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Almost too fast for me to keep up with, he turned on me, obviously enraged at having been bested by his own previous student, even briefly. He hammered his sword so hard into Elaera that she went flying, skittering to a stop at the far edge of the tent.

Because I had been looking at where my sword landed, I almost missed Dimitri advancing on me.

My eyes flickered to meet his as he raised his sword, and there seemed to be nothing beyond pure rage in his eyes.

Like everything he had been holding back his entire life was finally rearing its ugly head.

With no weapon left, and only a heartbeat left between me and what was likely certain death as Dimi’s sword was coming down, I played the only card I had left.

Wielding.

I flung my energy out into the earth, searching.

I used the sun stones in my pocket resting in my right glove to center me, instead of focusing on my panic or anxiety.

Only a few feet to the left and about ten feet below, I felt a chunk of crystal.

I solidified my connection to it, then yanked with everything I had.

The iridescent crystal came between Tarrious and I at the last possible second, and shattered it into a thousand different pieces on impact.

I threw my arm over my face as I fell backwards, shielding my unprotected eye. I heard, more than saw, Dimi also fall.

I could feel our father’s eyes on me with a newfound interest, who now stood behind my brother, but Dimitri’s rage had been temporarily interrupted.

“Viva… how?” he asked.

I cringed, wishing we were kids again when I had told him everything.

Well, almost everything.

“It seems I inherited more from Mother than just her good looks,” I said boldly, although I didn’t feel it, as I slid the eyepatch still sitting over my right eye off.

I looked up at him with both eyes for the first time since I walked in, then let my gaze flicker to Father’s for a moment before looking back to Dimi.

Then, still holding the eyepatch in my palm, I called towards the fire in my veins, and the patch erupted into blue flames.

It burned until there was nothing but ash, then I gently let the ashes fall to the ground below.

I would hide no longer.

Father’s expression was guarded, but Dimitri seemed awestruck for a moment as he watched the ash fall from my hand.

Then, his face shifted. Now, instead of awe and wonder, his usually handsome face was clouded by hurt, anger, and disgust.

“I always suspected you had Northern zirilium—it was the only thing that made sense as to why you were so secretive the older we got. Then Aurora more or less confirmed it after you left, and I felt so… defeated . My whole life has revolved around being heir, and the title isn’t even rightfully mine .

” He began to shake with pent up anger. “Now you mean to tell me not only did you inherit Northern zirilium, but the Stars gifted you with zirilium from the South, too? What happened to us being equals?”

“Dimitri, it isn’t like I chose this—” I started, but was interrupted.

“Stop. I don’t want to hear it,” he said, getting to his feet, brushing shards of crystal off of himself. “Let’s get this over with, twin, ” he spat the last word like a curse, making my chest ache.

I quickly got to my feet before I could be bested again, but instead of shaking the crystals off, I used my zirilium to quickly shape them and those around me into another sword and a small arm shield.

Placing my feet apart to anchor myself to the ground, I faced Dimi once again.

But when I looked into his eyes, I noticed the jealousy there, fueling his rising rage.

So far, we hadn’t actually hurt each other. It was like we both knew Father just wanted a show, an act. But looking into my brother’s eyes now… for the first time, a whisper of doubt regarding my twin sang through my veins.

I didn’t allow myself to focus on it long, though, as Dimitri threw himself forward, sword aiming for just below my ribs.

I sidestepped, though not as quickly as I should have, then twirled back around to face him. I was stunned at the amount of anger and frustration radiating off of him.

I felt Rayven stirring, but paid him no mind. I had already shown my hand—that I possessed Southern zirilium—but they didn’t know the extent of which ones yet.

I sidestepped once again as his sword arched towards me, but not fast enough this time. I sucked in air through my teeth as Tarrious sliced my upper arm open, blood dripping onto the floor.

I looked up to meet my twin’s eyes, shocked, both of us breathing heavily. I know I started this challenge, but I never intended on actually hurting him .

But looking back at me, I couldn’t see even a sliver of the brother I once knew. The male before me now was a stranger.

A dangerous one.

I saw Dimitri’s weight shift a second before he lunged, his aim fatal, as I quickly moved to the left to avoid him.

I noticed a heartbeat too late that it was a trick.

It seemed he didn’t teach me everything he knew, after all.

Before I could right myself, Dimi tripped me, making me teeter forward, unbalanced. My crystal weapons went flying forward. It was a dirty move, but one I would’ve used, too, if I were desperate.

Though before I could fall flat on my face, Dimi’s hand gripped the back of my armor between my wings and hauled me upright, pinning me against his chest. Then, Tarrious was at my throat, forcing me to still, though everything in me screamed to fight , fight , fight .

My stomach sunk.

This was it.

I could feel Dimi’s heavy breathing, which matched my own. The blade sat against my throat—one powerful swipe and it’d be like I never existed at all.

