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Syrena shook her head. “No, sister. It will take a massive eruption of energy. You must want nothing else more. It will burst within you. Within both of us, when the time comes. It will take all of our focus. All of our strength. Distractions will do us no good.”

Esmyra’s gaze moved over her sister—a mirror to herself if it held warmth. Her golden waves fell to her waist, her eyes as welcoming as the sun hovering above the horizon.

It was then that she knew Syrena was the missing piece in her life—in her heart. The other half of her, separated and torn away at birth.

But they had found one another.

Esmyra had found her home. And she would be damned if she let anyone or anything else take this away from her again.

“Distractions?” Esmyra’s head cocked to the side .

Syrena studied her, pursing her lips. “You know, I’ve noticed how you look at him,” she began, her tone light yet probing. “It was a bit impossible to ignore last night.”

Esmyra’s heart raced at the implication. “Who? Draevyn?” She waved her hand dismissively, feigning indifference, but she could tell Syrena wasn’t fooled.

“In your own words… Aye ,” the queen replied with a wink. “Do you have feelings for the man you rescued?”

Her brows furrowed at the question, her stomach twisting in knots. “Absolutely not. It’s not like that at all.”

“Isn’t it?” Syrena pressed, crossing her arms. “You’re spending a lot of time together, training in the garden.

And I’ve seen the way you look at him when you think no one’s watching.

Both of you, actually. He even offered his life to ensure you wouldn’t be punished for his actions…

” Her words trailed off, her eyes going distant. “No man does that, Esmyra.”

Esmyra’s inner turmoil was palpable. “Draevyn is just the only familiar thing down here, even if we barely knew each other before we found ourselves trapped.” She forced a dismissive laugh. “Consider it…bonding through trauma. And he seems to be one for heroic dramatics.”

Syrena raised a brow, a knowing smile forming. “Are you sure? Because if you don’t want him?—”

“I don’t,” Esmyra interrupted, her voice sharper than intended. The sudden edge of her tone made her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

What am I even saying?

Her sister continued, unfazed by her outburst. “Well, he’s handsome. Strikingly so.” Syrena’s gaze roamed over her.

“You think Draevyn is handsome?” Esmyra forced the words to come out as if they repulsed her, playing it off as if Syrena declaring her interest didn’t feel like a dagger to the chest. Her brows furrowed.

“You just bound the man in a velsinyte cuff.” She suppressed the snarl that threatened to slip through the words .

“I ran into Draevyn two nights ago. He said he couldn’t sleep and was roaming the halls of the palace.

It…it seemed like he was trying to seduce me, but perhaps I misread his intentions.

” Syrena shrugged. “It’s been a while since I’ve had anything new to play with, but it didn’t feel right to accept without speaking to you first.”

Draevyn did…what?! Her chest ached as the vision of it crept into her mind.

She hadn’t even seen them speak to one another, and the last she knew, Draevyn didn’t trust Syrena— loathed her even, especially after last night. But perhaps it was all a lie.

Esmyra cleared her throat. “And the cuff?”

“I just needed to make an example of him for his lies,” she admitted. “Well, and assaulting my guard…but if he proves himself a model citizen, then the cuff will come off.”

Syrena let out a low giggle as she guided Esmyra back to the path, beginning the trek back to the castle. “I would be lying if I said his power didn’t intrigue me. You must admit, it could be beneficial for our kingdom once it’s raised. We would complement one another.”

Esmyra bit on her tongue until blood spilled down her throat. “Oh?” was all she could manage to say.

“I’m the light of the sea, all things serene and life-giving, just as the sun. And he’s the rays of it, the very flames that fuel our world. Together, we would be the features of both sun and sea. Together, we could be a force, him and I.”

Together. Him and I.

Panic clawed at Esmyra’s chest as those words repeated themselves in her head—Draevyn’s fire to Syrena’s golden warmth. Everything about them would make sense.

While Syrena had proven herself to be just as she described, serene and life-giving, Esmyra was the opposite. She was the storm, the sea’s dark abyss.

She didn’t know light—didn’t deserve his fire after all she had done.

But Syrena? Perhaps she did. Her twin had been stuck down here, locked with their people. All she knew was giving. All she knew was kindness.

Esmyra had the world at her fingertips, and all she had ever caused was death and destruction.

And he showed interest in Syrena. He tried to seduce her.

While Esmyra assumed he’d been playfully flirting with her these last few days, or maybe even since the moment they met, she couldn’t deny the fact that he’d never seemed interested otherwise.

Certainly not while wandering about in the middle of the night.

The fairytale she’d been imagining these past few days turned to ash as the vision cleared, realizing it was never herself alongside Draevyn, laughing and falling in love.

It was her mirror.

It was her sister.

Not her.

Never her.

Syrena’s words reverberated in her mind, blending what was once hope with fear and rage.

“I think it would be best for both of us to keep our minds away from that of men,” Esmyra finally said. A lump formed in her throat that she desperately tried to ignore, but the thought of them together had her forcing herself to make her eyes not shift in fury.

It wasn’t just that it was Syrena speaking of Draevyn this way. She would be this way with anyone, she realized. And that scared her more than anything.

Esmyra wasn’t the jealous type, had never been. Men were a mere tool to her. So why was this happening now?

Syrena laced her fingers through Esmyra’s, and their stares found each other as her sister let out a soft giggle. “Forget I said anything. You’re right, and that’s probably for the best. I’m clearly getting ahead of myself after being so lonely all of these years. Okay, Esmi. No men.”

Esmyra’s lips parted at the use of her nickname.

Was it easy to guess? Had she let it slip since they arrived and never realized it ?

Relief flooded her that Syrena didn’t press any further, and Esmyra answered her with a smile as they continued their walk back to the castle in silence.

However, the pit of dread in Esmyra’s gut grew. A nauseating feeling squeezed the air from her lungs at the thought of Draevyn looking at Syrena the way she thought he once looked at her.