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With her back to him, the blonde took a few steps away before turning, counting on her fingers. "Let's see… when we arrived in Sovereign City, then again in Everwood, and now here in Ravenhold. Whenever we're around your people, you just… pull away."

Kiro’s brow furrowed. He couldn't recall a single moment when he hadn't been desperate to see Lyra, to hold her, to feel the warmth of her touch. He searched his memory for any instance of him "pulling away" and came up empty. He met her gaze, his own unwavering. "Lyra, I am so sorry if I ever made you feel that way. You have to understand, my responsibilities here in Oria are… immense. It's difficult to pursue a relationship without the entire country scrutinizing our every move."

She crossed her arms, unconvinced, one eyebrow arched in challenge. Kiro sighed, running a hand through his hair before trying a different approach. "Listen, I love you. Isn't that what matters? You said it yourself: sometimes when you love someone, you just have to go for it. Right?"

The hard edge of Lyra's posture softened, melted by the raw adoration in his eyes and the unvarnished honesty in his voice. With a squeal of delight, she closed the distance between them, throwing her arms around his waist. "I knew it! I knew I had nothing to worry about!" she chuckled into his chest.

Kiro rubbed his forehead, marveling at her complexity. "So, this was all a test?"

Glancing up, the Pyre Mage gave him a cheeky wink. "Yep! And you passed with flying colors!"

He laughed, pulling her closer until their bodies were flush against one another. "And what," he whispered, his voice a low, seductive rumble that sent a shiver of anticipation through her, "is my reward?"

Lyra tilted her head back, answering with a deep, passionate kiss. The world seemed to fall away, leaving only the two of them and the soft lap of waves on the shore, the gentle breeze rustling the fabric of her skirts. It was in this perfect moment that a white-clad figure materialized beside them. The intrusion was so sudden, so silent, that Kiro’s reaction was jarring. He jerked to his feet, pushing Lyra away from him.

"What—hey!" Lyra stumbled back, her protest dying as she saw Princess Calista standing just behind a suddenly vacant Kiro. "What's going on?"

Calista laughed, a sound like chimes of ice, and beckoned to Kiro. He turned, his movements unnervingly fluid and robotic, and went to her, placing his hands on her waist. Lyra watched, paralyzed with disbelief, as Kiro—her Kiro—leaned down and gave the Princess a lingering kiss. The same lips that had just whispered words of love to her were now pressed against the most powerful woman in Oria.

When they finally broke apart, Calista’s gaze fell upon Lyra, dripping with disdain and triumph. Her voice, stripped of the warmth Lyra had once heard, was a cold pronouncement. "Poor, poor little shadow. Did you really think you could steal my Kiro away?" Calista’s laughter echoed Lyra’s own bewilderment and pain.

Kiro remained behind the Princess, his arms still encircling her waist. Lyra’s fists clenched at her sides as she fought back tears, her eyes locked on his. They were empty, hollow voids, utterly devoid of life. "Kiro! Tell her! Tell her what you just told me! Tell me it wasn't a lie!"

His face was a mask of shadows, and he said nothing.

An icy dread traced a path down Lyra’s spine at the sound of Calista’s frigid chuckle. A single tear escaped and traced a hot path down her cheek. "You truly are a fool, shade-born. I found your pursuit of Kiro… amusing, at first. I allowed it. But he never felt a thing for you. You were a diversion. A toy. The love you felt is as false as your very existence."

Each word was a blow, leaving Lyra more shaken and confused. She shook her head, sobbing. "What are you talking about? None of this makes any sense! Kiro! KIRO!"

She tried to run to him, but an invisible wall of psychic energy slammed into her, halting her in her tracks. As Lyra struggled against the unseen force, Calista began her explanation, her tone long and disinterested.

"You, you pitiful thing, are not real. You were created by the Amulet, a shadow of the true Fated, Kara. You are nothing more than the darkness and evil within her, given form. To grant you a semblance of purpose, memories of a life as Kara's sister were implanted in your mind. But you never existed before Kara came to Oria. You are nothing. A shadow of a person. A shade-born with no reason to live. Once I eliminate you, I can kill your 'sister' with ease. Unfortunately for me, her life force is tied to yours. I cannot expunge her as a threat to my throne until you are destroyed. Do you understand now, you useless thing? You are nothing, and you will never be anything, to anyone!"

As if to punctuate the Princess’s cruelty, Kiro spoke. His tone was as hollow as his eyes, yet it pierced Lyra's heart more deeply than any truth ever could. "How could anyone love a shadow? You mean nothing to me."

Calista laughed again and released Lyra from her invisible prison. The girl collapsed to her knees, her head spinning. She frantically sifted through her earliest memories and, for the first time, saw the gaping holes. Kara was in all of them, but there were no memories that were hers alone. Everything Calista had said made a terrifying, soul-crushing kind of sense.

"I'm… fake," Lyra breathed, the words stolen by a sudden gust of wind that whipped around her. The Pyre magic inside her churned, and her thoughts began to slip into darkness.

Calista extended a hand toward the kneeling girl. "Now die, you pitiful excuse for a human!" A bolt of crackling energy formed above her and shot down toward Lyra.

