And for the first time since arriving in this world, Maya realized something was terribly wrong.
The unease that had been sitting in her chest since they left the palace suddenly sharpened, twisting into something unbearable. The rhythmic roll of the carriage faded, the forest outside the window smearing into shadow—
—and then the world fractured.
Headlights cut through darkness.
Rain lashed against glass.
A violent jolt sent everything spinning as the car overturned, metal screaming as it scraped against the road. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs. Smoke filled the air. Somewhere nearby, voices shouted—harsh, hurried, dangerous.
Robbers.
Her heart had been pounding, fear so sharp it drowned out thought. She remembered fumbling with the door, crawling out, not even checking behind her.
She had run.
Straight into the forest.
Branches tore at her arms, wet earth slipping beneath her feet as she fled blindly, lungs burning, terror driving her forward. She didn't remember stopping. She didn't remember hiding.
She didn't remember anything after that.
The vision shattered.
Maya gasped as the present crashed back into place—the carriage, the trees, the sound of steel sliding from a sheath.
Her eyes snapped up.
Someone stood behind Darcien.
A blade rose, poised to strike him from the back.
"Princess Elowen—stay back."
His voice was calm, commanding—unaware.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up.
Maya surged to her feet as the carriage rocked. She jumped down hard, pain shooting up her legs, her gaze already searching. Her hand closed around a heavy stone near the wheel.
She didn't think.
She swung.
The stone connected with a dull, cracking thud against the man's skull. His body went slack instantly, collapsing into the dirt behind Darcien.
Everything went silent.
Darcien turned sharply, sword half-raised—then froze.
His eyes locked onto her.
"Princess Elowen," he said slowly, disbelief threading through his voice. "What have you done?"
Her breath came in ragged pulls. She stared at the fallen man, then at the stone in her hand, her fingers numb.
"I—" Her voice trembled. "He was going to kill you."
The remaining figures in the trees faltered, hesitation rippling through them now.
Darcien didn't look away from her. His jaw tightened, something dark and conflicted flickering behind his eyes.
"Get back in the carriage," he ordered, low and sharp.
She obeyed—but her mind was still reeling.
The vision.
The forest.
The memory she had never remembered before.
It had happened to her… yet it hadn't.
Not until now.
And deep down, as the echoes of the past tangled with the present, Maya knew—
This world was pulling pieces of her life back to her for a reason.