The weight of my twin brother’s body pushed me hard against the smooth bone pillar. The black iron bolt from our father’s crossbow was buried deep in his throat, but instead of crimson blood, a thick stream of glowing silver liquid poured from the wound. His flesh was softening, turning into a hot moving mirror that rippled against my chest. I held him by his torn velvet sleeves, my own hands shaking as the reflection of my terrified face stretched and warped across his dying skin."Kael," my twin whispered, his voice no longer ringing like a bell but sounding like cracked porcelain clicking together. "The mirror... it doesn't just show the face. It transfers the weight. Do not let him... click the final cog."Before I could understand his words, his entire body dissolved into a puddle of pure reflective silver mercury, sliding off my lap and sinking directly into the porous bone of the pillar beneath us. The white column instantly drank the liquid, its calcified surface turning a bri

The echoes of the heavy iron chime still vibrated through the damp brick walls of the lower kitchen, causing the remaining pewter plates to rattle against the stone floor. I stood frozen, my calloused fingers tightly gripping the cold iron casing of the fallen dial. The man wearing my father’s face stood before me, his eyes completely transformed into a solid, reflective emerald green that revealed his true identity as Headmaster Vance."The trinity cannot be broken by a boy from the labor fields, Kael," Vance hissed, his hand tightening around my throat with an icy strength that cut off my breath. "The king's design is absolute. Your brother's silver essence has already merged with the pillar, and your sister is locked at the apex. Your blood is the final ink needed to seal the new empire."With a brutal shove, he threw my body backward. I crashed heavily against the chrome-plated base of the bone column, the hard metal knocking the remaining air from my lungs. Above me, trapped at t

The underground air was thick with the scent of frozen minerals and very old scales. I stood completely still on the glowing green moss, my fingers still tingling from the hot gold current that had rewritten Erebos’s entire nature. Ahead of us, the woman with the ankle-length silver hair turned her head. Her face was a perfect copy of Lyra’s, but the cold patches of pearlescent scales along her jawline made her look like a creature that had never known a human home.Beside me, the real Lyra Voss let out a sharp, ragged gasp, her fingers clutching her silver dagger as she stared at her own face across the cavern. "Mother? No... my father said you died in the western labor camps before I could even walk.""The General tells many beautiful lies to keep his little bird in her cage, Lyra," the scaled woman said, her voice sounding like smooth river stones sliding together. She stepped over the deep stone trench, her crystal staff casting a sharp silver light across the frozen shapes of the

The green glass tank was tight and cold. I kicked the thick fluid, but my bare feet only hit smooth walls. A leather tube sat in my mouth, giving me just enough air to breathe. The fluid tasted like old pennies. Through the wet glare, I could see the high temple courtyard. A huge crowd stood outside, waving flags and yelling names. They had no idea what was happening beneath the floor.On the high stage, a boy stood in clean robes. The iron bolt that had hit his throat in the kitchen was gone. Only a small silver scar remained. He looked exactly like me, but his eyes were bright and cruel. He was the duplicate clone, and he smiled as the mages brought out the heavy crown.He tapped his ring against my glass tank. His voice leaked through the metal base. "Thank you for clearing the path, Kael. The throne is finally ours."I slammed my fists against the wall. The numbers on my left palm glowed with dark fire, but the liquid swallowed my strength. It drained my power into the pipes below

The fall through the dark void felt endless. Cold wind roared in my ears as my body tumbled past the broken layers of the palace foundations. The white light in my chest burned fiercely, keeping the absolute blackness from swallowing me whole. Below, the glowing green moss of the subterranean hatchery rushed up to meet me. I hit the soft, thick carpet with a dull thud, the impact knocking the remaining air from my lungs and sending my silver-trimmed slippers flying into the dark trenches.I lay gasping on the damp moss, coughing up the last traces of the bitter green fluid. My body was bruised, but the pale white current running through my veins was already dulling the sharp stings of the crash."Alden," a weak voice wheezed from a nearby trench.I forced myself up onto my knees. General Voss was lying just ten feet away, his iron breastplate completely shattered by the falling debris. His breathing was shallow, his fingers clawing weakly at the green moss. He had fallen right behind