The Cage

Ren ran back to the Barracks. He had to stop the Rite. They had to forfeit. If Val fought again—if he shifted into the Titan form one more time—he would die.

He burst into their cell.

Val was sitting on the edge of the cot. He was awake. He was fully armored.

"You weren't supposed to find out yet," Val said softly.

Ren stopped. "You knew?"

Val looked up. His eyes were clear, sad, and full of love. "Since we were twelve. I felt the drain, Ren. I felt you taking."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ren screamed, tears stinging his eyes. "I’m eating you alive, Val! We have to stop. We have to leave."

"We can't leave," Val said. He stood up. He loomed over Ren, massive and tragic. "The High Alpha knows too. That’s why we were selected. He doesn't want twins on the throne. He wants the Apex."

"I don't care about the throne!" Ren grabbed Val’s chest plate. "I care about you!"

"I know," Val said. He reached out and gently removed Ren’s hands. "That’s why I have to do this."

"Do what?"

"I’m not going to let you starve, Ren."

Val moved with a speed Ren couldn't track. He shoved Ren backward, into the cell. Before Ren could recover, Val slammed the heavy iron door shut.

*CLANG.*

The lock engaged.

"Val!" Ren threw himself against the door. "Open it! Val!"

"The final round starts in ten minutes," Val said from the other side. "I’m going to challenge Kaelen directly. I’m going to force him to kill me."

"No!" Ren shrieked. "Val, don't! If you die, I starve anyway! That’s how it works!"

"No," Val’s voice was calm. "The scroll says if the Host dies violently, the energy snaps back. You'll inherit the strength. You'll become the Apex. You'll live."

"I don't want it!" Ren hammered on the iron until his knuckles bled. "I don't want to live without you!"

"You're the smart one, Ren," Val said. "You'll be a good king. Better than me. I was just the battery."

"Val, please!"

"Goodbye, brother."

Ren heard Val’s heavy footsteps walking away, down the corridor, toward the Altar of Echoes.

Ren sank to his knees. He reached out with his mind, trying to grab the Tether, trying to pull Val back.

But Val had blocked him. For the first time in their lives, the connection was silent. A wall of static.

Ren roared in frustration. He looked around the cell. There were no vents. No windows.

He looked at his hands. The hands that couldn't shift.

"Think," he hissed. "You're the tactician. Think."

He looked at the lock. It was magical, runic. It required a burst of ether to open. Ren had no ether. He only had what he stole.

He closed his eyes. He focused on the silence where Val used to be. He reached deeper, past the block, past the wall Val had erected. He found the thread of the bond. It was thin, strained to the breaking point.

Ren didn't pull on it to talk. He pulled on it to *feed*.

He dragged energy out of Val, miles away. He felt Val stumble in the hallway. He felt the surge of power hit his own veins.

Ren’s eyes flashed silver.

He slammed his hand against the lock. The stolen energy exploded from his palm, shattering the mechanism.

The door swung open.

Ren sprinted into the hallway.

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