CADDIE's POV:

I stared at him in shock. How could this be? Somewhere inside of me I always knew that something was wrong about him, but it never crossed my mind that he wasn't who he claimed to be.

The wind howled blowing my hair out of place, I was freezing in the snow, but that hardly mattered.

"Why did you lie?" My bottom lip quivered. My mind began to break away from the fog and gradually pieced the parts together.

He stood there, bathed in moonlight, looking like a dark prince. His brown hair looked darker in the soft light. It was almost as dark as his midnight blue eyes. His jaw was clenched together from anger and frustration. Yes, he was attractive, but Dmitri couldn't compare to the real Aleksander.

"It's really not as complicated as you're thinking. My brother got taken by the dark ones. People occasionally go missing from small attacks, but heirs never go missing. They are protected and kept away from all dangers. When my brother came to Nox Haven, he forgot about all of the rules and focused on just being free," Dmitri explained, his features turning to stone as he unwillingly remembered.

"He began to act is if nothing bad could ever happen to him. Why would anything bad happen to him? So far his life was a dream. Girls chased after him and boys wanted to be him."

I could feel jealousy surge through him, and it was strong. For a second I almost believed that he still felt those petty emotions towards his brother. I waited patiently for the rest of the story.

"He became cocky and didn't believe that he needed someone to protect him. When he left the school campus, that's when they attacked him and we never saw him again. To avoid a panic, my dad devised a plan, and he used his powers to give me the pulling sensation that Aleksander had and told everyone that it was me who went missing instead." The words were bitter on Dmitri's tongue, the old memories resurfaced with violent emotions. I briefly wondered if I should be scared, I had never seen him so upset.

"Why wouldn't it matter if you were taken?"

I knew how rude it sounded as soon as it escaped my mouth, but I couldn't take it back. It was the truth. So far, that's what Dmitri had been hinting at.

"I'm not the heir. My disappearance wouldn't cause as much distress. You heard what the Head Minister said; you guys are the future. Without the heirs, our kind wouldn't have a future. My father didn't want our family to be the cause of such a panic, so he manipulated the situation. For the past few months Dmitri Volkov has been captured by the dark ones while Aleksander is safe at Nox Haven."

In some weird, twisted way it all made sense. My sympathy for him only grew. It wounded him badly knowing that his existence would never be as important as his twin brother's life. There was one thing I didn't understand.

"You guys weren't even looking for him though. If he was so important, why wasn't there a search party?" I asked, still trying to piece the final parts together.

Dmitri pushed his dark hair out of his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. Even though it was freezing, I could see sweat gather at his brow. Whatever the reason was, it was bad and he knew it.

"After thinking over the situation again my dad realized that there may be a chance to fix everything without anyone knowing. He didn't know why the dark ones took Aleksander, but he believed that they would kill him. If Aleksander died than I would assume his position and get his powers."

The truth was as insane as I originally believed. Did these people only value power? I wondered.

I found myself getting angry. Aleksander's father used him as a pawn for power and then he did the same thing with Dmitri. Yes, we were the future of our species, but we are all more than that. I felt outraged.

"You guys were hoping that he was dead. How can anyone hope that their child is dead? He's probably frightened beyond belief, as you all left him to die." For some reason saying it out loud only made it worse.

Dmitri nodded and eyed the entrance to the ball. "We need to get back in there, or they'll come looking for us," his voice was lifeless as he drowned in shame and self-loathing.

I still had one more unanswered question that needed to be addressed. "Why did you tell me?" He was about to walk back into the room but stopped cold in his tracks. He looked back at me, blue eyes hesitant.

"You've heard the legend right?" He continued. "The one about the Heart Curator and the Dark Witch."

I nodded and remembered what Mr. Bryant had said about them having a tragic romance.

"There would be times when you would look at me, but you were searching for someone else. I could tell that on some level you knew I wasn't Aleksander. I wanted to be the one that you were looking for, but I'm not. There would be times when I just wanted someone to see the real me, with you I had let my guard down and instead of handling certain situations like Aleksander; I followed my own instincts. That created a rift between us, so I decided that you needed to know the truth."

I stared at Dmitri, seeing him in a different light. He was a broken boy who was pressured into be someone else. It made sense why he seemed like he was bipolar. He didn't have a personality disorder; he was just trying to be two people at once. I reached out and grabbed his hand, my action surprised both of us but he needed the reassuring touch.

"We're going to find your brother, and then you can go back to being you," I promised.

His lips curled in response and he led me back into the ballroom. No one had noticed our absence but they were eager to speak to us once we returned to the middle of the room. We were swarmed with people who wanted to talk to 'Aleksander.'

I felt slightly better knowing that neither one of us was really wanted in this crowd. The next couple we spoke to immediately caught my attention.

They were dressed in classic formalwear. The man wore a tux whereas the woman wore a dark blue form-fitting dress. However that wasn't what caught my attention, but rather the children that stood beside them. I recognized Jaxon and Alix, and tried not to pass out from relief.

"Caddie," Alix's mother addressed me warmly.

    She looked a lot like her son with blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Age had taken away most of her original beauty, but I could see a flicker of it hiding in features.

"Alix has told us so much about you, and we're glad to finally meet you."

I glanced over at Alix and saw the aggravated look on her face. Her mom had obviously lied. Alix hadn't spoken to her mom since she left for Nox Haven.

"I'm glad to meet you both as well." I said to both parents. Unlike Alix's mother, her dad looked fearful as I spoke to them.

"Yes, it's nice for everyone to meet each other," Alix said in an exasperated tone.

She pushed passed her mom and grabbed my arm, pulling me away from everyone. I looked back to see her family and Dmitri watching us with unabashed curiosity.

"What are you doing?" I asked once I could no longer see her family.

"Trying to get away from that woman," Alix grabbed a half finished glass of champagne that was left on one of the tables and began to chug the liquid.

I watched with amusement as she slammed the glass onto the table and slumped into an available chair.

"My mother has to be a vampire instead of witch, she's sucking the life out of me!"

I knew Alix didn't like her mom but I had no idea that she felt that strongly about her. The emotions that were oozing from Alix were violent and concerning to say the least. Her green eyes narrowed as she stared at the mass of people.

Half of her hair was falling out of her auburn bun, and she looked like a hot mess. A burp escaped her mouth, and I could smell the alcohol. Unable to hold back my amusement any longer I snorted and put my hand over hers.

"You're such a classy lady," I told her and watched with delight as her frown gradually turned into a smile.

"Yeah, well, at least I only have to be pretend to be someone I'm not for one night. Some people aren't that lucky," her eyes focused on Dmitri.

I let go of her hand and tried to will my shock away. It was stupid to ask her how she knew the truth about him, she knew everything. I stood up and quickly made my way over to Dmitri.

If Alix knew about Dmitri's secret, then she probably knew about my plans to save Aleksander. I refused to tell her about my plans right now in the middle of the ball. But I knew after that last comment, she wanted answers.

Dmitri and I continued with the charade for the rest of the night. I tried to show people that I wasn't something to be feared, and he tried to act like his brother. But I could still feel Alix's burning gaze on me,. I wouldn't be able to ignore her forever.

**Hi guys! So now you know the truth, does that change your viewpoint on certain things? And what's Alix's reason for wanting to know about Caddie's plan? I hope you guys comments and vote I'd love to hear what you guys think about this!!**