Daedalus knew that the boy he was looking at during their first meeting together in the Caeles was the same age as him. He knew that Domi had been conceived in the same instant as him and born the very same eve. But he just could not shake the impression that he was looking at someone younger than himself.

It did not help that Domi was still fragile from his traumatic Trellis inheritance and under the influence of whatever sedative he had been given to help keep him calm as he and the Trellis worked out an uneasy alliance that, in a few days, would grow into a deeper communion. It made him seem younger, more vulnerable.

Daedalus's twin was being slowly eased off the sedation two hours into his skychariot journey and the herbs seemed to now render him more fascinated by his surroundings than disoriented. They had not been able to try having this conference earlier even though they desperately needed to discuss certain matters. Domi had not been able to comprehend much beyond his own name earlier, but now he had at last joined Daedalus for this talk.

He could not help but smile despite the horrible situation he needed to brief his brother about. Domi was gawking in open-mouthed wonder at the promenia-woven mindscape like a small child brought to the family Caeles space for the very first time. And Daedalus was beginning to think that it was indeed his brother's first Caeles experience.

It was probably a good thing that Domi could not see the version of himself that Daedalus saw, any more than Daedalus could see the image of himself the Caeles wove for his brother. He doubted his identical twin would appreciate that Daedalus's mind insisted on seeing Domi as smaller and younger than himself, shaping the illusion that the Caeles generated of his brother.

The other boy's childlike wide-eyed wonder was real, however. Domi's fingertips brushed along the peach tree branch, rustling the leaves and skimming over the fuzzy fruit. "Did you really make all this, Basilicus?" he asked, brown eyes sparkling with more innocence than Daedalus suspected his own had ever held.

"We both did," Daedalus said, not bothering to correct the title. There would be time enough soon to remind his brother of the weight of duty. Let him be carefree for a little while. "The Caeles draws on our memories and thoughts about peach orchards to weave the illusion."

Domi pulled the peach from the branch, looking delighted when it came free. His pupils were enormous. "Can I eat it?"

"Of course. The flavor will be no more than that, however. It will not nourish you." He watched his twin as Domi took an experimental bite. "We must conserve promenia as much as possible."

"Why? Can't we just make more?"

Daedalus felt his lip twitch. He really was like a little kid. He was even chewing with his mouth open like one. "Yes, but people waste it faster than we worldholders can replace it."

"Does the Trellis waste promenia?"

Daedalus shook his head, though inside he felt his heart begin to pound. It was time to discuss this. "No." He swallowed. "Except when it is damaged and needs to be repaired."

"It's damaged now," Domi said, wincing. He reached back, massaging his shoulderblade, but Daedalus knew that the pain was not in his body. Not truly. "Really messed up. It hurts like hel--a lot."

"I know," Daedalus said sympathetically. He remembered the sensation of fire eating its way across his back, leaving an enormous wound. He could only imagine how Domi felt after the Trellis transfer had damaged so many areas. "Luckily, you did not dissolve much of it. The provincial worldholders can send the chunks that fell back up where they belong. But the secondary repairs will require a great deal of promenia."

"The damage. Did..." Domi hesitated, nibbling his lip. "Did something happen to my back? No, not my back. The back of the Trellis?" His brow furrowed and he massaged the sore spot again, his expression confused. "Or I mean--"

Daedalus drew a deep breath. He would not keep this awful truth from his brother, no matter how painful. Not like the Rex had kept it from him. Domi would need to deal with it, and quickly  "The wound you are sensing is an area of massive damage on the night-side known as the Blightlands."

"Alright."

For a moment, Daedalus just stared at his brother after that easy acceptance. Sometimes ignorance truly was bliss, it seemed. But he needed to correct that innocence. "There is a lot of rogue promenia there. From, well, our ancestors. They--"

"What's rogue promenia?"

Daedalus frowned in dismay. Domi was so uneducated that it was scary. These were things he desperately needed to know if he was to handle the challenges that the world now faced. It was not Daedalus's twin's fault he did not know these things, though. Why were the Pullati in Provincia Sicarii not educated better than this? It was a disgrace.

"Rogue promenia is..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, it is hard to explain. Look at it this way. There are normally two kinds of promenia. Unkeyed and keyed. Sometimes people just call them available and unavailable."

"Okay." With his eyes so wide and unblinking, Daedalus could not tell if Domi truly understood a word that he had just said.

"Well," he said, slowing down his speech. He tried to think of a concrete example to help his drugged twin follow his words. "The unkeyed, available kind is pure possibility. Long ago, the Eternal Radiance filled promenia particles with countless wonders. But when promenia is unkeyed, those wonders are hidden away. So the promenia just hovers around, waiting to be used. To be keyed."

"Are lineages like keys?"

Daedalus blinked. It seemed Domi was following along better than he had expected. "Very good. Yes. Each lineage can unlock some of the wonders within promenia. Sometimes the effect is brief. The promenia goes back to being unkeyed right after. Other times the effect is longer lasting and the promenia remains keyed and cannot be used for other things."

