TWIST OF FATE.

TWIST OF FATE.
CHAPTER EIGHTY NINE - TWIST OF FATE

The King's private chambers were silent except for the crackling of the fire. 

Aiden sat in a chair by the hearth, his hands wrapped around a cup of warm water he had not touched. 

His eyes were fixed on the flames, but his mind was elsewhere.

Aldrich paced before him, his crown removed, his shirt untucked. He looked less like a king and more like a man trying to make sense of a nightmare.

"You speak of betrayal as if it has already happened," Aldrich said, his voice strained. "As if you have seen it with your own eyes."

Aiden looked up. "I didn’t but you told me."

Aldrich stopped pacing. "What do you mean?"

Aiden set down the cup. He had been holding back for so long. But now, after everything…the attack, the confrontation, the fear in Regnok's eyes…he could not keep the truth hidden any longer.

"I am from another time," Aiden said quietly. "A future that has not yet happened. In that future, your kingdom falls. Your wife dies. Your child dies. And Regnok... Regnok is the one who destroys it all."

Aldrich laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You expect me to believe that the man I have known since childhood, the man who saved my life countless times, would betray me?"

"I know it sounds impossible," Aiden said. "But I have seen it. I have lived the consequences of it. I came here to stop it, but I do not know if I can."

Aldrich sank into the chair across from him. His eyes searched Aiden's face, looking for deception, for madness. But all he found was sorrow.

"If what you say is true," Aldrich said slowly, "then why did you not tell me sooner?"

Aiden looked away. "Because I was afraid. Afraid that if I changed things, I would lose everything I love."

Aldrich was silent for a long moment. Then he said, softly, "Who is it that you love?"

Aiden's heart ached. He wanted to say, You. It is you. It has always been you.

But he could not. Not yet.

"Someone who does not remember me," Aiden said quietly, struggling to hold back the tears that threatens to fall from his eyes. "Someone I may never see again."



The castle gates groaned open as Regnok strode through them, his arm bandaged, his eyes wild. 

He had been gone for three days, and in that time, something in him had broken.

The guards moved to stop him, but he shoved them aside with a strength that surprised them. 

He stormed through the courtyard, past the servants, past the knights, until he reached the great hall where Aldrich and Aiden were waiting.

Aldrich stood as Regnok entered. His face was calm, but there was grief in his eyes. "Regnok. You returned."

"Where is he?" Regnok demanded. His voice was raw, desperate. "Where is Aiden?"

Aiden stepped forward. "I am here, Regnok."

Regnok's eyes found him, and for a moment, something softened in them. Then he turned to Aldrich, his expression hardening.

"You took him from me," Regnok said. "You took everything from me."

Aldrich shook his head. "I did not take anything from you. I brought him back for the safety of the kingdom."

"Safety?" Regnok laughed…a cold, bitter sound. 

"You brought him back because you want him for yourself. I have seen the way you look at him. I have heard the dreams you have. You love him, and you cannot even admit it."

Aldrich's jaw tightened. "That is not true."

"Is it not?" Regnok stepped closer, his eyes blazing. "You have always been the one who gets everything. The crown. The kingdom. The woman I loved and now him. You take and you take and you take, and you never once consider what it costs me."

Aldrich's voice was quiet. "You are my brother, Regnok. My blood brother. Do not do this."

Regnok's face twisted. "You are not my brother anymore."

Then it happened.

Regnok raised his hand, and shadows gathered around him…dark, writhing, unnatural. The air grew cold. The torches in the hall flickered and died.

Aldrich's eyes widened. "What are you…”

"Magic," Regnok said, his voice echoing with something ancient and terrible. 

"I have been learning it in secret. The old ways. The forbidden ways. You thought I was just a soldier, Aldrich. But I have become something more."

Aiden's heart stopped. Magic. Forbidden magic. This is how he becomes powerful enough to destroy the kingdom.

"Regnok, stop," Aiden pleaded. "This is not who you are. You do not have to do this."

Regnok turned to him, his eyes softening for just a moment. "I love you, Aiden. I have always loved you. But you chose him. You always choose him." 

