Chapter 5

"I remember something about papers," Louis whispered, leaning across Thomas. "Documents that my father, or whoever he was back then, wanted to get his hands on. Something about land rights or inheritance."

The memory clicked into place, sharp and clear. "The marriage contract," I breathed. "It wasn't just a marriage. It was a merger of lands. My family's estate bordered yours, Thomas. There was water access on our side, mining rights on yours."

Thomas nodded slowly, his eyes distant. "And Louis's family wanted it all. They'd been trying to buy both properties for years."

"But my sister," Louis said, his voice catching. "Violet had nothing to do with any of that. She was innocent."

Thomas did something I wasn’t quite expecting he put his hand over mine his fingers interlacing with mine making me look down at our joined hands making my face heat.

“Well the old woman said that Violet was in love with Thomas maybe as much as I was in that life time she looked to be maybe a handmaiden? When she past and I was meant to come to the dinner even though it might have been going to happen all along the woman just saw red.” I suggested.

Louis's face went ashen. "A handmaiden," he repeated, his voice barely audible over the rumble of the bus engine. "She... she served in your household. That's how she knew Thomas."

The pieces were falling into place like a puzzle I didn't want to solve. I could feel Thomas's thumb tracing small circles on the back of my hand, and the gesture felt so familiar it made my chest ache.

"The old woman blamed me," I said, the realization hitting me like a cold wave. "She thought if I hadn't been engaged to Thomas, Violet would still be alive. Maybe she thought Violet died of a broken heart, or..." I trailed off, another memory surfacing. "Or maybe she was trying to help us escape that night, and that's how she got sick."

"Jesus," Thomas breathed. He squeezed my hand tighter. "So this woman, whoever she was, she orchestrated our deaths out of grief and revenge."

I nodded, feeling sick. "And now she's coming back to finish what she started." The bus lurched as it pulled onto the highway, and I had to grip the seat to keep from sliding into Thomas. "But why now? Why are we remembering this now?"

Louis pulled out his phone and started scrolling through something. "I've been researching this stuff for weeks. There are theories about soul groups, about unfinished business. Maybe we're supposed to be together again, and something is trying to prevent it."

The thought should have been comforting, but instead it filled me with dread. If the old woman could find us once, she could find us again. And this time, we weren't just dealing with daggers and carriage chases. This time, we were just teenagers on a school bus, completely unprepared for whatever was coming.

“Kind of makes sense now how you are so good at both fencing and archery it would have been important in those days. Oh god let me guess this school trip is taking us right to where it all happened that night.” I stated rather than asked.

Thomas's eyes widened, and Louis stopped scrolling through his phone so abruptly I thought he might have frozen.

"Château Beaumont," Louis whispered. "That's where we're headed. The French castle tour."

My stomach dropped. "That's where it happened, isn't it?"

Thomas nodded slowly. "I think so. In my dreams, there's always a stone courtyard, and those distinctive arched windows..." He trailed off, looking pale. "I've seen pictures of the château in our itinerary. It matches."

"This can't be a coincidence," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "Three hundred years later, and we're all headed back to the exact place where we died? Where she killed us?"

Louis leaned in closer. "It might not be a coincidence at all. What if this is how it works? Maybe souls with unfinished business get drawn back together until they resolve whatever went wrong."

"Or maybe someone's orchestrating this," Thomas suggested darkly. "Someone who remembers, like we do."

A chill ran through me despite the stuffy heat of the bus. "You think someone at school planned this trip specifically to get us there? That's..."

"Crazy?" Louis finished for me. "More crazy than remembering being murdered in a past life?"

He had a point. I looked out the window at the blur of trees and houses speeding by. We were getting closer to our destination with every mile, closer to whatever fate awaited us there. I tried to think rationally, but how could anyone be rational about something like this?

"The woman with the dagger," I said suddenly, turning back to them. "If she's coming back, she must be someone we know. Someone close to us."

"It could be anyone," Thomas said, scanning the bus with newfound suspicion. "A teacher, another student..."

"Or someone waiting for us at the château," Louis added. "Someone who works there, maybe."

I closed my eyes, trying to remember more details from my dreams. The woman's face was always shadowed, but there had been something familiar about her, even then. "She knew us," I murmured. "In that life, she knew all of us personally. She called me by name before she..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

Thomas's hand tightened around mine. "We need to be ready," he said quietly. "We need a plan."

"What kind of plan can we possibly make?" I asked, fear making my voice sharper than I intended. "We don't even know who we're up against."

Louis's expression hardened with determination. "We know more than we did yesterday. And we'll know more tomorrow. I've been collecting information about reincarnation, past life regression—"

"That new age stuff isn't going to help us if someone's trying to kill us again," I interrupted.

"Maybe not," Thomas said thoughtfully. "But there's strength in numbers. And this time, we know what's coming, and…” That’s when it happened, Thomas’s lips were on mine in a kiss.