The night wind chilled her bones, but Evelyn didn't move.
She stood face to face with Alden—her mother's betrayer, the man who once hunted her—and now he stood calmly beneath the stars, whispering of a truth her mother never told.
"You have ten seconds," Evelyn said coldly. "After that, I put a dagger in your throat."
Alden gave a faint smile. "You sound just like her."
She didn't flinch. "Don't compare me to her. She trusted you. And you sold her to Seraphine."
"I didn't sell her," he said softly. "I saved her."
Evelyn's breath caught. "You're lying."
But his eyes were clear—filled with something unexpected.
Remorse.
"You think she died protecting you," he said. "But that's not the full truth. She died to protect the world… from you both."
Evelyn's hands trembled.
"She saw it in the stars," Alden whispered. "A vision of twin daughters. One of fire, one of frost. One born of light, the other of shadow. And in the end, only one survives."
He took a step closer.
"She didn't know which of you would fall into darkness. So she made an impossible choice."
Evelyn's voice cracked. "She separated us…"
"To give you both a chance," Alden said. "Elara was taken. Hidden. But you? You were raised with love. With hope. She believed you could change the ending."
Tears slid down Evelyn's face.
She thought of her mother's lullabies. Her stories. Her laughter.
And now she saw it—all of it—through a new lens.
A woman smiling for her daughter… while carrying the guilt of abandoning the other.
"She made you her weapon," Alden said. "But she also made you her hope."
Evelyn fell to her knees. "She should have told me…"
"She wanted to," he said. "But time ran out."
For a long moment, only the wind spoke.
Then, quietly:
"Why are you telling me this now?" Evelyn asked.
"Because Elara is slipping," Alden said. "And Seraphine has her wrapped in lies. If you don't reach her soon... she won't come back."
Evelyn looked up at him. "Do you really think I can?"
"I think she still hears you. Somewhere inside."
He turned away. "But if you fail… you won't just lose your sister. You'll lose yourself."
Time skip>>>>
Lucien found her moments later, sitting in the snow, arms wrapped around her knees.
"What happened?" he asked, kneeling beside her.
"I saw Alden," she whispered.
Lucien's eyes flashed. "He's alive?"
She nodded. "He told me the truth. About my mother. About Elara. About… me."
Lucien waited, letting the silence stretch.
Evelyn finally said, "There's a prophecy. One sister lives. One dies. She thought I could break it."
Lucien didn't speak for a moment. Then:
"She was right."
Evelyn turned to him. "How can you be so sure?"
He gently took her hand. "Because I've seen what you do when everything falls apart. You rise. Even when you're hurting."
He brushed a tear from her cheek.
"You're not the girl in the prophecy, Evelyn. You're the one who rewrites it."
A breath escaped her lips. A sob she hadn't realized she was holding.
And in that moment, she pulled him into a tight embrace—one that said thank you, I'm scared, and don't let me go all at once.
Lucien held her close.
"I'm here," he whispered. "For every step. Even if it leads into the fire."
Far away, Elara stood before a mirror of her own.
Not cracked like Evelyn's.
This one showed only her—flawless. Powerful. Alone.
Seraphine entered, silent as a shadow.
"She's coming for you," the witch said. "But you're stronger now."
Elara didn't turn. "I dreamed of her again."
"And?"
"She was smiling," Elara said. "She reached out her hand."
Seraphine's voice turned sharp. "And you pulled away."
Elara nodded slowly.
But her hand trembled.
Seraphine noticed.
"Your heart is weak," she said. "But don't worry. I'll burn it out of you."
Back in the cottage, Evelyn watched the firelight flicker across Lucien's sleeping face.
Tomorrow, they would ride for the capital.
Tomorrow, the war would begin.
But tonight, as she laid beside the vampire she once hated, Evelyn whispered a vow:
"I will find her. I will save her. And I will not become the monster the stars expected."
No matter the prophecy.
No matter the past.
She would write her own ending.