Aurelia's POV
The man staring at me with broken eyes says his name is Caspian Vale, and apparently, I'm supposed to know him.
I don't.
Dr. Isla Novak has been trying to explain for the past hour. Something about a curse, and memories, and falling in love seventeen times. It sounds like a fairy tale. A terrible, heartbreaking fairy tale.
I'm sorry, I say again, looking at Caspian. I just don't remember you.
He nods, but I can see tears in his eyes. It's okay. It's not your fault.
Dr. Novak says you broke a curse to save me?
We broke it together, Caspian corrects quietly. You were incredibly brave.
I study his face the strong jaw, the storm-grey eyes, the way he holds himself like he's trying not to fall apart. He's handsome in a rough, tired way. Like someone who's fought too many battles.
Can you tell me what happened? I ask. The whole story?
For the next two hours, Caspian and Dr. Isla explain everything. My mother faking her death. Thorne manipulating me. The curse that made us forget each other seventeen times. The seventh kiss that broke everything.
It's the most insane story I've ever heard.
And apparently, it's my life.
So we were in love? I ask slowly. You and me?
Yes, Caspian says. His voice cracks on the word.
And I don't remember any of it.
No.
I close my eyes, trying to feel something any connection to this stranger. But there's nothing. Just emptiness where memories should be.
I'm sorry, I whisper. I wish I could remember.
Me too.
Dr. Isla clears her throat. Aurelia, there might be a way to restore your memories. It's risky, but possible.
I sit up straighter. How?
Your mother was extracting magical energy from the curse for ten years. When Caspian and Riven's team defeated her, all that energy dispersed. But some of it might have embedded itself in your subconscious. If we can access those fragments, we might be able to piece together your memories.
What's the risk? I ask.
Dr. Isla hesitates. The fragments are buried deep. To access them, we'd have to put you in a meditative state and basically dig through your mind. If we dig too deep or too fast, we could damage your psyche permanently. You might lose more memories, not gain them.
But there's a chance it could work? Caspian asks hopefully.
A small one, Dr. Isla admits.
I look between them. I want to try.
Aurelia, you don't have to Caspian starts.
Yes, I do, I interrupt. You risked your life to break a curse for me. You spent ten years falling in love with me over and over, even when you couldn't remember why. The least I can do is try to remember you back.
Caspian's expression does something complicated hope mixed with pain mixed with love. Even without memories, I can see he cares about me deeply.
When can we start? I ask Dr. Isla.
Tomorrow, she says. I need to prepare the proper safeguards first.
That night, I'm moved to a recovery facility where Dr. Isla can monitor me. Caspian insists on staying nearby, sleeping in the waiting room despite having his own injuries.
I can't sleep. My mind keeps trying to grasp at memories that aren't there. Who was I before I lost ten years? Who did I become during those years? And who is the woman Caspian fell in love with seventeen times?
Around 2 AM, I give up on sleep and wander into the hallway. I find Caspian sitting in the waiting room, surrounded by journals and photographs.
Can't sleep either? I ask.
He looks up, surprised. No. Just... looking at our history.
Can I see?
Caspian hesitates, then nods. I sit beside him, and he shows me photograph after photograph. Us at the Midnight Market. Us laughing at a café. Us holding hands on a street corner.
We look happy. Really, genuinely happy.
Tell me about her, I say. About me. The version you remember.
Caspian is quiet for a moment. Then: You were fierce. Protective. You had this way of seeing through people's lives, probably because you worked with memories all day. You loved terrible coffee and good books. You hummed when you worked. And when you smiled really it was like the sun coming out.
Tears prick my eyes. She sounds amazing.
She is, Caspian says. You are.
But I'm not her anymore. I don't remember being that person.
Maybe not, Caspian agrees. But you're still you. The same soul. The same heart. Memory doesn't define who you are, Aurelia. It just records where you've been.
I look at him this stranger who loves me, who knows me better than I know myself right now.
Why did you do it? I ask. Why risk everything for someone you kept forgetting?
Because some people are worth fighting for, Caspian says simply. No matter how many times you have to start over. No matter how much it hurts. You're worth it, Aurelia. You've always been worth it.
Something shifts in my chest. Not a memory just a feeling. A warmth I can't explain.
