CHAPTER 81: THE TWIN

Celeste lay weak on the bed, her chest rising in the faintest, thinnest breaths.

Up close, she looked even paler, like one more exhale would carry her away. I inched toward her, my heart thumping hard against my ribs.

"Can all of you wait outside?" I asked quietly.

Silence followed.

I turned slightly, looking over my shoulder, "You too, Lucian."

Lucian’s brows lowered instantly, "No."

I exhaled, trying again, "Lucian, please. I... I need to focus."

"You can focus with me here."

"Lucian," I said with a bit more firmness, "I want to speak to her alone."

His jaw tightened. His eyes flicked between me and the girl on the bed, same face, same shape, same everything.

Discomfort. Possessiveness. Worry. All tangled under his cold expression.

"No," he repeated. "Not happening."

"Lucian—"

"She’s unstable," he murmured, stepping closer to me. "Who knows what would be happening—"

"That won’t happen," I cut him off gently. "Please. I’m asking you, not as a wife, not as... whatever I am to you right now."

I swallowed. "I’m asking you as Seraphina."

His eyes softened, just a flicker.

Barely there, but real.

Vaylen shifted uneasily behind him. "My lord... perhaps... just for a moment..."

Lucian shot him a glare so sharp he stopped breathing.

But slowly... Lucian looked back at me.

And loosened his grip.

"Just a few minutes," he said quietly. "If you need anything... Call me right away."

I nodded.

He hesitated again. Clearly hated this. But finally, he stepped backward, guiding Vaylen out with him.

The door clicked shut. Leaving me alone with the girl who looked exactly like me.

I drew in a breath, then stepped closer to the bed, my heart pounding louder than before.

"Celeste...?" I whispered.

Celeste’s lashes trembled, barely lifting.

Her eyes and my eyes met in a fragile, foggy gaze.

"I... dreamed of you before..." she whispered, voice thin as thread.

A chill skated down my spine, "You dreamed... of me?" I repeated softly.

Her lips trembled into the faintest, weakest smile.

"Hmm, dreams that feel like memories. I didn’t know it was you before. But someone who looked like me. Someone who... felt familiar."

I swallowed hard.

The room suddenly felt too small, like the walls were listening. Like the truth was pressing in from every direction.

Celeste blinked slowly, her breath shivering in her chest.

"I knew it was you," she whispered, "the moment we met at the lake..." Her fingers twitched weakly against the sheets.

"You’re not..." She inhaled shakily, gathering what little strength she had, "You’re not from here, are you?"

The words fell into the room like a stone dropping into still water, quiet, but impossibly loud.

"No... I am from here..." I lied, obviously.

How was I supposed to tell her the truth?

A girl I barely knew.

A girl who looked exactly like me.

A girl whose intentions I couldn’t even guess.

Even Lucian didn’t know I came from another world.

Celeste’s gaze softened, not accusing, not angry, just unbearably sad.

"The oracles told Father..." Celeste whispered, her voice barely more than breath, "That when my Phoenix Core starts collapsing... the other one would appear."

My heart stopped.

"The... Another one?" I echoed, barely hearing my own voice.

Celeste nodded weakly, her lashes fluttering.

"That’s... what they called you," she whispered, each word thin but certain. "The other one. My other half. My twin."

My breath stilled.

"My—what?" I blurted, instinctively stepping back until my calves hit the edge of a small chest drawer. "Twin? What twin? Who... who are you?"

Celeste blinked slowly, as if the act itself drained whatever energy she had left.

"I am your twin," she breathed.

My stomach twisted.

"I don’t understand..." My brain obviously slow to pick up.

"Listen... Being twin phoenixes, we couldn’t share the same abilities, for instance, I don’t possess a healing flame," she admitted with a weak smile. Swallowing against the pain, she continued, "Father told me you healed someone the other day... with your flame..."

"Hmm... yes..." I muttered.

She gave a small nod. "I use my tears to heal others, but my tears aren’t as strong as your flame."

She then attempted to push herself up with such effort that I instinctively moved to help her. "Thank you," Celeste murmured and continued, "I am glad to meet you before I go..."

