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Just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to take any more of this, the tsunami ceased, its pummeling force receding into gentle waves of energy that lapped against my shield like a surf. Sighing in relief, I dissolved the shield to find Casimir on his hands and knees, sucking in great lungfuls of air. The hairs on my arms rose at the expanse of barren land around us—by the looks of things, he’d incinerated an entire square mile of forest.

But even though the missing woods would undoubtedly draw attention, that was the least of our worries.

“I don’t understand,” Casimir said, his face ashen as he held out a hand in front of him. Tiny glimmers of light danced across hisskin, casting an ethereal glow around him. “What in Tenebros’s nameisthis? And how did you bring me here?”

I shook my head, getting to my feet so I could walk over to him. “Not Tenebros’s name,” I said as I crouched in front of him. “Hecate’s name. That’s the goddess’s energy you’re holding in your hands.”

“What?” Casimir croaked.

I pressed my palm against his, letting my wisps of shadow come out. They wove between his sparks of light, the two twining into an age-old dance that made my magic sing.

The memory I’d dreamed of that first night in Maximillian’s tower rose to the surface of my mind, knife bright. “He is the other half of my heart. I thought I could leave him behind for her sake, Elna, I really did. But if I don’t go back for him, his fate will haunt me forever. And I will never be whole.”

“I always thought she was talking about my father,” I said as the pieces fell into place.

“Who?” Casimir demanded.

“My mother.” I dropped my hand into my lap. “She left me when I was eight years old to go back to the vampire who'd gotten her pregnant, and I thought it was because she'd been in love with him.” I laughed softly, looking at Casimir in wonder. “But it wasn’t my father she came back for. It was you.”

“Me?” Casimir scowled, shaking his head violently as if trying to clear something from his ears. “Why would your mother have come looking for me?”

“Because she’s your mother, too.” I sucked in a breath, then exhaled in a rush as I allowed the truth to spill from my lips. “Mymother was a Nocturne witch, Casimir. You and I are the two halves of her heart—the two facets of Nocturne power.”

“Nocturne power…” Casimir trailed off as he struggled to put the pieces together. “You’re saying this is witchcraft?” he asked, sounding horrified.

“Yes. You’re half witch, half-vampire, just like I am.” I grabbed his hand again, and his magic surged to meet mine, two halves of a whole that were never meant to be parted. This was the reason I’d never been able to use lunar magic, no matter how hard I prayed to the goddess to grant it to me. “I’m not youramorte, Casimir. I’m yourtwin.”

“Twins?” he asked, aghast. “But that would make your father…”

“Vladimir Invictus,” I said grimly. The vampire king of Noxalis, and self-proclaimed emperor of Valentaera.

And now I needed to get Casimir on my side if I wanted to defeat him.

To be continued…