Page 1 of Echoes From the Void
Prologue
Frankie
They say twins share a soul.
I never knew there was an empty space inside me until I found him—a void of light within my shadows that only he could fill. The photograph in my pocket burns against my skin—our parents on their bonding day, caught in a moment of joy that Blackwood and Valerie destroyed.
Mom’s white-gold hair and violet eyes mirror what I see in Finn now, her light magic visible in her radiance. Dad stands wrapped in living shadows, but his smile is gentle, his hand protective where it rests on Mom’s waist.
They were so young. So hopeful. They had no idea their children would become experiments in realm stabilization. No idea we’d be ripped apart before we could even know each other.
My twin brother thrashes in the medical wing bed, and I can’t help but wonder if we’re tearing each other apart. My shadows strain toward him while his light claws at me—our very essences at war. The darkness under my skin writhes in response to his distress, and I feel the echo of his agony like phantom burns across my nerves, light and shadow fighting for dominance in both our bodies.
Finn’s white hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat, his skin flushed with fever where mine runs cold—opposite reactions to the same torment. We’re identical mirrors—light and shadow—down to the violet eyes and sharp cheekbones we inherited from our mother. Though right now, his eyes are screwed shut as another wave of shadows tears through him, while bursts of his light magic make my vision white out with pain.
The doctors say Blackwood was using him as a storage tank for my stolen magic. Now that we’re together, those shadows are fighting to return to their source.
My shadow wolves pace the edges of the room, their forms flickering like black flames. I force them to fade despite their protest. The monitors blare another warning, and I clench my fists, fighting every instinct screaming to reach for him.
“You can’t keep doing this to yourself.” Leo’s voice breaks through my spiral of guilt. He stands in the doorway with Matteo, both radiating concern. I turn away from their warmth. I don’t deserve comfort.
Twenty-four hours ago, finding my twin felt like a miracle. We’d even laughed together, sharing stories in the hospital room while the pack hovered protectively around us. Then he’d seized, his eyes rolling back as shadows erupted from his skin, and he hadn’t woken since.
Now I’m watching him suffer because of what we are—what they made us. Children of an Eredar beast and a light shifter. Living bridges between realms. The stolen shadow magic fights to return to me, while the light magic Valerie forced into my system yearns for him. We’re caught in an endless loop of power trying to find its rightful home, tearing us both apart in the process.
The photograph slips from my pocket, and I trace our mother’s face. Did she know? When she smiled into the camera,her hand resting on her stomach, did she know what they’d do to her children? The memories of our reunion flash through my mind: the eclipse ritual, Marcus’s betrayal, the shadow beasts emerging, Valerie’s escape. Twice she slipped through our grasp, vanished into the shadows with more of Blackwood’s secrets. Even with him locked in Guardian custody, I can feel Valerie’s plans taking shape in the dark.
Finn convulses, his back arching as shadows ripple beneath his skin. I slam myself against the wall, as far from him as I can get. “I should have found you sooner,” my voice breaks. “Should have felt you were out there somewhere. What kind of sister doesn’t even know her twin is alive?”
The shadows in the corner deepen as Bishop arrives, his presence cool and controlled despite everything. Like a winter lake frozen over, hiding depths of guilt beneath the surface. He was just a kid too, when all this started. Another pawn in their game.
His hand finds my shoulder, winter-cool energy trying to soothe the storm under my skin. “You have to leave,” he breathes. “Just for now. Give him time to stabilize.”
“I can’t.” The words scrape my throat. “He’s my brother. My twin.”
“And you’ll kill yourself trying to protect him if we let you. Let us help. Both of you.”
He’s right. But walking away from my twin feels like tearing my heart out. I press my hand against the photograph in my pocket. A promise. We’ll fix this. Whatever it takes.
A roar echoes in the distance—ancient, hungry, shaking the walls with its power. Our father searches for his children. Light and shadow. Brother and sister. All these divided pieces of ourselves, tearing apart at the seams. The magic Valerie and Blackwood stole and twisted between us writhes like living thing, trying to right itself.
But I won’t let us fall apart. Balance or destruction—those are the only options now. And I choose balance. Not just for us, but for both realms.
Chapter 1
Dorian
Perfect organization isa sign of a superior mind. Or perhaps a fracturing one.
Silver cracks spider across my wrist as I align the spines of ancient texts for the third time this hour, each tome positioned with mathematical precision. My fingers trace the leather bindings, seeking comfort in their familiar texture even as the realm monitoring crystals pulse an unsettling rhythm around me. Their usual steady azure glow now flickers amber to crimson, like a failing heartbeat.
The basement archives of Shadow Locke’s library have been my sanctuary since freshman year. Here, among carefully categorized grimoires and meticulously labeled artifacts, I can pretend I’m in control. That I’m worthy of my father’s legacy. That I’m not slowly fracturing like the realms themselves.
A flash of memory intrudes—Frankie’s blood staining the healing spring crimson, my carefully maintained composure shattering as I shed both designer suit and rigid control to save her. The pack bond had barely formed then, yet seeing her broken had cracked something in me far deeper than the silver lines marring my skin. I adjust my sleeve, hiding the evidence ofmy curse—a gift that ensures I’ll be perpetually twenty-two while watching everyone I care for grow old and die.
I check my pocket watch—Father’s watch—for the third time in ten minutes. 9:47 AM. Time moves differently when you’re running out of it.
The evacuation order came three days ago. I shadow-step to the narrow window near the ceiling, watching void-touched shadows creep across the once-pristine grounds of Shadow Locke. The darkness writhes unnaturally, consuming everything it touches. Already half the dormitories stand empty, their windows dark and accusing. Only those of us directly involved with the twins remain—the pack, key faculty, and a handful of shadow guardians maintaining the barriers.
