That night, Aira couldn't sleep.
Kael had held her tighter than ever, whispering reassurances against her neck. But the name "Sareth" pulsed in her mind like a wound she couldn't stop prodding.
Finally, she slipped from Kael's embrace and reached for the shard of crystal she'd hidden under the floorboards—a relic from her grandmother's vault.
It was a Memory Catcher.
With it, she could summon fragments of past lives—if she dared.
She curled her fingers around it, whispered Sareth's name, and closed her eyes.
The world dissolved.
🔥 She was in a sandstone room lit by fire.
She wore golden silk. Her hair was longer, braided with copper beads.
Sareth stood across from her, shirtless, tattoos curling over his chest like vines. His eyes weren't stormy here—they were aflame with adoration.
"I could die right now," he murmured, stepping close, "and still be content."
She reached for him, palms flat against his bare chest. "Don't say that. Time has taken you from me before."
Sareth lowered his head, his voice like molten wine. "Then let's bind our souls. Let's give Time something it can't break."
Their kiss was slow, reverent.
He lifted her gently, laying her on a bed of cushions.
Their bodies moved like they'd done this a hundred times before. Like the rhythm was older than flesh. His hands explored every inch of her, like he was worshipping a goddess. Her legs wrapped around his hips, their connection molten and sacred.
He whispered against her lips, "Even if we're born apart again, I'll find you. In every century. In every skin."
She arched beneath him, gasping. "Swear it."
"I swear it."
But even as the climax surged through them both—so intense it felt like stars exploding—Aira saw it.
Kael.
Standing in the doorway. Watching. Furious. Heartbroken.
She screamed as the vision shattered.
She was back in the cabin, breath ragged, the crystal glowing red in her palm.
Kael stirred beside her. "Aira?"
She clutched the sheet to her chest, tears flooding her eyes.
Because the worst part wasn't the memory itself.
It was how it had made her feel.
Loved. Seen. Desired in a way she'd never known.
And she didn't know if that feeling belonged to her past…
…or her future.