"What about rogue promenia?"

Daedalus drew a deep breath. "Rogue promenia has become corrupt. The Lightholder lineage keys do not fit any longer, and the wonders remain locked within. But it is not simply useless  The promenia leaks smaller particles that burn and twist the land they touch. And when rogue promenia comes into contact with other promenia, it spreads its corruption. They become like it, rogue."

His twin looked horrified. "And that is what is tearing up my back?"

Daedalus could not help his shudder of dread. "That is what is tearing up the night-side and soon will topple the Trellis," he corrected, his voice tripping over the admission. His heart, already sinking, plummeted as his brother's face paled. Daedalus swallowed hard. "When you get to Vola Apertus, dealing with the Blightlands must be your first priority."

"What?" Domi just stared at him for a long moment, eyes widening as understanding dawned on his horrified face. "You are talking about stopping the Blightlands from destroying the whole Trellis! How am I supposed to do that? I don't know anything about any of this stuff."

"You must take it a day at a time," Daedalus said, striving for the calm he had heard in Comitas's voice as she had said the same words. Judging by his twin's paling face, he was not succeeding. "The Rex has people working on this." He drew a deep breath. "A tower that may be able to help us was discovered in the Blightlands. And you will have Peritia, my Trellis expert, to help you figure out what to do."

Domi pulled at his hair, his eyes wide. "I can't do that stuff. Are you nuts?" He fixed Daedalus with a hopeful look. "Let's see if I can just give you the Trellis back. Valens and Lumen say not to even try, but if you tell them it's okay they'll listen. I can just extinguish my---"

"No, do not try that again," Daedalus said quickly. "So many things could go wrong. You could cause even more damage."

"But it could also work. If I extinguish mine, yours will follow, and if you rekindle first this time then the Trellis will--"

"I said no!" He immediately regretted his harsh tone as his twin flinched, looking hurt. He gentled his voice. "Brother, the Trellis is already unstable. You must work with Peritia, my Trellis expert, and stabilize things, not risk whatever might go wrong in a transfer attempt."

"But you are the Princeps." Domi's voice was quieter now. Almost pleading. "Not me. It is just a fluke that I have the Trellis."

"It is not a fluke," Daedalus said firmly. He knew that much, for all that it pained him to admit it. "The Eternal Radiance does not make mistakes. You are the Princeps Worldholder now, for good or ill. The Trellis made you so and the Eternal Radiance chose you--"

"The Eternal Radiance did not choose me," his twin cut in, voice bitter. He glared at Daedalus, his hands balled into fists at his sides. "And the Trellis is just some stupid artifact that can't tell the difference between us!"

"Trust in the Eternal Radiance," Daedalus said, breathing deep and striving for patience. Even if he sympathized with his brother and wished that he could try reversing their places anew, such would be too dangerous, at least until they knew more about how to deal with their resonance. They needed to allow the Eternal Radiance to lead them. "Obey the Divine Light's will. Come to Vola Apertus and rule."

His twin whirled away from him and began pacing through the peach trees like some kind of prowling animal. Leaves thrashed as Domi pushed them aside and Daedalus heard thunder rumble in a sky he knew was not just within the Caeles.

"Domi," he said, frowning. Three chimes sounded in his mind; Valens, his brother's aedificans, was trying to get his attention. The man likely wanted him to stop agitating his twin.

"How do I get out of here?" Domi's voice was choked, caught between anger and panic.

"Brother," Daedalus said, pitching his voice to something he hoped sounded soothing. "Just--"

"Let me out, Basiluculus!" Domi snapped, and the illusory orchard flared white, then peach red.

"Very well," Daedalus said sadly. He wanted to talk more, but it would be very painful if the two of them were in the Caeles and Domi lost control of himself. It was time to turn his twin back over into his handlers' capable care. "See you in a few hours, Basilicus."

<>

The Trellis hurt less now. But it was way scarier. It felt like the whole bloody world was balanced atop his back, an impossibly heavy, burning weight. If he moved the wrong way or even breathed the wrong way, it would topple.

Domi shook his head hard as Lumen knelt before him in the skychamber, his head swimming from the herbs. Too few herbs, now.

He wanted Valens and Arbita. His Ma. Anyone but the man trying to make him do this. But Lumen had sent them all to "spend some time" with Aix and Sidus in the other private skychamber. All he had with him were Ardea and Bellus, intent and grim as they watched the window, and Lumen, whose smile Domi didn't trust for an instant.

"Come now, Basilicus, just follow me," his Trellis expert said, voice low and soothing. "In through the nose and out through the mouth."

Domi tried. He really did. But his throat felt squeezed and the breath shook as he exhaled. Outside the skychariot window, the Trellis light wavered between warm gold and hotter white. Domi whimpered, feeling uncomfortable flares of fire shoot through his too-hot body. "Y-you should have Arbita give me more herbs," he wheezed.