The shadows around him grew thicker. "Perhaps when he is gone, you will choose me."

The shadows exploded outward, filling the hall with darkness. When they cleared, Regnok was gone.

Aldrich stared at the empty space where his friend had stood. His face was pale, his hands trembling. "What... what has he become?"

Aiden's heart ached. "He has become the man who destroys you. And I could not stop it."



Aiden found Aldrich in the war room, surrounded by maps and scrolls. 

The King's face was haggard, his eyes red-rimmed. He had not slept since Regnok's disappearance.

"He is planning something," Aldrich said, not looking up. "I know it. I can feel it in my bones."

Aiden stepped closer. "He is. The northern chiefs are already in the castle. They arrived under the guise of peace talks."

Aldrich's head snapped up. "What?"

"I saw them," Aiden said. "They are not here for peace. They are here for war."

Aldrich stood, his face pale. "The northern chiefs... I trusted them. They swore allegiance to the crown."

"Regnok has been speaking with them," Aiden said. "Offering them something in return for their loyalty. I do not know what, but it is enough for them to betray you."

Aldrich's hands clenched into fists. "Why? Why would he do this?"

Aiden hesitated. He had to tell the truth. He had to warn Aldrich before it was too late.

"Because he wanted Liora," Aiden said softly. "And she chose you. Because he was always second, always in your shadow. Because the prophecy of a powerful heir... it threatened everything he had worked for."

Aldrich stared at him. "The prophecy... you know about the prophecy?"

Aiden nodded. "In the future, you told me about it. You had a child who was meant to be the most powerful Alpha. Regnok could not let that happen. He would rather destroy everything than see you happy."

Aldrich sank into his chair, his face buried in his hands. "I trusted him. I loved him like a brother."

"He did not love you the same way," Aiden said quietly. "He was jealous of you. He always has been."



The war horn sounded at midnight.

Aldrich had ridden out with his army hours ago, called to the northern borders by reports of a massive rogue attack. 

Aiden had watched him go, his heart heavy with a fear he could not explain.

Something is wrong, he had thought. Something is not right.

And now he knew why.

The castle was under attack…not from the outside, but from within. The northern chiefs, who had sworn allegiance to Aldrich, had turned. 

They moved through the corridors with cold precision, cutting down guards, sealing off exits. The betrayal was complete.

Aiden ran through the chaos, his heart pounding. Servants screamed. Knights fell. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of blood.

He reached the main hall and stopped.

Regnok stood at the center, surrounded by the northern chiefs. 

His face was calm, his eyes cold. He looked like a man who had finally gotten what he wanted.

"Aiden," Regnok said, his voice smooth. "I was wondering when you would come."

Aiden's hands clenched into fists. "You betrayed him. You betrayed everyone."

Regnok smiled…a cold, cruel smile. "I did what I had to do. Aldrich was too focused on his precious prophecy to see what was happening right in front of him. He trusted the wrong people. He trusted me."

Aiden stepped forward, his eyes blazing. "You are a traitor, Regnok. A coward. You could not stand to be second, so you destroyed everything."

Regnok's smile faded. "You know nothing about what I have endured. Nothing about the years I spent in his shadow. I loved him like a brother. I would have died for him. And he took everything from me."

"He took nothing from you," Aiden said. "You chose to feel this way. You chose to let jealousy consume you."

Regnok laughed…a bitter, broken sound. "You are so naive, Aiden. So innocent. You have no idea what the world is really like. No idea what it costs to be the one who always loses."

Aiden stepped closer, his hands beginning to glow with silver light. "I know more than you think, Regnok. I know what you are about to do. And I will not let you."

Regnok's eyes widened. "What is that? What are you doing?"

Aiden's silver fire blazed. "I am stopping you."

He lunged.

Regnok barely had time to raise his shadows. The two forces clashed…silver light against dark shadows…and the hall shook with the force of it.

Regnok was strong. His shadows were thick, suffocating, hungry but Aiden fought with everything he had, his silver fire blazing brighter than it ever had before.

