Damien sat on the balcony of his room, the late‑evening breeze brushing against his skin as he turned a page of his book. The sky was painted in fading streaks of orange and violet, but he barely noticed. A tightness had settled in his chest—subtle at first, then growing, pulsing, as if something unseen was knocking from the inside.
Something was coming.
He didn't know what. Only that it wasn't good.
His fingers stilled on the page. A single thought rose above the noise in his mind, sharp and cold.
His sister.
His twin.
Her name echoed through him like a warning bell. Damien closed his eyes, exhaling slowly, trying to steady the sudden tremor in his hands. But the moment his lashes met, the world lurched. The air around him warped, bending like heat over asphalt. His stomach dropped.
