LOGIN"The truck!" Louis shouted, already moving toward the utility vehicle. "Now!"
We ran as a group, Ava's hand clutched tightly in mine. Behind us, Mrs. Hargrove's voice rose in a wordless shriek of rage and pain. I could hear her struggling to her feet, but the arrow had clearly done its job.
Louis reached the truck first and yanked open the driver's door. "Keys are in the ignition," he called out. "Get in!"
I practically shoved Ava into the passenger seat while Thomas and I climbed into the back. Louis turned the key, and the engine roared to life just as Mrs Hargrove appeared around the corner of the building, her face twisted with pain and fury.
“I am starting to remember things before we started to fall for each other
"The same thing he's always wanted," Mr Blake replied. "To finish what he started. To ensure that the alliance between our families never comes to pass.""But we're not the same people," I protested. "We're not even the same families, really. There's no political gain anymore.""Isn't there?" Lord Ashworth's voice seemed to come from right outside the window now. "Your fathers' law firm is quite successful, I understand. Thomas's inheritance, your family's connections, together, you'd be quite formidable."I shuddered. Even in this lifetime, even as teenagers, we were still valuable enough to be worth killing."He's been watching us," I realized aloud. "All our lives. Waiting for us to remember, waiting
Ava looked up from her phone, where she'd been scrolling through increasingly frantic messages from our classmates. "You really think she could come back? Even frozen like that?""I don't know," I admitted. "I don't understand any of this well enough to be sure of anything."Mr Blake moved closer to our group, his expression gentle but serious. "Serenity, what you did tonight, stepping in front of that bullet for Thomas, it wasn't just brave. It was transformative. The kind of selfless love that rewrites the rules of the universe.""It didn't feel transformative," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "It just felt like the only choice I could make.""That's exactly what made it powerful," he replied. "True love isn't about grand gestures or dramatic d
"You let me handle that," Mr Blake said. "The official story will be that Mrs. Hargrove had a mental breakdown and threatened students. The rest of the class will be sent home tomorrow, and the four of you will be given time to recover from your 'traumatic experience.'""And our parents?" I asked, thinking of my father who had no idea his daughter had nearly been murdered by her history teacher, again."Your father has been informed that there was an incident," Mr Blake said. "Though not the supernatural details, of course. He's worried about you, but relieved you're safe."I nodded, grateful that at least one complicated conversation could be postponed. My phone buzzed again in my pocket, and I finally pulled it out to check. Dozens of messages from friends, a
"I'm sorry," I said to him, my heart aching for the pain I'd caused him across so many lifetimes. "I never meant to hurt you.""You didn't," he replied, his voice gentle. "You can't help who you love. And seeing you two together, seeing how happy you make each other... it's enough. In every lifetime, that's been enough."Ava moved closer to our group, her eyes still wide with shock. "So what happens to us now? Do we just... go back to being normal teenagers?"I looked around the cottage at the frozen tableau of our would-be killers, then at the people who had become my family across centuries of struggle. "I don't think we'll ever be normal," I said with a shaky laugh. "But maybe that's okay
Mrs Hargrove's smile widened. "Oh, you don't recognize them? How disappointing. They're my loyal servants from our first lifetime together. It seems obsession isn't the only thing that creates bonds strong enough to transcend death."The realization hit me like a physical blow. These weren't just random accomplices, they were the soldiers who had helped her murder us centuries ago, reincarnated just as we had been."That's impossible," Thomas said, stepping protectively in front of me. "You can't control who gets reincarnated.""Can't I?" Mrs Hargrove laughed, the sound echoing off the cottage walls. "Hatred is a powerful force, Thomas. It binds souls together just as surely as love does. These three have followed me through every lifetime, just as faithful in death as they were in life."
"And if they don't?" I asked, voicing the fear we were all thinking. "If she gets away before they get there? There is one question that has plagued me you said that you were my father in that lifetime she told us that she was promised Thomas, or and other noble first if she was raised as a noble, and when I was born the deal was taken away or something like that?”Mr Blake's expression darkened as he turned to face me. "Margaret's father was indeed a servant in your household, but he was delusional about his daughter's prospects. He convinced himself that his years of faithful service entitled him to more than it did."I felt Thomas tense beside me, his hand tightening protectively around mine."When you were born," Mr Blake continued, "your nursemaid mentioned offhandedly that you w







