's eyes flashed red. "Silence!"
She raised her hand, summoning a dark mirror-blade of her own—twin to mine, but inverted and pulsing with corrupted magic.
"You left me in the dark," she said. "Now I'll bury you in it."
I stepped into the circle, the blade flaring at my side in response.
"Then we finish this. One way or another—the curse ends tonight."
The air cracked like thunder as our magic clashed.
The shadow version of me lunged forward, her corrupted blade hissing through the air. I barely parried in time—our weapons meeting with a sound that shook the ground beneath us.
She was faster than I expected. Meaner. Hungrier.
Every strike she threw came not from training, but from rage—from pain. She fought like someone who had never known kindness.
And I couldn't afford to lose. Not with Nick chained behind me, his breath shallow, the curse bleeding light through his veins.
I spun low, ducking a slash meant for my throat, and drove my blade toward her ribs.
She vanished—dissolving into smoke—then reformed behind me, grabbing my arm and twisting it hard.
I gasped, pain flaring.
"You can't protect him!" she hissed into my ear. "You were never meant to!"
I threw my head back hard—cracking her nose—and broke free with a roll.
Nick called out faintly. "Anna—don't let her draw too close to the altar. She's trying to finish the bond!"
I skidded to my feet, eyes locking on the runes glowing beneath his chains.
She wasn't just guarding him—she was feeding on him.
"You don't get to use him!" I shouted, fury burning through me. "He's my twin! My family—not your fuel!"
She laughed, even as blood trickled down her lip. "You think love will save him? That sentiment will save you?"
She lunged again, blade pointed not at me—but at Nick.
Time stopped.
My body moved before my mind caught up.
I sprinted across the stone floor, magic rising in a vortex around me. The blade in my hand surged with light—no longer just steel, but fire. My fire.
I met her halfway.
Our blades clashed with a scream of metal and light, and the force of the impact shattered the ground between us.
Nick was behind me now—shielded. I wouldn't let her touch him.
She snarled, slashing again, but this time, I didn't meet her blade with fear. I met it with resolve.
I fought not to destroy her—but to reclaim what she had stolen.
My shadow wasn't just my enemy. She was my wound.
Strike. Parry. Magic flared around us—blue and black flames dancing across the floor.
She drove forward, rage blazing. "You can't exist if I do!"
I locked eyes with her and whispered, "Then you'll have to learn to die."
I twisted under her blade, dropped low, and drove my own upward—piercing through the reflection of my own pain.
Her breath caught.
Her blade fell from her hand.
She staggered back, smoke pouring from the wound, eyes wide—not with fear… but peace.
"You… remembered who you were," she whispered.
I nodded once, tears burning in my eyes. "And I remembered who you were too."
She smiled, just barely, as her body dissolved into light—her curse broken.
Nick trembled in my arms, the last of the chains dissolving into ash. His skin was warm again, the curse retreating from his veins.
I had done it.
I'd faced the darkest part of myself—and won.
"It's over," I whispered, brushing his hair from his eyes.
He smiled faintly, breath shaky. "You look… different. Like the real you."
I let out a soft laugh and turned my head slightly, instinctively scanning the space around us—but it was already too late.
The air behind me rippled—cold and wrong.
Nick's eyes widened. "Anna—behind you!"
A flash of obsidian light exploded across my back.
Pain ripped through me.
I screamed as I was thrown forward, crashing into the stone floor. The pendant at my neck flared violently, but its protection was too slow, too thin. I tasted blood in my mouth.
The world spun.
Out of the swirling dark stepped a massive figure cloaked in living shadow—its face hidden behind a horned helm, its arms wrapped in smoke and broken soul-metal. Where its hands should've been, long talons of pure night extended, pulsing with cursed magic.
The Shadow Warden.
A protector of the curse.
A remnant of Janie's final will.
It stood tall above me, blade dripping with cursed energy. Its voice echoed across the shattered altar:
"The twin bond is broken, the shadow consumed—but the gate must not fall."
Nick tried to shield me, but the Warden hurled him back with a single wave of its hand.
"Anna!" he shouted, scrambling to rise. "You have to move!"
But my body refused. My limbs burned. I tried to push myself up—but my blood was pooling beneath me.
The Warden raised its black blade high above its head.
I reached weakly for mine, fingers trembling. Too far. Too slow.
The world dimmed, narrowing to that blade—falling—closer—
And then—
The Warden's blade came down in a blur of shadow and flame.
I couldn't move. The pain radiated through every inch of me, my body unresponsive, my vision graying at the edges. I'd given everything to stop the shadow inside me, to save Nick.
And now, this thing—this final guardian of the curse—was about to undo it all.
"Anna!" Nick's scream echoed, but he was too far.
The blade screamed downward, meant to pierce straight through my chest—
CLANG.
A shockwave of light and sound exploded around us. The Warden's blade was stopped—held midair by another.
A blade of starfire.
Forged not of the curse, but of love. Of choice. Of bond.
Kai.
He stood over me, his sword locked against the Warden's, his face a storm of fury and fear. The magic around him surged like a tidal wave—raw and burning, pulled across time and space by the bond we shared.
"You will not touch her," he growled, eyes locked on the creature.
The Warden roared, trying to press down, but Kai held strong—his feet planted between me and death.
I couldn't breathe. My heart screamed for him. My fingers twitched toward his cloak.
He came back.He always would.
"Anna," he said, never taking his eyes off the Warden, "Stay with me. I've got you."
The Warden twisted its blade, shadows whipping out toward Kai—but he spun, deflecting with grace and fury, then struck hard with his own weapon, driving the Warden back step by step.
Each blow Kai landed lit the air with golden fire.
He wasn't just fighting for me. He was fighting like a man who would die before losing the one thing he couldn't bear to lose again.
And I, still bleeding, still barely able to breathe, watched him carve a path through darkness.
Until finally—
He slammed the Warden against the altar and drove his blade through its heart.
The shadow screamed, its body fracturing into smoke and violet flame, until it collapsed into dust… and silence.
Kai dropped to his knees beside me, hands trembling as he cupped my face. "Anna—hey, stay with me. Look at me."
I did. Barely.
His touch was everything—warm, grounding, real.
"You came," I whispered.
"You told me not to," he said, voice breaking. "But I never said I'd listen."
I laughed through tears, and then winced from the pain.
He pressed his forehead to mine. "Let me get you out of here. We're going home."
Kai's face blurred in front of me, his hands warm against my cheeks—but I could barely feel them now.
The pain was fading. That scared me more than the blood.
Because it meant I was slipping.
I could feel it—like drifting underwater. Everything distant. Everything soft. The warmth of his voice growing fainter.
"Anna, stay with me. Please—just hold on."
I tried to speak. To say his name. But my lips barely moved.
The blood kept coming, soaking into the stone beneath me. My limbs felt weightless. My breath shallow.
Nick's voice called from somewhere behind.
"She's fading! Do something!"
Kai's hands pressed against the wound, frantic. Magic surged from him into me, but my body no longer responded. Even the pendant around my neck, once glowing bright, now flickered weakly.
I was falling.
Through time. Through memory. Through a bond that was breaking.
Was this the price? Was this what Janie had always planned?For me to end the curse—but never live beyond it?
My vision dimmed further, and then—
I saw them.
All the echoes of the past. Anaria. Janie. The twin bloodlines splitting and winding through time. My mother's tear-streaked face. Nick as a child, reaching for me through the veil.
And then—Kai, standing alone in a field of stars, reaching out with shaking hands.
"Don't leave me," his voice echoed in the dark.
I tried to speak. To say his name. But the words were inside me now—unspoken.
And still… I kept falling.