Chapter 36 “The Echo The wears My Face”
The moment the shadow whispered my name, something shifted.
Not in the room —
in me.
At first I thought it was fear.
But it wasn’t.
It was recognition.
A cold, impossible familiarity — like hearing a memory I never made.
The Seer feels it too. Her staff glows a sickly blue as she steps between me and the writhing darkness.
“Your Highness,” she breathes, “whatever this is… it knows you.”
Knows me?
How could something from the veil know—
The shadow laughs.
Not a real laugh.
A broken echo of one.
Like someone trying to imitate my voice and failing.
Elera clutches my arm, trembling. “Aiden… it feels like you.”
The words stab deeper than claws.
“Explain,” I demand.
She shakes her head, terrified. “I don’t know— it’s like… a wrong version of you. Something twisted. Something that followed me because it was tied to you.”
My pulse slams against my ribs.
“No,” I whisper. “That’s impossible.”
But the shadow shifts.
And for one horrifying second—
It forms my silhouette.
Broad shoulders.
Wolf stance.
My height.
My outline.
Corrupted.
Hollow.
Dead-eyed.
Elera gasps. “Aiden— it was waiting for you.”
The Seer curses under her breath. “No… no, this cannot be. Unless the stories were true—”
“What stories?” I snarl.
She meets my gaze, face grim.
“The First Prince.”
My blood turns to ice.
“That is a myth,” I say sharply. “A legend. Nothing more.”
But the Seer shakes her head. “Aiden, the First Prince wasn’t a myth. The heir born before you — the one the palace never speaks of — died in the womb. His soul did not pass peacefully. It was trapped.”
My heart stops beating.
Elera grips my hand. “Aiden… you never told me—”
“Because it’s not real,” I say, voice cracking with a panic I can’t hide. “My mother told me the story wasn’t true. There was no heir before me.”
But the shadow tilts its head the way I do.
And then—
It speaks.
In my voice.
“I̶ s̵h̸o̴u̸l̶d̵ h̷a̴v̷e̶ b̵e̵e̶n̵ k̴i̴n̸g̸.”
Elera stiffens, horror dawning in her eyes.
“Aiden,” she whispers, “it’s not just following the bond… it’s following your blood.”
The room spins.
My mother steps forward, shaking. “Aiden… you were too young. We never wanted you to know.”
“Know what?” I growl.
“That you weren’t the first.”
Her voice shatters.
“There was a prince before you. Your brother.”
A brother I never knew.
A brother who died before he lived.
A brother whose soul never left the realm.
A brother who became—
This.
The shadow surges forward, the sanctum walls groaning under the weight of its wrath.
It screams — a warped, tortured version of my own howl — and the torches blow out.
“AIDEN!” Elera cries.
I shift instantly, claws bursting through my fingers, teeth lengthening, vision sharpening to gold.
The shadow forms my wolf-shape — but wrong.
Broken.
Ribcage twisted.
Limbs too long.
A mouth without a soul.
And it lunges.
I meet it mid-air.
Our bodies collide in a blast of black and gold magic that shakes the entire sanctum.
Claws clash.
Teeth snap.
Light meets shadow.
But when I strike it—
my claws pass partially through it, like I’m tearing through fog with bones inside.
It shrieks and reforms behind Elera.
“No!” I roar, spinning, but too slow.
Its tendrils wrap around her wrist.
She screams, collapsing onto the bed as golden magic sparks violently at the contact.
The Seer shouts, “It’s taking her essence — stealing what it lost!”
My lungs freeze.
“No— let her GO!”
I grab the shadow’s tendril. It burns me with a cold fire, eating into my arm, but I don’t release it.
“TAKE ME INSTEAD!” I roar.
The shadow trembles.
Then smiles — a warped imitation of my own smirk.
And whispers:
“T̷h̸a̸t̵’̶s̸ t̶h̸e̸ p̴l̷a̵n̶.”
Elera screams again as her body convulses. Gold light bursts from her chest, shattering the tendril’s grip, sending the shadow crashing backwards.
Her head falls weakly against my shoulder.
“Aiden…”
Her voice is barely air.
“It wants to become you.”
The Seer pales.
“It wants to replace you. It wants the throne. The mate. The life it never had.”
My brother.
The one I never knew.
The one who died before me.
The one whose soul was twisted in the veil.
The shadow reforms again— clearer this time, more solid, more real.
And now it looks almost exactly like me.
Almost.
But its eyes are pits.
And its smile is starvation.
“You,” it hisses, “took… my… place.”
I step in front of Elera, blocking her with my entire body.
“You want my throne?” I snarl. “Fine. You can have the throne— over my ashes.”
The shadow laughs — a sound that is half sob, half hunger.
Then it whispers:
“N̵o̸.̴ I̷ w̵a̸n̴t̶ h̸e̴r̴.”
Elera’s pulse stutters.
My vision goes bloodred.
The wolf takes over — rage, terror, love, all in one.
But before I can attack again—
Elera lifts her hand weakly.
Her palm glows gold.
Her voice, broken but fierce, whispers:
“Get away from my mate.”
She unleashes a blast of magic so bright the world goes white.
The shadow screams — a sound that shakes the palace.
Then it vanishes.
Elera collapses instantly.
I catch her before she hits the ground, knees buckling under the weight of terror and relief.
Her breath is shallow.
Her skin cold.
Too cold.
“Elera— sweetheart— look at me—”
I shake her gently.
“Stay with me. Please. Stay with me.”
Her eyes flutter open for a second.
“Aiden… it’s coming back…”
Then she goes limp in my arms.
And for the first time in my life—
I scream
like a wolf losing half its soul.