Morning light filtered weakly into their hidden shelter. Elira sat upright, her small hands clenched in the fabric of her blanket. The dream had faded at the edges, yet the pain it left behind remained—sharp, confusing, real.
Kael noticed immediately.
"You didn't sleep well," he said softly.
Elira lifted her head. Her eyes were clear, but something in them had changed.
"Kael… why didn't you tell me before?"
He did not pretend to misunderstand. "Because you weren't ready."
Her fingers tightened. "You knew. You knew I lived before, that I loved someone, that I… suffered." Her voice wavered. "Why let me remember it like that?"
Kael was silent for a long moment.
"Memories forced too early become wounds," he finally said. "I wanted you to grow strong first. To know warmth in this life before remembering the cold of the last."
Elira swallowed. "Then why can't I remember his face?"
She pressed a hand to her chest. "I know he hurt me without meaning to. I know I loved him. But when I try to see him… there's nothing. Just pain."
Kael's gaze darkened.
"Some memories protect us by hiding," he said. "Your heart remembers what your mind refuses to hold. The face you can't recall is the one that broke you most."
Her breathing hitched. "Then why does my heart still hurt? If he never truly loved me… why does it ache like I lost something precious?"
"Because," Kael answered gently, "you didn't lose him. You lost the future you were promised."
Tears slipped down her cheeks. "I was so lonely," she whispered. "Even when I wasn't alone."
Kael reached out, resting his forehead against hers. "That loneliness ends here. This life will not repeat the silence of the last. You will be seen. You will be chosen—not as a replacement, not as a shadow."
Elira closed her eyes. "Promise me," she said quietly. "If I forget again… remind me. If I hesitate… don't let me endure it alone."
"I swear it," Kael said without hesitation. "Your past will never be used to trap you again. It will only sharpen us."
The pain in Elira's chest slowly eased—not gone, but understood. And for the first time since waking, she felt something unfamiliar bloom beside the sorrow.
Resolve.