Hours after the attack, the academy was locked down.
Guards patrolled every hallway. Wards glowed faintly along the walls. Professors whispered in stiff, tight circles.
But inside the infirmary, everything felt strangely still.
Elara sat on the edge of the bed, fingers gripping the blanket, her breath slow and shaky. The memory fragments were still flickering behind her eyes — the courtyard, the blade, the white dress.
Her execution.
Or… her past self's execution.
Lucian stood by the window, arms folded, eyes scanning every shadow with barely contained fury.
Damien paced like a caged storm.
Liora scribbled frantic notes in a glowing notebook.
None of them spoke.
Until Damien stopped mid-stride, turned to Elara, and said sharply:
"We need answers. Now."
Lucian shot him a glare. "She just woke up—"
"She almost died," Damien countered. "Again. We're out of time."
Elara swallowed. "Damien… you said you remembered me. In my first life."
Lucian stiffened.
Damien exhaled slowly, steadying himself. "Yes. Not everything. But enough."
Elara leaned forward. "Tell me."
He hesitated — and that alone terrified her. Damien never hesitated.
"Elara… in your past life, you weren't just a princess."
Liora looked up sharply.
Lucian turned his full attention to him.
Damien met Elara's gaze.
"You were the next Heir of Astravelle. The kingdom born from light."
Elara's heartbeat thundered. "Astravelle…? That doesn't exist anymore."
"Because it was destroyed," Damien said. "Burned out of the world's memory."
Lucian's jaw clenched. "Not burned. Erased. Someone rewrote its history."
Elara felt the room spin.
"So I… was royalty? A princess of light?"
Liora added softly, "Not just any princess. The last one."
Damien continued:
"And your power — the light in your blood — was so strong that the world feared it. Kings, rulers, mage circles… everyone wanted you controlled."
Elara's stomach twisted. "So they… executed me?"
Damien shook his head grimly.
"No. They executed you because you loved someone you weren't allowed to."
Silence.
Elara's throat closed. "Who?"
Damien looked away. "I don't know. Not yet."
Lucian's expression was unreadable.
Liora tapped her pen nervously. "If the attacker wants to force a full awakening, it means he needs the original memories restored."
Elara frowned. "Why?"
"To restore your power to its full form," Liora said. "Or to make you remember the person you loved — the one your execution was meant to erase."
Lucian finally spoke, voice low. "We don't even know if the killer was part of the ones who hurt her… or someone who's trying to stop something worse."
"No," Damien snapped. "He tried to kill her in the sanctum."
"He didn't," Lucian said coldly. "He left when she collapsed. If he wanted her dead, he would have finished it."
Damien's jaw tightened. "You're defending him now?"
"I'm stating facts."
The tension between them rose like crackling electricity.
Elara held up a hand. "Stop."
Both boys froze.
"I don't care who's right," she said, voice shaking. "I care about surviving. And I care about learning the truth."
Liora nodded firmly. "Then there's one place we need to check."
They all turned to her.
"The Forbidden Archives."
Lucian stiffened. "Absolutely not. The wards there could kill her."
"But they were built to contain ancient history," Liora argued. "Including erased civilizations."
Damien crossed his arms. "It's the only lead we have."
Elara's heartbeat quickened. "If it has something about Astravelle… or my past… we need to go."
Lucian stared at her for a long moment — then sighed in defeat.
"…Fine."
But then he added, eyes narrowing:
"I'm coming with you."
Damien smirked. "You'd die before you let me go alone."
Lucian didn't deny it.
Liora clapped her notebook shut. "Then we move at dawn."
Elara inhaled deeply. Somewhere in her chest, the fragment of light pulsed again — like a heartbeat calling to something forgotten.
Something waiting for her.
Something dangerous.
But this time, she wasn't facing it alone.