Lumen shook his head, his almond eyes kind but firm. "You do not need them yet, Basilicus. I promise you that you are doing very well. If you feel overwhelmed later, we can give you a little help then, but I have faith in you."

The Trellis was flaring through several wavelengths of light, and this man had faith in him? Domi laughed, feeling tears stream down his hot face. "You shouldn't. I can't do this."

"Yes, you can," Lumen said. "You are doing this, Basilicus." The young man twisted to point toward the observation window. "Look, the Trellis glows golden, just like always. You are doing that all by yourself, bringing light to the world. Let's just help it glow more steadily, shall we?"

Domi looked at him doubtfully, then out the window. The light was flickering, and he didn't like it or the way it felt, not at all. But it was not raining fire down upon the world.

Lumen offered an encouraging smile. "Follow me, now, Basilicus. In through the nose and out through the mouth. And in once more. Close your eyes. Let the breath expand your belly. And out, slowly. Very good, Basilicus."

Domi obeyed, heart pounding in his chest. It was easier with his eyes closed. His breathing slowed one inhalation and exhalation at a time, guided by Lumen's gentle murmur.

Someone placed a cool, wet cloth over his forehead, his closed eyes, blocking some of the light filtering through his lids. He could still sense the lattice of fire engulfing him like a heavy molten net, but it was less scary when he couldn't also see the monstrous thing outside the window.

"Another breath, Basilicus. It is dark and soothing, isn't it? Dark as rest and dreams... Ah, there we are."

Domi felt the change. The lattice tethered to him cooled, chilling at last to the point of feeling bearable. Almost refreshing. He sagged in relief.

"You can let Valens and Arbita return now, Ardea," Lumen said, his voice low. "I presume that you are ready to brief them on our plans?"

"Yes. And good. They've tried to check on the Princeps three times. His aedificans is such an arse. I wish we could just send the man home."

"The Princeps needs him right now. Stability is paramount. As much of it as we can provide under the circumstances."

A soft sigh. "I know." A pause. "Though his aedificans is still an arse."

Domi snorted wearily, feeling his breath continuing to slow beneath the comforting weight of the cloth. Valens was indeed an arse.

"Basilicus?"

Great, Lumen had heard his laugh. Sighing, Domi peeled the cloth from his brow and dared a glance at the observation window.

Weak light from the ever-present sun poured in a burgundy wash into the skychamber, adorned with a delicate net of sparkling gold. He stared.

He had done it. He'd overseen Dimming.

Lumen, seated beside Ardea and Bellus now on the seats across from him, smiled. "I told you that you could do it, Basilicus."

Domi turned away and stared at the floor. Just because he could didn't mean he should. They were nuts, to make him keep messing with the Trellis. They needed to help him find a way to give the horrible thing back to its rightful bearer.

"Do I have to do the rains too?" he asked, dreading the answer. Eternal Radiance, he didn't want to.

Lumen's smile grew lopsided. "You have not stopped doing the rains, Basilicus. So no, not tonight. Perhaps we can try tomorrow eve if the rains stop during the day."

Eyes devour, he was going to drown the whole world, and these idiots were just going to sit by and let him instead of helping him give the Trellis back to his older brother.

He trembled and then jerked his head to the skychamber door as it slid open. He'd never been so relieved to see Valens and Arbita. Mostly Arbita.

"Do you have more of the herbs?" he asked her the moment her brown eyes fell on him.

Instead of helping him calm down and not destroy the world, she glanced at Lumen.

The Trellis expert shook his head. "He needs to learn to regulate his own emotions. I think he's doing well, considering."

Arbita offered Domi a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, kiddo."

Domi crossed his arms tightly. "Aren't I the Princeps now? You should do what I say."

At that, Bellus shook his head, his expression an annoying blend of apologetic and amused. "I am afraid your authority does not extend over your health, Basilicus. Not as a Princeps and certainly not as someone underage."

"Nice try, though," Valens added. His lip curled as Domi glared at him. The older worldholder glanced at Ardea. "So, I assume you've called us back to discuss how you mean to pull off the greatest deception in history?"

She nodded and started to open her mouth to speak.

"It had better be good."

Domi closed his eyes and tried to tune them out as he made his own plans.

They were fools if they thought he could fake being Daedalus. The idea was absurd. No, he would not be meeting his twin in the Vola Apertus forum when he arrived. He would not let anyone change his hair or scars or anything else to make him look even more like his identical twin. And he would definitely not be letting anyone drag him off to the onyx palace to play at being a ruler.

He had no idea where he was going to go instead. Elsewhere. Somewhere he could research this mess and find a solution, since nobody else seemed willing to bother.

The Eternal Radiance knew that he was no Princeps. He was just a Pullatus. But there was one advantage of being born a thief. He'd been giving watchmen the slip in forum crowds his whole life. It would be laughably easy to give a bunch of pampered Lightholders the slip, too.