PROLOGUE
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The forest was silent, blanketed in darkness that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. Lyra held her daughter close, feeling the girl’s gentle breath against her chest, a warmth that anchored her to this terrible, necessary choice. She forced herself to look up, to meet Lucian’s gaze across the small clearing. He held their son, his face a mask of sorrow and resolve. The child slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of the heart-wrenching parting about to unfold.
“This is the only way, Lyra,” Lucian said, his voice raw. “If they’re apart, hidden, they’ll be harder to find. The ones who seek them…they’ll search, but they won’t know where to look.”
Lyra’s heart ached, torn between the need to protect her children and the unbearable thought of separating them. She knew that Lucian was right. Together, the twins were vulnerable, bound by a connection that would make them a beacon to those who would stop at nothing to harness their gifts. But that knowledge didn’t ease the pain, the feeling that she was leaving a piece of herself behind.
“And if they never remember?” Her voice was barely a whisper. “If they grow up without knowing each other…or us?”
Lucian’s jaw tightened, his grief momentarily slipping through his careful control. He looked down at his son, gently brushing his fingertips over the boy’s dark curls. “They’ll remember, even if they don’t know why,” he said, his tone more promise than answer. “And one day, they’ll find each other. When the time is right.”
Lyra nodded, forcing herself to hold her daughter tighter, committing her face to memory. Her heart felt heavy with the knowledge that she would leave Ravenswood behind, taking her daughter far from the shadows that had haunted them. She would go as far as she could, somewhere they could live without looking over their shoulders, somewhere her daughter might have a chance at a normal life.
She took a shaky breath and pressed a soft kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “One day, you’ll understand,” she whispered. “And one day, you’ll find your brother.”
Lucian stepped forward, his eyes lingering on the daughter he wouldn’t see grow up, a look of fierce determination tempered by pain. He met Lyra’s gaze, silent promises passing between them. Without another word, he turned, clutching their son to his chest, and vanished into the shadows of the forest, back toward Ravenswood.
Lyra stood there for a moment, fighting the urge to call after him, to demand they find another way. But she knew this was the only path that led to her children’s safety. She took one last look at the place she had once called home, then turned and began her journey into the unknown, carrying her daughter toward a new life, far from the danger that lurked in Ravenswood.
As she walked, the night closed in behind her, sealing away the secrets they had vowed to keep, until the day her children would be strong enough to uncover them.
