My vision blurs.

"That's why you were born twins," he says. "You were the light. She was the dark. You were meant to stabilize her. Stabilize her darkness."

His smile sharpens. "I couldn't allow that."

The world tilts violently.

"When she was about eight," he continues, unhurried, "I found her crying in the garden."

My chest tightens until it hurts to breathe.

"She told me she hated how carefree you were," he says. "How you never took anything seriously. How, despite everything, everyone loved you. Loved your bubbliness and how lively you were..."

I shake my head slowly, dread clawing up my spine. "No," I whisper.

"I started whispering in her ear,” he says softly. "Feeding into her doubts. Into her anger. Into her resentment... I became her friend from then on. The one she could talk to about everything. The one she didn't have to impress. The one who got her. The only one who wasn't wrapped around your little finger."

The pieces slam together in a sickening rush. We were teenagers and she didn't have to tell me; I already figured out she had a crush on someone.

My stomach drops.

"It was you," I breathe.

Kaden grins. "I hoped she'd be my mate," he admits calmly. "It would've made corrupting her easier, but she wasn't, so I had to adjust my plans."

My hands begin to shake. The world feels unsteady beneath my feet.

"Pretending to love you was exhausting,” he sneers. "I hated every second of it. I hated that fate made you my mate instead of Xena... You had too much light, too much good in you for you to be of any use to me, but I had to put up with you until Xena's corruption was complete."

I feel like I'm drowning. My lungs are burning and my chest feels like it's caving in.

"Don't get me started on that child." He scoffs. "An accident. I never wanted children with you. Never wanted that baby and honestly, I'm glad it died."

The words don't just hurt. They tear me to shreds.

"All that time," he continues smoothly, "I was sneaking around, pushing Lola closer to betrayal."

He looks down at her now.

"She fought it," he admits. "A part of her stayed good for a long time. Clinging to whatever was left of the bond you shared."

Lola's eyes are wide. She's horrified, but more than that, she's breaking.

"But the moment she agreed to take your mate? It's the moment she finally destroyed the small piece of the twin bond that remained. The bond, that had kept her from being swollowed by the darkness inside her." He smiles. "She finally became fully corrupted."

No one moves. No one breathes. The truth of what he did. The truth of the twisted way he planned everything. How he basically groomed a little girl, hits all of us like an avalenche.

"You played us," I whisper.

He bows slightly, mockery wrapped in elegance. "I needed power, and what better

place to start than Selene's daughters?"

My knees weaken.

"My plan was flawless," he

continues. "Xena would take your

power, then Selene's and all the other gods and goddesses would follow... And once she transferred it all to me, I would've killed her too."

I look at Lola and tears are streaming down her face.

"You can kill her now," Kaden says casually. “The binding spell is already complete. Her power will come to me either way."

The truth crashes into me like a tidal wave. Lola never hated me. She was twisted. She was groomed and used as nothing but a pawn to seize power.

It breaks my heart that I hated her, blamed her, and thought she was the problem

when in reality Kaden was playing her like she was a puppet.

It started when she was a little girl. How could she have fought him? How could she have known that he was manipulating her? She always thought it was love, but in reality, it was just a sick, twisted game on his part.

I look at her, tears filling my eyes and that when I feel it. Her life slipping away.

"No, no..."

I drop to my knees, the scepter clattering uselessly to the ground as I clutch her face

with trembling hands.

"No, please, don't... " Tears blur everything.

"I'm sorry," I sob. "I didn't know. I didn't understand. I didn't mean it."

Her gaze softens—just barely.

"Nyx..." she breathes.

"Please," I beg, my voice shattering. "Don't leave me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, please...."

Her life force flickers and then dims before it's gone, and a scream tears out of the depths of my soul.