SIERRAI stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection.But it wasn’t just mine anymore.My breath hitched slightly as I leaned closer. Same brown eyes. Same lashes. Same scar by the left brow. But something was wrong. The surface of the mirror didn’t feel still. It shimmered faintly, like water. And then, glitch.A flicker.One second, it was me. Plain, tired, and confused Sierra. The next second, it was… not. Her. Lyara.Her eyes looked brighter than mine. A little too focused. A little too steady. Her lips curved in a slow smile that wasn’t mine. It was soft, but something about it felt sharp, like it could cut. Like it knew everything I didn’t. Like it had been waiting.“Stop,” I whispered. My voice came out dry.The mirror didn’t stop. It didn’t blink.Instead, the smile deepened. Not cruel… just patient. Familiar in the most uncomfortable way.I took a small step back, my chest tight.“Lyara,” I muttered.She didn’t answer right away. She just watched me, like she was s
MAYA“She’s unstable,” Arlen said coldly. “Two souls in one body. That’s dangerous magic. It’s been forbidden for centuries. You know that.”“I didn’t choose this,” I snapped. “Neither did she.”“She’s not safe,” another council member, Lady Mirna, added. “If she loses control…”“She won’t.”“If she does,” Mirna went on, “we’ll be forced to intervene. For the safety of the realms.”I felt my heart stop.“What does that mean?” I whispered.“We will extract the second soul,” Arlen answered. “Even if it means destroying both.”A cold silence filled the room. Then I laughed…. slow and bitter.“You’ll kill my daughter?” I hissed, stepping closer to the glowing portal. “Because your ancient rules are too small to understand something new?”“You are too close to her, Maya,” Mirna said. Her voice was calm, too calm. “You are letting emotion cloud your reason.”“Emotion?” My fingers curled into fists at my side. “That’s my child. My blood. My baby. You think I’ll stand back while you destroy h
SIERRAI opened my eyes slowly.Everything felt... heavy.Not just my body, but my mind too.My head ached. My chest felt tight. And my throat… my voice… felt different.Deeper.Richer.Wrong?“Sierra?” A man’s voice was the first I heard. Soft. Worried.I blinked and turned to him, my heart skipping.But…“Who… are you?” I asked, my voice rough like it had been scraped against gravel. The moment I said it, a sharp chill ran down my spine. That wasn’t what I meant to say. I meant to ask Where are we, or what happened. But instead… that came out.Zane blinked fast, his entire body freezing. “What?”“I said… who are you?” I sat up slowly, clutching my head. It felt like there were thousands of voices whispering in my brain, all at once. Memories that didn’t feel like mine. Images of stars, moons, and people I didn’t recognize. Celestial words bouncing around in my skull like echoes.“I… I don’t know what’s happening,” I whispered. My chest tightened. My heart was thudding too hard. I lo
THANEThe air changed. I stepped out onto the porch and looked up."What the hell..."The moon was turning red. Not just red, dark, like blood. A thick shadow swallowed the sky, and the air grew colder. My ears twitched.Howling. Dozens of animals, all over town. Dogs. Wolves. Even the cats were screeching like something was wrong."Thane!" my neighbor shouted. He was across the street, holding his daughter tight. "What's going on?!""Get inside," I said. "Now. Lock everything.""But…""Go!"He listened.I turned toward the woods.And then... it rained.Not water.Blood.Thick drops. Red. Warm."No way," I muttered, wiping my face again. My fingers came away smeared with dark crimson. It felt thick, like syrup. My shirt stuck to my skin, heavy and soaked."This... this isn't normal."The air smelled like metal. Like old blood and something rotten.The news anchor’s voice crackled through a nearby living room window. I turned slightly, trying to hear."A violent lunar eclipse has begun
LILAI don’t know why my feet started moving.I didn’t plan it. I didn’t think about it.One minute, I was just standing by the back door of the house, half-listening to the muffled voices inside. The next, I was walking, slowly, quietly, toward the lake behind it.“Lila?” I heard Mom calling from the kitchen. “Where are you going?”I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.It was like something had taken over me. Not in a scary way. It didn’t feel heavy or dark. It felt… gentle. Warm. Stronger than me, but not in a way that made me fight it. It was like being pulled by a string tied to my heart. Like the lake had whispered, and my soul heard it.The breeze brushed against my skin like a hush, like nature itself was holding its breath. The tall grass tickled my bare ankles. The sun was barely up, casting a soft golden glow over everything, but the lake… the lake looked unreal. Still. Shining like glass. It wasn’t moving at all, like time had frozen on its surface.I reached the edge and stared int
ZANE“Sierra,” I whispered, brushing her hair from her face. “Please wake up.”Her skin burned beneath my touch, hot with fever. Too hot. Her chest barely moved, like even breathing had become a fight. Panic clawed at my throat.I sat on the edge of the bed and gripped her hand tightly. It felt limp in mine, lifeless. “Sierra, come on,” I said again, voice cracking. “Say something. Anything.”The silence around us thickened. The air was still, holding its breath like I was. I wanted to scream, to shake her awake, to demand the universe give her back.Then…suddenly… her eyes flew open.She gasped, sucking in air like someone had punched the wind out of her lungs. Her entire body jolted beneath the sheets. I stumbled back and then surged forward.“Hey!” I jumped to my feet. Relief crashed over me like a tidal wave. “You’re awake! You’re okay!”But something was wrong.She didn’t look at me. Her eyes were glassy and wide, like she was seeing something I couldn’t. Her chest heaved, and he