"You cannot win," Regnok snarled, his shadows pressing against Aiden's light. "You are alone, Aiden. No one is coming to save you."

"I am not fighting for myself," Aiden said through gritted teeth. "I am fighting for everyone you have hurt. Everyone you are about to hurt."

Regnok's eyes flickered with something…guilt? Regret? It was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"You should have chosen me," he said softly. "You should have stayed with me. I would have given you everything."

Aiden's heart ached. "I never wanted everything, Regnok. I just wanted peace."

Then he felt it.

The tether in his chest pulled violently…harder than ever before. His silver light flickered. His legs buckled.

"No," he whispered. "Not now. Please, not now."

Regnok saw his weakness. His shadows surged forward, ready to strike.

But before they could land, a voice echoed through the hall. Ancient. Powerful. Familiar.

"Enough."

The world froze.

Aiden felt himself suspended in a place between time…between the past and the future and then he saw her.

The Moon Goddess.

She was beautiful. Radiant. Her silver hair flowed like water, her eyes held the light of a thousand stars. 

She looked at Aiden with something like love, something like sorrow.

"You have fought well, Moon Child," she said, her voice echoing in his mind. "But you cannot stop the hand of fate. This betrayal was always meant to happen. Aldrich must lose his kingdom. He must lose everything he loves. It is the only way he can become the man he needs to be."

Aiden's heart ached. "But... I came here to save him. To save Liora. To save the kingdom."

"And you have saved them," the Moon Goddess said gently. "In ways you do not yet understand."

Aiden shook his head. "I do not understand. I do not understand any of this."

The Moon Goddess stepped closer, her hand reaching out to touch his cheek. 

"The prophecy was never about Liora's child, Aiden. It was about yours. The child you carry with Aldrich. The Unifier. The most powerful heir this world has ever known."

Aiden's breath caught. "My child?"

"The child you carry is destined to bring balance to the world," the Moon Goddess said. "And you and Aldrich must be together to bring them into the world. That is why I sent you here. Not to change the past, but to understand it. To witness it. To carry the burden of knowing."

Aiden's eyes filled with tears. "But Regnok... he is going to destroy everything. He is going to take Aldrich's kingdom. He is going to hurt Liora."

The Moon Goddess's eyes softened. "What is destined will happen, Aiden. Aldrich will lose his kingdom. He will lose Liora. He will lose his child. It is the path he must walk. But you..." 

She smiled. "You will find him. You will love him. And together, you will bring the Unifier into the world."

Aiden felt the pull grow stronger. His body was beginning to fade.

"Wait," he said desperately. "I am not finished. I have to stop Regnok. I have to…”

"You have done enough," the Moon Goddess said. "You have planted the seeds of doubt in Regnok's mind. You have shown him that he is not the only one with power. And you have learned what you were meant to learn."

The world around him began to blur.

"Remember this, Moon Child," the Moon Goddess said, her voice fading. "You were never meant to change the past. You were meant to witness it. To understand it and to carry it with you into the future. The child you carry will bring balance to the world. You and Aldrich must be together. Do not lose hope. Do not lose faith."

The silver light swallowed everything.

The last thing Aiden saw was Regnok's face…twisted with fury and desperation, his shadows reaching for the empty space where Aiden had stood.

And then he was gone.



The great hall was silent.

Regnok stared at the empty space where Aiden had stood. His shadows dissipated. His hands trembled.

"Where... where did he go?" one of the northern chiefs asked, his voice shaking.

Regnok did not answer. His eyes were fixed on the fading silver light, his mind reeling.

Aiden was not just a stranger. He was the Moon Child. He carried the power of the goddess. He was meant for something greater.

Regnok's fists clenched. His heart ached with loss….with a love that could never be returned.

"He is gone," Regnok said finally, his voice cold. "It does not matter. The kingdom is ours now. Burn it all. Leave nothing standing."

The northern chiefs moved to obey.

“We will meet again, Aiden”, Regnok smiles looking at the darkness that consumed the sky like his own soul. 

And far away, on the battlefield, Aldrich felt something shift in his chest…a thread that had been holding him together suddenly pulled taut.

And then it snapped.