Between Shadows and Desire

Dion's POV

The moonlight faded beyond the treetops, muffled by a thin veil of mist that clung to the cabin's edge. Therrin had fallen into a deep, exhausted sleep beside him—body curled tight, brow still creased even in rest. Ari's presence shimmered quietly just beneath the surface, like light trapped beneath glass.

Dion lay awake, heart heavy. He'd felt the shift earlier—the trembling tension between the twins' souls during the battle with the shadowspawn, the way their bond now felt frayed around the edges. Therrin had finally accepted him, yes—but there was a storm beneath that surrender, one Ari hadn't voiced and Therrin refused to acknowledge.

And that doubt could shatter them all.

He inhaled, reaching inward.

Calling upon the ancient blood of his fey lineage, Dion closed his eyes and whispered a name—a spell with no spoken sound, but one that hummed through every molecule of his body.

Ari.

In an instant, the world around him twisted.

He opened his eyes into a dreamscape he had crafted—a moonlit glade at the center of a lake that shimmered with silvery starlight. Trees bowed at the edge of the clearing, frozen as if holding their breath. In this space, he was in control. Here, he could bend the fabric of reality, bend it around his desire to reach her.

And she was already there.

Ari stood barefoot at the water's edge, clothed in a flowing pale gown that clung to her figure as if the dream itself adored her. Her hair shimmered with soft light, and her eyes—Therrin's eyes, but brighter, more knowing—met his.

"You called me," she said softly. Her voice echoed around the lake like wind brushing velvet.

Dion stepped toward her, the water parting for his feet. "I needed to. I needed to find you… just you."

Ari tilted her head, expression unreadable. "Why now?"

"Because everything is changing. I feel you more clearly every day—your desires, your strength.

Therrin may be the one awake, but your heart… it's loud." He reached for her hand. "And it's calling to me."

Ari looked down at their joined fingers. "You're not afraid of what it means? That loving me could hurt her? Could hurt you?"

"I'm more afraid of losing either of you." His grip tightened. "You've both suffered so long in silence. Let me in. Let me show you that I can hold space for both of you."

Ari's lips parted in a breath. "Then prove it. Here. Now."

The dream shifted.

They stood beneath a canopy of ancient branches, shadows flickering like candlelight. Soft moss cushioned their feet. The air thickened, pulsed with energy. And Ari—no longer ethereal, but grounded, fierce, real—pressed her palm to his chest.

"Do you feel it?" she whispered. "My soul aching to be seen… to be wanted apart from her."

"I see you, Ari." He leaned in, forehead touching hers. "Not as half. Not as second. But as you."

Their kiss wasn't gentle.

It was years of longing trapped inside Dion's chest, years Ari had spent tucked away in silence. The dream let them melt into each other—every touch electric, every gasp honest. Her hands found the nape of his neck, pulling him deeper. His magic responded instinctively, wrapping around them both like a cocoon of moonlight.

He laid her down in the grass, lips brushing her shoulder, her collarbone. "Tell me what you need."

"You." She exhaled. "To choose me, too. Not just because I share a body with her. But because you feel me. Because you want me."

"I do."

His words were a vow.

And as they moved together—bodies pressed close, souls unraveling like starlight—Dion felt their bond click into place. It wasn't about dominance or control. It was about presence. Recognition. Love.

When she cried out, it wasn't in pain or passion alone, but release. And when he finally rested his head beside hers, he felt the power shift.

Not just within them.

But around them.

The lake glade faded. Dion blinked awake within his own dream magic, now aware something else lingered beyond the veil of his spell.

A breeze stirred.

Ari sat up beside him, skin glowing faintly. "Did you feel that?"

He nodded slowly. "We're not alone."

Though they were still in the dream-space, something darker bled into the edges—faint whispers that curled through the trees. Dion stood, shielding Ari instinctively as he scanned the borders of his crafted world.

But it wasn't a direct threat. Not yet.

It was… watching.

Something cloaked.

A shadow moved just beyond the trees, feminine and graceful. The edges of her form shimmered with a presence that made his skin crawl.

The Shadow Mistress.

Even cloaked, her power hummed like coiled smoke—restrained but sharp. Her laughter echoed softly through the air, unsettling.

"So this is where you hide," her voice slithered. "Binding your heart to half of her, while the other drowns in silence."

Dion's jaw clenched. "Stay away from them."

The Mistress only laughed again. "Oh, I will. For now. After all, it serves my purpose to let your arrogance fester. You believe you're strengthening her, but you're feeding her doubt. Dividing them. Weakening the vessel."

Ari rose behind him, fire in her gaze. "She's not a vessel. And we're not divided."

"But you are," the Mistress purred. "Even now, she sleeps alone in a body that no longer feels entirely hers. You give one of them everything… and the other starts to slip."

The shadows pulled back then, vanishing as suddenly as they had come.

But her parting words remained.

"She will break. And when she does… I will be waiting."

Dion woke with a start, gasping.

Beside him, Therrin stirred, her brow furrowed even in rest. He touched her cheek gently and felt it—a flicker of uncertainty, of strain.

He could hear her now. Really hear her.

Two voices in his head. Two pulses of energy.

Ari, quiet and warm.

Therrin, tense and distant.

And both… beautiful.

But her light was dimmer than before. Not because of a choice she made—but because she could feel the difference. Feel that he had seen Ari more clearly. Loved her more openly.

He buried his face in his hands, guilt and love tangling in his chest.

What had been meant to bring them closer had shifted the balance.

And now the shadows were closer than ever.