The forest bent to no one.
Not even the Whisper Court.
But the shadows that moved through it now… they didn't need permission.
Two figures darted beneath the twisted canopy—one cloaked in silver-stitched obsidian, the other in pale, ethereal blue. Their movements weren't rushed, but deliberate, as if they belonged to the storm about to break.
Veila stepped around a dying tree, her palm brushing the bark. "They've reinforced the southern ridge," she murmured.
Varek sniffed the wind. "Too late. Kael's awakened the Heartforge. We're no longer racing time. We're racing prophecy."
Veila's lips curled faintly. "Then let's rig the finish line."
They vanished again into the dusk, leaving no trail behind.
⸻
Moonspire Caverns – Whisper Court's Outer Realm
Selene stood before an ancient mirror lined with vines of iron thorns. Behind her, Nyra stared into the moonlit horizon, restless.
"It's begun," Selene said. "Nightveil tears itself apart from the inside. But that crown—it won't break Kael. Not unless we press where it hurts."
Nyra turned, tension simmering in her shoulders. "Then tell me what you haven't yet."
Selene exhaled slowly. "There's another bloodline hidden beneath Nightveil. One you were never meant to know."
Nyra's eyes narrowed. "What bloodline?"
Before Selene could speak, the mirror shimmered.
And two figures emerged from it like ghosts called by name.
Veila stepped forward first, bowing with eerie grace. "We've returned, Lady Morthal."
Varek followed, more defiant. "And this time, we pick the winning side."
Nyra's body tensed. Her instincts screamed something was wrong—not with their arrival, but with what they were.
"Who are they?" she asked coldly.
Selene's gaze never left the twins. "The Marked."
Nyra's heart skipped. "I thought that was a myth."
"No," Veila said softly. "We're just the Council's best-kept secret."
"Half-fae. Half-wolf," Selene said. "Hidden for fear they'd destabilize the order. They are Kael's half-siblings."
Nyra blinked. "That's not possible."
"It is," Varek snapped. "We were buried, cloaked, erased. And now we serve the court that remembers us."
Nyra's voice dropped. "Why help me?"
Veila answered, her voice a melody of grief. "Because the same blood that betrayed you… tried to destroy us."
⸻
Nightveil Citadel – Inner Chambers
Kael sat before the old war map, every piece on the board now foreign. The crown on his head pulsed gently—not with power, but with warning.
Evelyne entered quietly. "There's movement. South ridge. But it's not an army."
"Then what?"
"Something older," she whispered. "Something we forgot."
Kael closed his eyes.
He could feel them.
Veila. Varek.
Not enemies. Not allies.
Ghosts in his blood.
He rose. "They're not coming for conquest."
"Then why come?" Evelyne asked.
Kael's jaw clenched. "To finish what Arion started."
⸻
Meanwhile — At the Forest's Edge
Nyra watched the Marked Twins disappear into the mist with Selene's forces. She didn't trust them.
Not yet.
But she didn't need to.
She only needed them to cut deeper than she ever could.
She turned to Iris. "We go at moonfall."
"To Nightveil?" Iris asked.
Nyra nodded. "To burn what's left."
⸻
Cliffhanger Ending
Inside the Heartforge, the walls groaned again—stone shifting over ancient runes.
Kael touched the edge of the throne, but the vision came before he could brace himself.
He saw a battlefield of ash.
And in the center, two figures—twins—wielding both light and shadow.
Behind them, Selene.
In front of them, Nyra.
And beneath them all…
Nightveil, cracking open like a grave too long sealed.