Smoke curled into the night sky, thick and black, rising like a serpent from the heart of the ritual grounds. The fire crackled loud and angry, licking at the wooden stake where Saelwyn stood, her arms bound, her feet bare against the cold stone.
She did not scream.
Around her, the coven chanted, their voices sharp and merciless. Moonlight bathed their faces in silver as they circled her, draped in dark cloaks, hands raised, lips moving with practiced cruelty. The air was thick with ash and betrayal.
At the head of the circle stood Mother Vyra, golden eyes gleaming like coins in the firelight. Her voice rang louder than the rest.
"You, Saelwyn, have broken the sacred laws. You called upon forbidden powers. You betrayed your sisters."
"I didn't," Saelwyn said, her voice hoarse, but steady. "I only did what you feared to do. I woke up."
Laughter hissed from the coven like snakes in grass.
"You speak blasphemy in your final moments," Vyra said coldly.
Then he stepped forward.
Kaeln.
His hood was down, and his storm-grey eyes locked onto hers. No mercy. No tears. Only the weight of guilt he wore like armor.
He held the torch.
Her lover. Her executioner.
"You don't have to do this," she whispered, barely audible above the wind.
Kaeln didn't answer. The fire in his hand burned brighter.
"Look at me," she pleaded. "I loved you."
His jaw clenched. "Forgive me," he said. "I didn't know."
Then he lit the pyre.
The flames screamed.
Her body arched in agony, but no sound left her throat. Fire tore through her, burning flesh, burning soul, until everything turned white.
She woke up gasping.
The candle beside her bed flickered violently as her chest heaved, sweat pouring down her spine. She clutched the sheets like a lifeline, the echo of fire still burning in her veins.
The dream. No, not a dream.
A memory.
Aelira stumbled to her feet, her legs weak. The stone floor was cold beneath her bare soles. Her hand flew to her chest where the pain still pulsed.
She lifted her nightgown.
The mark was there.
A sigil. Circular. Faint, but glowing. As if her skin remembered what her mind could not.
She backed away from the mirror, heart thundering.
That name.
Saelwyn.
She had heard it in her sleep, chanted by voices she didn't know.
You were her.
She pressed her hands to her temples. Her thoughts were spiraling. She had never spoken that name aloud. And yet it felt like it belonged to her. Like a part of her had been sealed away—and now it was clawing to the surface.
She didn't know who she was anymore.
There was a knock at the door.
Aelira jolted.
She reached for her cloak and wrapped it around her trembling shoulders before stepping to the door. The dormitory hall outside was still, quiet in the early hours. But the visitor at her door was not quiet energy.
It was Kaeln.
He stood tall in the shadows, eyes dark and unreadable. "I need to talk to you."
She froze. "Now?"
"Now," he said simply.
She stepped aside.
He entered, silent as smoke. He glanced once at the candle, then back to her. "You saw it, didn't you?"
She flinched. "Saw what?"
"The burning. The circle. Them."
She swallowed. "It wasn't a dream."
"No," he said. "It was the truth. A truth they buried."
He sat on the edge of her bed. He looked tired. Older than he had yesterday.
"I don't understand what's happening to me," she said.
"You're remembering."
She shook her head. "No. I'm not her."
"You are."
Silence stretched between them. The candle crackled.
"I killed you," Kaeln said. "In another life."
Aelira's breath left her lungs. Her legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees.
He moved to catch her, but she pushed him back.
"Don't touch me."
"I never wanted to—"
"But you did."
She stared up at him, trembling. "Why are you here now?"
"Because history is repeating. And this time, I won't let them take you again."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Then start telling me the truth."
He nodded once. "But not here. Not where they can hear."
Outside, in the dark woods, someone watched.
Golden eyes blinked once.
Mother Vyra turned from the scene unfolding in the dorm and whispered into the night:
"She rises too soon."
The trees rustled in warning.
"The mark has awakened."
She disappeared into shadow, the forest listening to every word.
This time, Saelwyn would not survive long enough to remember everything.