Elara stared at the glowing shard resting in her palm.
It was warm, humming softly—like a heartbeat. Like it knew her. And somehow, holding it made her chest ache with a strange, unbearable nostalgia. Something forgotten… something important.
But she couldn't remember what.
Across the counter, Mara leaned in, eyes wide. "Okay. What. The. Hell. Just happened?"
Elara opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. What could she say? That the boy from her dreams had just walked into her bookstore, handed her a magical memory, and warned her about unknown enemies?
She slipped the shard into her pocket. "I don't know," she muttered. "I just… I need time."
Mara frowned. "El, that guy looked like he stepped out of a fantasy movie. And he vanished. As in—poof. I'm not letting this slide."
"I'll tell you everything," Elara said quietly. "Just not here."
---
That night, Elara sat cross-legged on her bedroom floor, the pendant still around her neck, the shard cradled in both hands. The room was silent except for the soft ticking of the clock and her shallow breaths.
When you're ready to remember… hold it close.
She hesitated, then closed her eyes.
The moment her fingers curled around the shard, a shock of heat raced up her arms—and everything changed.
---
A memory surged forward—
Fire. Screaming. A dark temple built from obsidian, shattered pillars, blood on the stone. She was standing over someone—Kael. Wounded. Dying. She was crying, cradling him, her hand glowing with the same golden light.
"I won't let them take you," she had said, voice trembling.
"Elara—no," Kael had gasped. "You'll die."
Her lips had touched his in a desperate kiss—then light, blinding and fierce, had erupted from them both.
And then… silence.
---
Elara's eyes snapped open, chest heaving.
She was crying.
It's true, she realized. Everything he said—it's true.
She had lived before.
She had died for him.
And now, she was back—and the past wasn't finished with her.
---
As Elara tried to steady her breathing, something moved in the shadows outside her window.
She felt it before she saw it—a cold presence. Not human. Not entirely.
Slowly, she stood and pulled back the curtain.
Nothing.
But the night felt wrong—still and waiting, like it was watching her.
She backed away, heart pounding.
Then, with a crack of cold air, her pendant flashed—and the shard in her hand pulsed in warning.
She wasn't alone.
Something had crossed the veil after Kael.
And it wasn't here to protect her.
---