Then, Father began slowly clapping as he moved to stand in front of us. I forced myself to stand as still as a statue, my eyes tracking his every movement.

“It was a valiant effort on your part, daughter. Truly, good try.” He smirked, which I realized was such a different expression than the one Byn would wear. Where Byn’s was warm and playful, Father’s was cold and calculated.

I hated it.

Not daring to move a muscle in my current position, I stayed quiet.

Stalking forward, as though he wanted to soak in every detail of what was about to happen, Father instructed, “Finish this, Prince Dimitri. Then there will be nobody standing in the way of you and the title of rightful heir.”

Rayven speared towards me through the shadows of the tent, but I made a small motion of flicking my wrist, and he stopped in his tracks. I could sense his hesitation and his urge to defend me, his queen and friend, but he obeyed anyways.

Father had been too busy staring at the blade against my throat to notice the slight movement.

I felt Dimitri’s small pause, a beat of hesitation, and that alone was enough for me.

There was only one option left.

Just as I felt Dimitri beginning to move—to do what, I didn’t know, but I wasn’t taking any chances—I sprung.

I threw my energy forward, begging but also demanding a quick connection with the shadow Father’s pitch black wings cast along the ground behind him.

Within the span of a heartbeat, the connection was solidified, the tingling working quickly this time, overtaking my entire body as though the shadows also realized how dire of a situation this was.

One second, Tarrious was pressing into my skin, my blood beginning to spill, then I was nothing.

I was nothing yet everything all at once. I could still see and hear, but it was as if my body was far away, disconnected. I became lighter than I’d ever imagined possible, and there was no restriction to any of my movements.

If I thought flying felt like freedom before, it was nothing compared to not having a physical body.

I could still feel the sting of my wounds, but somehow I knew in this form, they weren’t something I had to worry about.

I speared forward, aiming straight for the shadow I had originally connected with, then loosened my grip on the connection that was holding me in this shadow form.

With that loosening, I materialized behind my father, and in the same heartbeat, flung my hand out, calling crystals to it. Once a large chunk of that iridescent crystal landed in the palm of my hand, I gripped it tightly, not allowing myself even a second to hesitate as I drove it home.

Straight through my father’s back.

I shoved and twisted, an angry yet gut wrenching sob breaking free from my throat as the crystal shard struck home—straight through his wicked heart.

The crystal broke free of his chest, having gone all the way through him, completely impaling him.

A strangled sound came from deep in his throat as his hands reached up around the crystal.

Then I watched as he fell to his knees before me.

Dimitri’s scream rung out through the air, dropping Tarrious and lunging forward to catch our father, gently lowering him to the ground as blood began to pool around them.

I watched, hands soaked in my own father’s blood, as Dimi examined the crystal protruding from Father’s chest, as though he could somehow fix it.

Dimitri continued to cry out, tears falling from his eyes, as he tried to bargain with Father to keep breathing. To stay alive.

My heart began to crack.

Father’s breathing slowed as he reached up to place a hand on Dimi’s shoulder.

With labored breathing, his attention solely on my twin, he said, “My boy. Carry on my legacy. Do everything I was unable to, do you understand me? Conquer them all, Dimitri .”

With those final words, Father’s arm went limp, falling back to his side, and his last breath shuddered out of him.

Dimitri, hand shaking, reached up and closed Father’s eyes, then tilted his head back and let out an agonizing scream, tears streaming.

I could vaguely feel my own tears rolling down my face, but I felt so far away from my body, I didn’t even register the shadow pooling by my feet—a silent comfort.

After his scream cut off, Dimitri slowly turned his head to look at me, soaked in our father’s blood.

“ You .”

He pulled himself to his feet, but before he could charge, Rayven materialized in front of me and let out an animalistic snarl.

“The veltik khan is over,” Rayven said by way of warning.

Dimitri gave pause at the sight of another shadow wielder in his midst, then slowly began to back up towards the tent entrance, Tarrious in his hand once again.

His eyes met mine, a cruel smile on his face. And for the first time in our lives, I couldn’t help but think of how much he looked like Father.

The thought sent my heart shattering into more pieces than the crystals I had wielded.

I never wanted my brother to become my enemy.

“This is far from over, Viva.”

“I know,” I responded, my voice empty of any emotions, and moved to stand beside Rayven.

Dimi looked between the two of us, obviously seeing he was outnumbered, and continued to back up towards the exit.

Before he departed, he met my eyes once again, his smile somehow even more vicious as he said, “By the way, Mother wanted me to tell you hello . Too bad she’ll never get to tell you, or the other one , herself.”

With that, he tilted his head back and laughed wickedly. It was as though some sort of switch inside him had been hit—one that turned off any emotion that Father wouldn’t have approved of.

My jaw went slack as I tried to process what he just said, but he simply smirked at my reaction, then flexed his wings and left the tent, taking to the skies.