Just before it struck, a wall of fire erupted from the earth, deflecting the bolt on impact. "What?" the Princess snarled, stunned that such a feeble mage could defy her ultimate power.

Lyra, still on her knees with her hair obscuring her face, lifted her hands. A massive ball of fire coalesced above her. Calista gritted her teeth and began to weave a transport spell for herself and Kiro, but a massive explosion from the direction of Ravenhold shattered her concentration. Lyra threw the fireball, not as a weapon, but as a shield that engulfed her in a raging inferno.

With a curse, Calista shoved Kiro toward the base. She shot one last venomous look at the fiery vortex where Lyra knelt. "This isn't over, you fool!" she shrieked before teleporting away. "Your power may be all you have left to live for now!"

Lyra’s cries of sheer, undiluted agony echoed into the night, lost within her circle of blazing flames, just as the shadow of a massive mech fell over Ravenhold, its enormous sword glinting in the moonlight.

Deep within the lake base, Kara jolted upright in bed, a gasp caught in her throat. Her wide, brilliant green eyes stared into the darkness. She slowly brought her trembling hands to her temples, and the instant her palms made contact, a spine-chilling scream tore from her lungs. She screamed until the crushing force that held her captive finally released its grip.

Gasping for air, Kara scrambled out of bed, her entire body shaking with an inexplicable panic. She braced herself against the doorframe separating her bedroom from the living area. In the soft moonlight, her skin was ashen, her hair a shock of silver. She cast out her senses, desperately searching for the source of the profound ache in her heart. Everyone else in the base was accounted for, their life forces steady. But she couldn't find Lyra. Kara furrowed her brow and concentrated, pushing her search further, seeking the familiar spark of Lyra’s vitality. There was nothing. It was as if she had vanished from existence.

Kara's eyes widened in horror. Lyra was beyond her reach. She couldn't sense her sister, couldn't hear her thoughts. Could it be? Had Lyra died?

Just as a wave of grief threatened to overwhelm her, the apartment door flew open. Haken stood silhouetted in the doorway, his presence fierce in the half-light. His expression softened the moment his gaze fell upon the quivering Kara. "Kara, what is it? What's wrong? I heard you scream and I—"

"Lyra!" Kara cried, the tears finally breaking free. "Where is she? Have you seen her? I can't—I can't feel her, Haken!"

Before Haken could cross the room to comfort her, a familiar surge of energy drew both of their gazes to the balcony. Kara was the first to run toward it, sensing her sister's distinct Pyre magic. A beacon of fire burned near the lake, and a shaky sigh of relief escaped her. Lyra was alive. At least, she was alive. As Haken placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, Kara managed a wobbly smile.

It was then that the base sirens began to blare.

"An attack?" Kara whispered, bewildered.

Haken’s eyes narrowed as he listened. As Kara rushed toward the hallway door, he called out, "Kara."

"What?" she asked, turning back. The look on his face sent a chill through her that had nothing to do with her earlier vision. It was a mask of agony and wrath, an expression she had never seen before and that terrified her more than anything she had ever known. Slowly, he raised his hand.

"Haken?" Kara breathed, sensing the Lumen energy gathering around him.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to center the magic. "HAKEN!" Kara cried out, her mind refusing to accept what was happening.

She could almost hear his thoughts, a silent apology that echoed in the space between them. I'm so sorry, Kara. Please, forgive me. He molded the shapeless Lumen into a spear of pure light. When he opened his eyes, all doubt was erased from her mind. The man she had grown to love was going to kill her. Tears streamed down her pale face as she backed against the door. Perhaps this was the pain she had felt earlier—a premonition. An image flashed in her mind: a strange cliff, her own murder, and the leering face of her killer, Haken. She shook her head, bracing herself. She didn't understand, but she would not go down without a fight.

Gritting her teeth, Kara shoved her consciousness roughly into Haken's mind, searching for a reason, for any thought that could explain this betrayal. She broke through his mental barriers and was stunned by the image that greeted her: Queen Kyreth, her expression grave, explaining the danger the Princess posed.

"Calista's power has corrupted her," Kyreth's calm voice resonated in the memory. "She has grown too strong and no longer wishes to relinquish her reign. She seeks the Sacred Beasts, intending to murder their physical forms and harness their spirits to achieve immortality. The time for Oria's next Princess to rise has long passed, but Calista murders each new Fated girl before the Amulet can empower her. I have tried to reason with her, but she is beyond my reach. The next Princess, Haken, is a girl from Earth. But we are not meant to save her. We must kill her. We must break this cycle, as foretold by the Second Prophecy."

A montage of memories flooded Kara's mind—her time with Haken, their first meeting at the ball, their first kiss, the slow, gentle blossoming of their trust. And beneath it all, she felt Haken's own crushing anguish, the terrible burden of knowing that he would one day have to murder the woman he was falling in love with.

Kara pulled back from his thoughts, reeling from the shock and sorrow. Outside, the moonlight filtering through the window was now tinted orange-red by the distant flames. The wail of the alarms had been replaced by the faint echo of screams and the smell of burning. Haken had lowered his weapon. He stood with his arms at his sides, his gaze fixed on the floor, the spear of light gone as if it had never been.