Asric turned first, his expression shifted not surprise, but interest.
"Well," he said lightly, "that was faster than expected."
Auren turned slowly, the moment their eyes met, the bond snapped tight .....Evryn froze....the world narrowed to him.
she felt like the room became smaller around him. He was tall and straight, with a strong presence that made it hard to look away. His hair was dark and tied back, with a few strands falling loosely around his face. His eyes were sharp , the silver color, like he could see through every secret she tried to hide.
He wore a fitted uniform that showed his rank in the palace, dark colors with silver details that made him look even more powerful. His expression was calm, almost cold, but there was something in his eyes that hinted at a storm inside him. He moved with quiet confidence, like someone used to being obeyed.
To Evryn, he looked dangerous and safe at the same time someone she should fear, but also someone she could not ignore. Even in silence, Auren made her heart beat faster, as if her body understood something before her mind did.
Her chest tightened painfully.
This is him.
Auren said nothing.
"So," Evryn said, breaking the silence, her voice steady despite the storm inside her,
"you're the one everyone keeps orbiting."
Asric smiled faintly. "Evryn"
She lifted a hand without looking at him. "Not you. Not yet."
Her eyes never left Auren.
"You," she continued, taking a step forward. The pull intensified, but she didn't slow. "You're the reason my blood won't let me rest."
Auren's gaze hardened not coldly, but carefully.
"Yes," he said.
No denial.
No apology.
That alone told her everything.
"You're the one I don't remember," she said quietly.
"Yes."
"And you're the one they're afraid to let near me."
Auren inclined his head slightly. "For good reason."
Anger flared bright and sudden.
"Then tell me why," Evryn said. "Why my life ended. Why my memory was taken. Why everyone keeps deciding what I can survive? Who give you the right to change me , to be near me or even touching me "
The library held its breath.
He turned to asric "leave us alone "
Asric says nothing except walking to the door and closed behind him
Auren stepped forward her but he stopped right away when he saw her stepping back.
"Because you chose it," he said calmly. "And because choice has consequences."
Evryn's hands clenched.
"Then look at me," she said, voice sharp, "and tell me what kind of woman chooses to die without remembering why."
Auren met her gaze fully now.
"The kind," he said evenly,
"who refuses to be left behind."
The words hit her like a blow.
Her breath caught.
He didn't move. "you're here evryn" said it with a joy in his eyes
"I don't want to be here."
The words came out harsher than she meant or maybe exactly as harsh as they needed to be.
She stepped closer, chest tight.
"I was human. I lived in the southern quarter. I worked in the kitchens. I had a life. And now. now I'm in this frozen crypt of a palace, wearing someone else's body, drinking blood, and no one will tell me how the hell I got here."
He said nothing.
"Tell me," she snapped. "What was I to you? Why am I here?"
Auren's voice, when it came, was low. Careful. Heavy with restraint.
"You were everything."
She blinked.
"Don't."
he said. "You chose this."
She turned on him, rage flashing.
"You think I would choose this?"
And something inside her burned , a faint flicker of orange in her eyes. A tingle beneath her nails. Heat flaring beneath her skin like it wanted out.
He didn't flinch, he only looked at her and for a moment, she saw something in his eyes that shattered the anger.
Joy.
"You're alive, that what's matter now" he whispered.
His voice was a whisper broken in half and reassembled.
"You're angry. You hate me. You want to run. I know. But you're here."
"I don't know you," she added "why are you looking at me like that?"
He was quiet for a moment , then softly said
"Because once you looked at me the same way."
She turned from him "I want to wake up, I want to go back."
"You can't," he said. "But that doesn't mean you won't find yourself again."
"What if I don't want to find this version of me?"
He stepped back.
Didn't argue. Didn't chase her he knew this will be difficult .
Evryn stood there a moment longer, chest heaving, before turning and walking away.
Auren watched her go.
And for the first time in a long time, he let the memory return.
She was gone, Not far…but it felt as though the space between them had stretched into miles. Auren stood unmoving, the night wind pulling at the folds of his coat, He closed his eyes, not to push the feeling away, but to allow it. The memory answered immediately, sharp and unwanted, drawing him back one year before…to the first moment she stood in his sight and everything he had carefully controlled shifted without warning.