Ember's POV
I wake up choking on darkness.
My lungs burn. My skin feels like it's on fire. Every muscle in my body screams in pain. I try to move, but strong hands hold me down.
"Don't fight it," a deep voice says. "The poison is still burning out. If you move too much, it'll kill you."
Kaelan. That's Kaelan's voice.
I force my eyes open. A face hovers above me—sharp cheekbones, midnight black hair, and those silver eyes from my vision. He's real. He's actually real.
And he's gorgeous.
"Easy," he says, pressing a cool cloth to my forehead. "You've been unconscious for six hours. Your body is rejecting twenty years of poison. It's... not pleasant."
"No kidding," I rasp. My throat feels like sandpaper.
He helps me sit up, and I realize I'm in the biggest bed I've ever seen. The room around me is all dark stone and flickering candles. Through a massive window, I see a sky that's not quite night and not quite day—just eternal purple twilight.
"Where am I?"
"The Dark Realm. My castle, specifically." Kaelan hands me a glass of water. "You collapsed the moment you crossed the Veil. I caught you before you hit the ground."
I drink the water, and it's the best thing I've ever tasted. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." He stands and walks to the window. That's when I see them—black veins crawling up his neck and disappearing under his collar. The corruption. It's worse than I imagined.
"How long do we have?" I ask.
He turns, surprised. "You remember the vision."
"All of it. We have twenty-eight days to complete the soul bond, or we both die." I swing my legs off the bed, ignoring the wave of dizziness. "And you've been searching for me for three hundred years."
Something flickers in his eyes—hope, maybe, or pain. "The scroll told you everything."
"The scroll showed me my mother is alive." I stand up, gripping the bedpost for balance. "Is that true? Is she here?"
Kaelan's face hardens. "Yes. She's been imprisoned in the Obsidian Tower for twenty-three years."
My heart stops. "Imprisoned? By who?"
"By my court mages. When she crossed the Veil pregnant with you, they didn't trust her. They thought she was a spy from the Ember Court." He looks away. "I was young then. I listened to their advice. I should have questioned it."
Anger flares hot in my chest. "Take me to her. Now."
"Ember—"
"NOW!"
Fire explodes from my hands—real fire, bright and strong and completely under my control. It doesn't hurt me. It dances across my skin like it's celebrating.
Kaelan stares. "Your power. It's—"
"Free." I look at my hands in wonder. The poison is gone. This is my real magic. This is what I was always meant to be. "The crossing burned out whatever they were giving me. I can feel everything now."
"You're stronger than any fire mage I've ever seen," Kaelan says quietly. "And I've lived a very long time."
"Great. Use that power to take me to my mother."
He studies me for a long moment. "You're not what I expected."
"What did you expect?"
"Someone... softer. More afraid." A small smile tugs at his lips. "The prophecy said you'd be fire and fury. I thought it was metaphorical."
"Surprise. I'm literally on fire and really, really furious." I cross my arms. "My mother. Now. Or I'll burn this castle down finding her myself."
"You'd try," he says, and there's respect in his voice. "Fine. But first, you need to know what you're walking into."
He leads me through dark hallways lit by floating orbs of shadow magic. Servants stop and stare as we pass. I hear whispers: "The soulmate." "The fire girl." "She's actually here."
"They're scared of you," Kaelan says.
"Good."
He almost laughs. "You really are fury incarnate."
We climb a spiral staircase that seems to go on forever. Finally, we reach a heavy iron door covered in magical symbols.
"She's in there," Kaelan says. "But Ember, you should know—she's not the same woman who left twenty-three years ago. Imprisonment changes people."
"You think I care? She's my mother."
He touches my arm, and electricity shoots through me. The soul bond. I can feel it humming between us, waiting to be completed.
"I care about you," he says simply. "And I don't want you hurt any more than you already have been."
For a second, I almost believe he means it. Then I remember—he's the one who locked her up in the first place.
I pull away and open the door.
The room inside is small and dark. A woman sits on a bed by the window, her back to us. She's thin, too thin, with long black hair streaked with gray.
"Mother?" My voice cracks.
The woman turns.
She has my eyes. My nose. My mother's face, older and sadder, but still her.
"Ember?" she whispers. "Is that really you?"
I run to her, and she catches me in a hug that smells like home and heartbreak. We're both crying, holding each other like we'll never let go.
"You're so big," she sobs. "You're all grown up. My baby girl is all grown up."
"I thought you were dead," I cry. "Father said you died when I was five."
"Your father is a liar and a monster." She pulls back, gripping my shoulders. "Did he send you here? Is this a trap?"
"No! I came on my own. I found your scroll. I saw the vision. I crossed the Veil to find you."
Her face goes white. "You crossed the Veil? Ember, no. No, no, no. You've activated the prophecy."
"The prophecy about the soul bond? I know. Kaelan and I have twenty-eight days—"
"Not that prophecy." She looks at Kaelan with something like horror. "Tell me you didn't let her cross. Tell me you stopped her."
"I didn't know she was crossing until she literally fell out of the sky," Kaelan says, confused. "What are you talking about?"
Mother grabs my face. "Listen to me very carefully. The soul bond prophecy is a lie. It was created by the Void Consortium to trap you."
"What?"
"There are two prophecies about you, Ember. The first says you'll bond with the Shadow King and save both realms. The second..." She takes a shaking breath. "The second says that if you complete the bond, you'll destroy both realms and everyone in them."
Ice floods my veins. "Which one is true?"
"I don't know." Tears stream down her face. "That's why I tried to hide you in the Ember Court. That's why I let your father poison you—to keep your power suppressed so you'd never be strong enough to cross. I was trying to save you."
The room spins. Father poisoned me... to protect me?
"That's insane," I breathe.
"The Consortium wants to use you as a weapon," Mother continues. "They'll do anything to make sure the bond completes. They've been manipulating events in both realms for decades."
"Who's in the Consortium?" Kaelan demands.
Mother looks at him sadly. "Everyone you trust. Everyone Ember trusted. We've all been pawns in their game since before either of you were born."
A loud alarm suddenly blares through the castle. Kaelan tenses.
"What is that?" I ask.
"Intruder alert." He pulls out a dagger made of pure shadow. "Someone's breached the castle defenses."
The door explodes inward.
Standing in the smoke is Celeste, her hands crackling with stolen magic. Behind her are a dozen dark mages in black robes.
"Hello, sister," she purrs. "Miss me already?"
"How did you cross the Veil?" I demand.
"The Consortium gave me a key. Same one Mother used." She smiles at our mother. "Hello, Aunt Seraphina. Long time no see."
My brain stutters. "Aunt?"
"Oh, did she not tell you?" Celeste laughs. "Our mothers are sisters. Which makes us cousins, not stepsisters. Surprise!"
The world tilts sideways. "You knew? All this time, you knew we were family?"
"Of course I knew." Celeste steps into the room. "I also know about both prophecies. And I know exactly how to make sure the right one comes true—the one where I get ultimate power and you both die screaming."
She raises her hands, and dark magic fills the room.
Kaelan shoves me behind him. "Run!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"RUN!" he roars, and shadows explode from his body.
Mother grabs my arm. "There's another way out. Come on!"
Celeste laughs as we flee. "Run all you want, Ember! The prophecy is already in motion! The bond is already forming! In twenty-eight days, you'll either save the world or end it! And I'm betting on the ending!"
Her laughter follows us into the darkness.
And I realize with horror—I have no idea which prophecy is real.
Or if I'm about to doom everyone I'll ever love.