The Princes did not wait for very long. The Umbral Veil was a place untouched by the moon's light—a region shunned by the realm's creatures, who avoided it due to the absence of their source of life and power.
Lys and Cal walked among the rotted trees, trying their best to ignore the warm, stale air with each breath. They had been sent here before as children, usually when their father or mother needed to remind them where they would be without the Crown of Moons. They would be powerless and lost.
"We probably took it too far," Lys said, running his hand along a tree that crumbled at his touch. "You're a bad influence."
Cal scoffed and shook his head. His dark hair and clothing blended seamlessly into the shadows of the Umbral Veil, his skin absorbing what little light there was. He glanced at his brother, who looked as though he was still standing in moonlight—the golden ring around his iris glowing as if it allowed Lys to see through all manner of darkness and illusion.
*There are many who make their own light,* the words echoed in Cal's mind.
He turned to survey the dead forest, and that's when he saw it: a small shelter built from old roots, mud, moss, and branches. Above it, a flag tied to a tree—motionless due to the lack of wind—bore the words "CALLYS KEEP."
"Gods, when did we do this?" Lysander asked, walking up and crouching by the entrance to peer inside. "How many times were we even sent here?"
"Too many to count," Cal said, looking for some additional material to patch some of the holes. "I swear, Mom would just put us here if we looked at her the wrong way. But it's been... well, a long time, I guess."
"Since we were thrown in here or since she looked at us?" Lysander asked without turning his head toward his brother. "Hey, I think I see your imaginary boyfriend in there. What was his name again?"
A clump of mud struck his face with a wet splat, followed by grumbling from Calenor's direction.
"Didn't realize it was such a bad breakup," Lysander laughed, wiping the mud from his face.
As he wiped the mud away, a shimmer of light caught his eye from deep within the darkness beyond the trees. Squinting to get a better look, he murmured, "What is..."
Lysander stood and began stepping toward the darkness. With each footfall, whispers and murmurs grew louder. Calenor watched him before following a few steps behind.
"What are you doing?" Calenor asked, trying to follow his gaze.
"Shh. Don't you hear that?" Lys said, prowling forward, his steps like a wolf stalking its prey. "It sounds like they're... talking about us."
Calenor tried to listen but heard nothing. He got closer to Lys and mirrored his movements as he had taught himself to do when hunting with his brother.
As they pushed aside the brambles, the sounds that had drawn Lys there abruptly ceased. They found a stone structure built around a mirror; the frame was twisted wood adorned with gold and silver embellishments. The glass was dark, not even reflecting the light of Lys's eyes. It seemed... hungry.
"I don't understand," Lys whispered.
"A mirror," Calenor remarked unimpressed, stepping toward the object. "I knew you were vain, but only you would be drawn to a mirror in this place."
"Wait, Cal, don't—" Lys said, but it was too late. As Cal touched the frame, the vines and trees around them began to shift rapidly, surrounding them with an impenetrable wall of thorns pointed in their direction. "—touch that..."
Calenor grimaced upon realizing his mistake and glanced back at Lys, who shook his head with a wry smile.
"I swear, put you in the wilds and you act like... well... me, I guess," Lysander laughed, inspecting the thorns. "What in the hells is this?"
"What in the hells indeed," a male voice said from the mirror, as if it were just a doorway and not a solid piece of glass. "The bramble and thorns, I believe, trigger once there's been any sort of movement on the frame to prevent me from escaping. But I honestly did not expect another creature to trigger it. So that is definitely something."
A red-skinned creature with horns and eyes that resembled molten gold stepped into view behind the glass of the mirror. He wore black, billowing robes that seemed to move as if he were submerged in water. He put his hands on either side of the frame on his side of the opening, his swirling eyes moving between the two brothers.
"Ahhh, and my visitors are the Twin Princes of the Court of Moons, no less," the devil mocked a bow. "An honor to be in the presence of your graces."
"Why is there a devil trapped in a mirror in the Umbral Veil?" Cal said, looking at Lysander in confusion. "What need would the Fey have—"
"DO NOT SPEAK OF ME LIKE I'M—" the devil burst out before stopping himself and taking a breath. "I apologize, I have spent a long time talking to nobody, so..."
Both Calenor and Lysander looked at the devil and back at each other, before Cal took a step forward.
"You're right, where are my manners," Cal said, adding a level of regality to his voice, not without a mocking tone. "Why are you here? I assume this isn't just some doorway to Avernus."
The devil smiled, continuing to hold back some rage as he adjusted his robes and replied.
"No, indeed, it is not. Your initial reaction is definitely one that would be shared by many, if not all, of the residents or members of both our planes. The Fey and the Fiends are both known for our deals and contracts, and we have the armies of warlocks to prove it," he said, his swirling golden eyes looking as though forges that had long gone cold were beginning to reheat. "However, sometimes we—both our peoples—need to make a pact or contract that cannot be traced back to us. Perhaps a deal that would subvert Fey politics, or a contract that would cause the downfall of Hell's regime to make space for a new ruler. If discovered, deals like these could ruin the... surprise, as it were."
