Nhalor wore Gareth's face perfectly.
That was what terrified Toby most.
Not the black eyes.
Not the wound closing by itself.
Not even the ancient thing standing inside his father's body.
It was the details.
The old scar beneath Gareth's chin.
The slight bend in his nose from a tournament injury.
The tired line between his eyebrows.
Everything was right.
Except the smile.
Gareth never smiled when his children were afraid.
"Get out of him," Toby whispered.
Nhalor looked at him.
"Why?"
Cael raised Kingsbane.
"Because I'm going to cut you out."
Seraphine stepped between them.
"No."
Cael stared at her.
"Move."
"That's Gareth's body."
"I know."
"If you miss—"
"I won't."
"You don't know where Nhalor ends and Gareth begins."
Nhalor laughed.
"A sensible woman."
Seraphine's face twisted.
"Don't use his voice."
"Why not?"
Nhalor tilted Gareth's head.
"He has such a comforting one."
Toby's hands curled into fists.
Mira's Fourth Flame ignited.
"You're trying to make us angry."
"Yes."
Nhalor looked pleased.
"And it's remarkably easy."
Younger Lyra joined Mira.
Their golden marks glowed together.
Ancient Lyra moved toward Aeron.
"Can they separate him?"
Aeron stared at Gareth.
"Possibly."
Nhalor's smile disappeared.
"Brother."
Aeron flinched.
"I am not your brother."
"You carried me for three thousand years."
"I imprisoned you."
"You knew my thoughts."
"Against my will."
"You dreamed my dreams."
Aeron's face hardened.
"And I hated every one."
Nhalor laughed.
"Another lie."
The throne chamber changed.
Suddenly, daylight poured through windows that did not exist.
The broken walls repaired themselves.
Bodies vanished.
Gareth stood before Toby.
Normal.
Human.
His eyes brown again.
"Toby."
Toby froze.
"Father?"
"Come here."
Cael grabbed him.
"No."
Toby looked at his brother.
"His eyes."
"They're fake."
"But—"
"Toby."
Gareth opened his arms.
"I'm all right."
Toby wanted to believe.
That was the weapon.
Not fear.
Hope.
Cael slapped him.
Hard.
Toby stared.
"What was that for?"
"You're welcome."
The illusion shattered.
The ruined throne chamber returned.
Nhalor's eyes were black.
Toby touched his cheek.
"That hurt."
"Good."
Nhalor looked at Cael.
"You are much harder to manipulate."
Cael's expression darkened.
"People practiced."
For once, the pain in that sentence became an advantage.
Nhalor could offer Cael beautiful lies.
Cael had spent his entire life learning not to trust them.
---
"How do we get Gareth back?" Seraphine demanded.
Aeron answered.
"We need to force Nhalor into one part of his mind."
"And then?"
"Mira separates them."
Mira looked at him.
"How?"
"Through a memory Nhalor cannot reproduce."
Toby frowned.
"He has Gareth's memories."
"Not exactly."
Aeron pointed toward Nhalor.
"He can read memory. Wear it. Distort it."
"But?"
"He cannot create emotional ownership."
Cael understood.
"He knows what Gareth remembers, but he doesn't feel why it matters."
"Exactly."
Toby looked toward his father.
"So we make Gareth remember something Nhalor doesn't understand."
Seraphine whispered:
"Us."
Aeron nodded.
"All of you."
Nhalor applauded with Gareth's hands.
"Beautiful theory."
Then he disappeared.
Toby spun around.
"Where—"
Gareth's hand closed around his throat from behind.
Nhalor lifted him from the floor.
"Toby!"
Cael attacked.
Nhalor threw Toby at him.
Both brothers crashed into the throne.
Mira's golden fire struck Gareth's body.
Nhalor screamed.
So did Gareth.
Seraphine froze.
"Gareth?"
For one heartbeat, his eyes turned brown.
"Run."
Then black again.
Nhalor struck Mira.
Younger Lyra caught her.
Kingsbane slid across the floor.
Nhalor saw it.
So did Cael.
Both moved.
Cael reached it first.
Nhalor stepped on the blade.
Cael pulled.
Nothing.
Gareth's body had become impossibly strong.
Nhalor looked down.
"You spent your childhood wanting strength."
Cael glared up.
"Not yours."
"I could give you enough power that nobody could ever chain you again."
Cael stopped.
Nhalor smiled.
"There."
Toby saw his brother's hesitation.
"Cael."
Nhalor continued.
"No prisons."
"Cael."
"No masters."
Cael's hand tightened.
"No fear."
For one dangerous moment, the offer reached him.
Then Cael smiled.
"There's one problem."
"What?"
"I'd have to listen to you."
He released Kingsbane and punched Nhalor directly in Gareth's face.
Gareth's body staggered.
Cael grabbed the sword.
"Father is going to be furious about that."
Toby almost laughed.
---
Seraphine suddenly understood.
"Keep him talking."
Cael looked at her.
"What?"
"Make Gareth hear us."
She stepped toward Nhalor.
"Gareth."