"What do you mean by ’go’?" I didn’t feel good with her choice of words.

Celeste leaned to the headboard, "I mean, I couldn’t survive another century and since you are here... I am glad to share what is supposed to be yours... so you can help other better."

"What do you mean?" I frowned, seeking clarification.

"I’ll give you the tears right before I die..." Celeste whispered, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

My heart dropped.

"Hold on..." I pressed a hand to my forehead, trying to steady the spinning in my mind. "Are you saying the two of us can never coexist in the same world?"

Celeste looked at me with tired, gentle eyes.

"Phoenix twins rarely can," she said softly. "When one grows stronger, the other weakens. Our flames weren’t meant to burn side by side."

I stared at her, breath stuck in my throat.

She continued, voice thin but steady, "My flame was unstable from the beginning. Father always knew I wouldn’t last long. But when you appeared... everything inside me shifted. My core started breaking faster." She offered a small, painful smile. "It’s not your fault. It’s simply the way twin phoenixes are born."

I shook my head slowly. "But I... I didn’t even know. I never asked for any of this."

"I know," Celeste whispered, her smile softening. "But your flame has always been stronger. Yours is the dominant one. Mine... was only borrowed time."

Her fingers trembled as she reached toward me, stopping halfway, too weak to complete the motion.

"You were meant to inherit everything," she said quietly. "The fire, the strength... and the tears. I only carried them until you could come back."

My chest tightened painfully.

"Come back?" I echoed. "I wasn’t even born here—"

Celeste’s lashes fluttered softly.

"You were," she whispered. "We both were. You were taken away to protect you... to protect us. The last two pure-blood phoenixes are still alive."

My breath hitched.

"The last... two?" I repeated, barely hearing my own voice.

Celeste nodded weakly.

"All the others are gone. Extinct. Our line ended with us."

Her voice softened, fragile but certain.

"That’s why you were taken away... to protect you, since you have the dominant power and me, being left here because maybe no one would find me useful." She let out a weak laughter, trying to shove away the sadness with laughing.

Something cold slid down my spine and my face scrunched to make sense of everything.

"How do you even know all of this," I asked slowly, "I mean... if both of us were still babies... and just now, Vaylen said you were left right on their doorstep... that sounded too good to be true..."

I kept my voice calm, but inside, I replayed every warning Lucian had ever given me.

Maya’s too.

Don’t trust anyone too easily.

Even if they look like you.

Celeste didn’t flinch. She looked calm even in her weakest state.

She only smiled faintly, like she expected the question.

"I know because I... saw it," she whispered.

My brows knit. "Saw what?"

Celeste lowered her gaze, lashes trembling just enough to look fragile.

"My memories," she murmured. "Fragments. Images. Flames. A cradle split in two. A hand carrying someone away. You."

She exhaled weakly. "I never understood them until I saw your face."

I stared at her, heartbeat loud in my ears.

Memories? As newborns?

Phoenixes might be magical, but this... didn’t feel right.

Celeste continued softly, voice thin but steady,

"To tell you the truth, only you and I know about this, I mean.. us being twin. No one else. Not Vaylen. Not the priests. And honestly..." She let out a weak, shaky breath. "I myself didn’t even know how I ended up in front of The Blaze’s house."

My heart tightened.

"You... didn’t know?" I whispered.

"Nope," Celeste breathed softly. "Father didn’t even tell me who I was until I asked him."

She shook her head, slow and fragile.

"And... when I turned into a teenager," she murmured. "I kept having the same dreams over and over again."

Her voice grew quieter, almost distant.

"Flames... a cradle... someone who looks like me," she whispered. "I didn’t understand any of it."

Then her eyes lifted to mine, soft, relieved and almost grateful.

"And when you appeared before my eyes, everything finally started to fit. Like the missing pieces were finally there."

I felt a slow ache spread through my chest.

Celeste continued, her voice faint but sure,

"Everything made sense the moment I saw you. It was like... all those dreams were pointing to you. Leading me back to where I was supposed to be."

Her fingers twitched weakly against the blanket.

"I didn’t realize I was waiting for you," she said softly. "Not until you stood right in front of me."