The fiend smiled at the two Princes, who still had a look of confusion and contemplation across their faces. He sighed and continued to speak.
"So as part of a little exchange, a Fey was sent to the Hells and I was sent here so that each side could do what was needed. However, I became a loose end, as did my counterpart likely, and the magic requires us to be alive. So here I sit. Thaexor the Pactbinder, at your service."
"You couldn't help with the introduction, huh? Wanted to see if we recognized your name?" Lysander said as Thaexor looked at him. Lys shook his head as an answer, and Thaexor slumped a bit in defeat. "But who made this contract with you? And for what reason?"
Thaexor smiled and stepped away from the opening further into the darkness of the mirror, staying within sight.
"And betray one of the only things keeping me alive? No, thank you. Someday the contract will be fulfilled, and I will presumably be free to return home to pursue my ambitions," Thaexor said, now sounding bored with the situation. "I'm not going to sacrifice that chance just to satiate the curiosity of two Princes who were grounded in the Umbral Veil because mummy or daddy caught you misbehaving.
"No, I will continue my imprisonment here in this cursed mirror. I at least have its memories to entertain me, from its millennia before me," the fiend said as he waved a finger and summoned a worn red-fabric chair under him as he collapsed into it.
"This mirror is not just your prison? It does something else?" Cal said as he ran a finger along its twisted frame. "I did sense a hunger from it, but I had honestly thought that it was coming from you once we saw you."
Thaexor's eyes shone for a moment. He leaned forward in thought before excitedly getting to his feet.
"Yes... yes. It hungers, does it not? It is trapped much like I am," he muttered to himself, calculating on his fingers. He returned to the glass and looked at the Princes. "What if there were a way for you to get your answers, none of us remain trapped in this mirror, and we all walk out of here on our own? What would you say to that?"
Lysander laughed out loud as he crossed his arms and looked at the trapped fiend.
"Again, what could we possibly need from you? We are Princes of the Moon Court, set to be Archfey. We have no need for a fiend—" Lysander said, looking to his brother for support, but seeing only Cal's concerned face. "Cal?"
"Only one of us gets that, Lys," Cal said thoughtfully, his gray eyes reflecting his brother's light. They both had always known that the power of the throne would only truly pass to one of them, but it was a subject they usually avoided. "We both know that a happy ending doesn't await the other. Especially if it means there would be future contention for the throne."
Lysander stepped forward toward Cal, his arms turned out as one would show another that they're unarmed.
"I would never let anything like that happen to you. Just as I would assume you would do the same for me. We have always had each other, Cal. We're not like the generations that came before us. We are different. The world is different. Who even says that only one of us can become an Archfey and the Prince of the Eclipse? We can set the rules," Lys said, pleading with Cal. His eyes occasionally glancing at Thaexor, who watched with a slight smile. "We can't trust somebody we just met, trapped in a cursed mirror, in the darkest part of the Moon Realm."
"We're here, Lys," Cal said back firmly. "Our parents sent us here, and I know it's because each time they're hoping one of us doesn't come back."
Silence settled between them, both knowing the truth of the statement that they never truly wanted to admit to themselves.
"The world has not changed, Lysander," Thaexor said, gently rejoining the conversation. "And you are not different from your father, the king, and his brother that he grew up alongside. I believe it was your uncle who said exactly what you just did, and I'm sure the look of surprise on his face as the king made himself the sole heir would match yours as well. Of course, not assuming that Calenor would take the throne—right now there seems to be an equal chance in either direction."
"And what do you know from your prison?" Cal now addressed Thaexor directly. "You have been locked away in this mirror for some time now, I'm guessing. How do you know all of this?"
Thaexor smiled more widely and motioned toward the frame of his prison.
"Which brings us to this lovely, silvered pane of glass. The Mirror of Hidden Aspects," he said as if he were presenting the item for sale. "As its only resident, I'm able to glean many of the things that it sees through our little psychic link—something I've tried incredibly hard to achieve since it granted me access to all manner of things it's learned over the years. Including some information that may be useful to you both."
Lysander scoffed and mumbled to himself.
"I can't believe this..." Lys said, looking between his brother and the fiend. "And how do we know you're not just trying to swap your place with ours in the mirror? Suddenly you're out here and we're in there, and you just walk off into your freedom?"
"Haven't you been listening, wolf-boy?" the fiend said with a hint of agitation now. "I won't survive on my own, and tricking or killing you would only end poorly for me. Not only would I be hunted by the Fey with whom I made the contract, but also by the Moon Court and the Archdevil on the other side of this deal who would want me silenced. I can bring value and knowledge to both of you. I can disguise myself as anything you need so I can remain at your side. Listen, I was renowned for my contracts, and you wish to change an ancient ritual so that both of you can ascend, right? Who better than I to have at your side for this?"
A knot formed in Lysander's stomach. The thought of needing help from a fiend unsettled him, but the uncertainty in his brother's eyes was even more disconcerting.
The Princes considered this, and when they looked at each other, they knew they had reached the same conclusion. It was Cal who spoke first.
"So, how do we free you, Thae?"