Nhalor smiled.
"Yes, my love?"
Seraphine stopped.
"Wrong."
The smile faded.
"What?"
"You never called me that."
Nhalor's eyes narrowed.
"You wanted to."
"But he didn't."
She stepped closer.
"Gareth was afraid beautiful words would make promises he couldn't keep."
Inside the black eyes, something flickered.
Brown.
"Gareth."
Nhalor recoiled.
Seraphine continued.
"The first night we kissed, I stole your glove."
Toby remembered Gareth using that memory to identify Seraphine.
"You blamed stable boys for three days."
Brown again.
Nhalor screamed.
"STOP."
Mira understood.
She approached.
"Gareth."
Nhalor turned toward her.
"You didn't know I existed."
His face twisted.
"But when you found out..."
Mira's voice broke.
"You didn't ask whether I was really yours."
Golden light appeared beneath Gareth's skin.
"You just started worrying whether I was safe."
Nhalor stumbled.
Younger Lyra stepped forward.
"You didn't know me either."
Her eyes filled.
"And when you found out what they did to me, you were angry for me before you were angry that I had been hidden from you."
More gold.
Cael lowered Kingsbane.
His voice became quieter.
"You found out I was your son and tried to hug me."
Toby almost smiled through his tears.
Cael continued.
"It was terrible."
A sound escaped Gareth.
Almost a laugh.
Cael's face cracked.
"Father?"
Brown eyes appeared.
"Still... terrible."
Nhalor screamed.
Black returned.
But now Gareth was fighting.
Toby stepped forward last.
Nhalor backed away.
"No."
Toby kept coming.
"You asked me to trust you before you knew who I was."
"STOP."
"You stood between me and Veyron."
Nhalor grabbed his head.
"You lied and called me a kitchen rat."
Cael muttered, "Touching."
Toby smiled.
"You were afraid."
Gareth's body shook.
"But you stayed."
Toby reached toward him.
"Father."
Brown flooded one eye.
"Son."
"Come back."
Nhalor screamed.
Mira raised both hands.
"NOW!"
The Fourth Flame struck Gareth.
His body arched.
Black smoke poured from his mouth.
Seraphine caught him from behind.
"Pull him out!"
Mira screamed as golden fire surrounded the darkness.
Nhalor fought.
The smoke formed claws around Gareth's chest.
Aeron joined Mira.
Ancient Lyra joined him.
Then younger Lyra.
Cael and Toby placed their hands on Gareth's shoulders.
Four flames.
Two originals.
One father.
Nhalor tore free.
Gareth collapsed.
Seraphine held him.
His eyes opened.
Brown.
Toby laughed through tears.
"Father?"
Gareth coughed.
Then looked at Cael.
"You punched me."
Cael stared.
"You remember?"
"Very clearly."
"You were possessed."
"You enjoyed it."
"A little."
Gareth grabbed him and pulled him close.
Then Toby.
Then Mira.
Then younger Lyra.
All four.
Seraphine watched them.
Gareth looked toward her.
"You're included."
She laughed and joined them.
For a heartbeat, they were together.
Then Nhalor roared.
---
The entity had no host now.
Black smoke filled half the throne chamber.
But something was different.
It was weakening.
Aeron saw it.
"He can't stay."
Ancient Lyra nodded.
"The Veil is closed."
Mira stood.
"Then send him back."
Nhalor's voice filled the chamber.
THERE IS NO BACK.
Aeron stared.
"What?"
The darkness laughed.
YOU STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND THE TOMB.
Ancient Lyra went pale.
Nhalor continued.
THE VEIL WAS NEVER A PLACE.
Toby stood beside Gareth.
"Then what is it?"
Nhalor's smoke gathered into a human shape.
A face appeared.
Not Toby.
Not Gareth.
Not Malachar.
A woman.
Ancient Lyra screamed.
"No."
The face belonged to someone Toby had seen in Azrath's oldest memories.
A woman holding two infants.
Aeron and Lyra.
Their mother.
Ancient Lyra whispered:
"Mother?"
Nhalor smiled through her face.
Aeron collapsed to his knees.
"No."
"Who is she?" Toby asked.
Ancient Lyra could barely speak.
"Selene."
Azrath's wife.
Their mother.
The woman who had disappeared from every memory before the catastrophe.
Nhalor's voice changed.
Female.
Gentle.
"I wondered how long it would take you."
Aeron stared.
"Mother?"
"Partly."
Ancient Lyra stepped backward.
"Our mother died before we opened the Veil."
"No."
Selene's face smiled.
"Your father told you that."
"Why?"
"Because he was ashamed."
Aeron stood.
"Ashamed of what?"
Nhalor spread its arms.
"Of me."
The black smoke separated.
Inside were countless human faces.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Thousands.
Millions.
"Your mother was the first."
Toby felt sick.
"The first what?"
Aeron understood.
"Shade."
Silence.
Ancient Lyra shook her head.
"No."
Nhalor spoke with Selene's voice.
"Before there was a Veil, there was only me."