Before I can analyze it, Dr. Isla appears in the doorway, her face pale.
We have a problem, she says urgently.
What kind of problem? Caspian asks, standing.
I was running tests on Aurelia's memory patterns, trying to prepare for tomorrow's procedure. Dr. Isla pulls out a tablet and shows us a brain scan. Look at this. These dark spots are memory gaps the ten years Aurelia can't remember.
Okay, I say slowly. What's the problem?
The gaps are growing, Dr. Isla says, her voice shaking. Aurelia, you're not just missing ten years. You're actively losing more memories. Every hour, more of your past is disappearing.
My blood runs cold. What does that mean?
It means the curse didn't fully break, Caspian says, horror dawning on his face. It's still active somehow. Still stealing her memories.
But we broke it, I protest. You said the seventh kiss destroyed the curse.
It destroyed the forgetting loop, Dr. Isla explains. But your mother embedded a secondary curse in Aurelia when she tried to extract your powers. It's designed to erase Aurelia completely if she ever broke free. Like a self-destruct program.
How long do I have? I ask, surprised by how calm my voice sounds.
Dr. Isla looks at her tablet. At the current rate of deterioration? Forty-eight hours. Maybe less. After that, you won't remember anything. Not the past ten years. Not your childhood. Not even your own name.
The room spins.
There has to be a way to stop it, Caspian says desperately. Another curse to break, another spell to cast
There is one way, Dr. Isla interrupts. But it's dangerous. Possibly fatal.
Tell us, I demand.
The secondary curse is feeding on Aurelia's memories, Dr. Isla explains. To stop it, we'd need to give it something else to consume. Something equally powerful.
Like what? Caspian asks.
Dr. Isla looks at him meaningfully. Like your memories, Caspian. You remember everything all seventeen cycles. If you transferred those memories to Aurelia through a bonding ritual, the curse would consume them instead of her own memories. It would buy us time to find a permanent solution.
But I'd forget everything, Caspian says slowly. All seventeen times we fell in love. Every moment we shared.
Yes, Dr. Isla confirms.
And there's no guarantee it would even work?
No.
Caspian looks at me, and I see him making the decision in real time.
No, I say immediately. No, you're not doing this. You already lost me once when I forgot. I'm not letting you sacrifice your memories too.
Aurelia
I mean it, Caspian. I'd rather lose everything than take your memories away.
And I'd rather forget everything than lose you permanently, Caspian counters. At least if I transfer my memories to you, there's a chance you'll remember our story. Maybe not as your own experiences, but as something real that happened. That's better than both of us losing everything.
There has to be another way
There isn't, Dr. Isla says quietly. I'm sorry. This is the only option.
I look at Caspian this man who's already sacrificed so much, who's fought for me seventeen times, who's about to give up everything one more time.
Please don't do this, I whisper.
Caspian takes my hand. I've fallen in love with you seventeen times. What's one more?
Tears stream down my face. You won't remember me.
Then you'll just have to remind me who you are, Caspian says with a sad smile. Tell me our story. Make me fall in love with you for the eighteenth time.
I don't even know the story. I can't remember it.
You will, Caspian says. After the transfer, you'll have all my memories. You'll know everything.
Dr. Isla steps forward. We need to do this now. Aurelia's deterioration is accelerating.
Caspian squeezes my hand. Do you trust me?
I barely know this man. But looking into his eyes, I see nothing but love and determination.
Yes, I say. I trust you.
Then let's begin, Dr. Isla says.
She starts preparing the ritual, drawing symbols on the floor in chalk.
Caspian pulls me close, and even though I don't remember him, being in his arms feels right.
When you wake up with my memories, he whispers in my ear, find me. Tell me who I am. Tell me who you are. And help me fall in love with you again.
I will, I promise.
Dr. Isla finishes the preparations. Ready?
Caspian nods.
The ritual begins.
And as Caspian's memories start flowing into my mind seventeen lifetimes of love compressed into seconds the last thing I see is his face.
Then I see everything.
I see us meeting for the first time. I see every kiss. Every goodbye. Every heartbreak.
I see ten years of love.
And as the memories settle into my mind like they've always belonged there, I understand.
Caspian Vale is my destiny.
And I just watched him forget me.