Aeron stared.
"What happened?"
"Azrath happened."
The darkness rippled.
A memory appeared around them.
Azrath and Selene.
Young.
In love.
Then Selene became ill.
Dying.
Azrath refused to accept it.
He searched for forbidden magic.
He found a way to preserve consciousness without a body.
Ancient Lyra began crying.
"No."
Azrath performed the ritual.
Selene died.
But her mind remained.
A thought without flesh.
The first Shade.
Then she became lonely.
Azrath created more.
Dying soldiers.
Children.
Friends.
Anyone who refused death.
Each consciousness joined the growing network.
Thousands of minds.
Until they stopped being individuals.
They became one.
Nhalor.
Toby whispered:
"Azrath created you."
The entity smiled.
YES.
The truth became clear.
The Veil had not been discovered.
It had been created.
Not as a prison for a monster.
As a place to store the dead.
Aeron stared at his mother's face.
"Then why did we open it?"
"Because you wanted her back."
Ancient Lyra covered her mouth.
Memories returned.
Their mother calling from beyond.
The Black King promising they could restore her body.
The twins opening the Veil not for power—
but for their mother.
Aeron whispered:
"We caused everything."
"No," Toby said.
Aeron looked at him.
"Malachar used your grief."
"But we opened it."
"And then you spent three thousand years stopping it."
Aeron stared at Toby.
The boy continued.
"You don't have to be only the worst thing you ever did."
Cael looked at him.
That sentence reached more than Aeron.
---
Nhalor began fading.
Without a host, it could not remain.
But Selene's face smiled.
YOU THINK THIS ENDS WITH ME?
The floor shook.
Four golden crests ignited.
Toby.
Cael.
Mira.
Younger Lyra.
Not voluntarily.
Nhalor laughed.
YOU CARRY ME TOO.
Gareth stepped forward.
"No."
EVERY HUMAN DOES.
"What?"
Nhalor looked around the chamber.
YOU DREAM OF THE DEAD.
YOU SPEAK TO THEM IN YOUR MINDS.
YOU REFUSE TO LET THEM DISAPPEAR.
The darkness began dissolving.
I AM NOT A CREATURE.
Aeron whispered:
"Then what are you?"
Selene smiled.
MEMORY.
Then Nhalor vanished.
Silence.
No explosion.
No battle.
Simply gone.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then King Aldren entered the chamber.
He looked at the place where Nhalor had disappeared.
"It's over?"
Ancient Lyra answered.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
"Nhalor cannot survive here without a host."
"Then we're safe," Edric said.
Ancient Lyra shook her head.
"Not if someone invites it back."
Cael looked toward the shattered crown.
"We destroyed the gateway."
Aeron stared at the four younger flames.
"No."
His expression changed.
"The crown was never the gateway."
Toby followed his gaze.
"What is?"
Aeron looked directly at him.
"You are."
Silence.
"The four flames can open the Veil without the crown."
Mira whispered, "Then we never open it."
Ancient Lyra looked toward her.
"If only it were that simple."
"Why isn't it?"
Before she could answer, a soldier rushed into the throne chamber.
"Your Highness!"
Edric turned.
"What?"
"There's someone at the main gate."
"Who?"
The soldier looked confused.
"A woman."
Gareth immediately tensed.
"Name."
"She won't give one."
"Then why are you here?"
The soldier swallowed.
"Because she asked for Toby."
Everyone turned toward him.
Toby frowned.
"Me?"
The soldier nodded.
"She says Toby promised he would come when she called."
"I've never promised anyone that."
"She says you did."
"When?"
The soldier's face went pale.
"Before you were born."
Nobody spoke.
Gareth drew his sword.
"What does she look like?"
The soldier hesitated.
"Like him."
He pointed at Toby.
"Older. Maybe thirty."
Toby felt cold.
Cael frowned.
"That's impossible."
The soldier continued.
"And she has the Sovereign Crest."
"Where?"
"Both arms."
Ancient Lyra stumbled backward.
Aeron caught her.
"What?"
She stared toward the gates.
"Two marks."
Her face emptied.
"No one can carry two."
Toby whispered:
"Who is she?"
Ancient Lyra looked at him.
"The person the prophecy was actually written about."
Gareth's grip tightened around his sword.
"What prophecy?"
Ancient Lyra spoke the oldest line of the Twin Flame prophecy—the line history had erased:
"When four flames burn as one, the child who was never born shall return to claim the blood that created her."
Outside High Keep, the mysterious woman lifted her head toward Toby's window.
Two golden Sovereign Crests ignited across her arms.
And although Toby had never seen her before, he suddenly remembered her.
Not from his childhood.
From somewhere impossible.
Before birth.
A voice in darkness.
A hand holding his.
A girl whispering:
"Don't forget me when you leave."
Toby staggered.
Cael caught him.
"Toby?"
He stared toward the gates.
His face had turned white.
"I know her."
Gareth froze.
"Who is she?"
Toby remembered the darkness before his first breath.
And the child who had been there with him.
Waiting.
"She's our sister."