CHAPTER 5 - THE FIRST DEATH I PREVENTED

My brother wasn’t supposed to be alive today.

I knew the exact hour. The exact spot. Even the horrible thud his body made hitting the stone floor. For three years, I tried to force it out of my mind. Now, suddenly, I found myself sprinting straight toward the memory.

“Kael!”

My boots hit the corridor so hard, pain shot up my feet. A servant barely dodged me.

“Lady Seren?” she stammered.

“Where is my brother?”

“East wing.”

Of course. I switched directions.

The memory broke into pieces, replaying itself: Kael laughing, a shattered wineglass, blood soaking his white shirt, someone screaming. Then—nothing.

Last time, I got there too late.

Not this time.

I made it to the east wing just as Kael walked out from the dining room.

Alive. Breathing. Smiling at me.

My chest got so tight I could barely breathe.

He frowned. “Seren?”

I crossed the space fast and grabbed his arm.

He chuckled. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Come with me.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere but here.”

His smile vanished. “Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“That’s not an answer—”

“No. It’s a warning.”

He stared down at my hand clutching his arm. “You’re acting weird.”

“I know.”

“Something happen?”

“Yeah.”

“What?”

I watched him—watched the face I’d cried over in another life. The man whose death ruined me for three years. I couldn’t tell him everything. Not yet.

So I tugged him closer. “You almost died.”

He blinked. “I almost what?”

“Nothing.”

“Seren.”

“Just trust me.”

He studied me for a second, then nodded. “Alright.”

I exhaled, finally. For the first time since I woke up in this new life, something inside me unclenched.

I’d done it. I changed the outcome.

Kael was still alive.

We didn’t stay in the east wing. I dragged Kael outside, made him sit with me by the fountain, and watched him like a hawk.

He lasted about five minutes.

He groaned, “Are you actually planning to stare at me all day?”

“Yep.”

“Seriously. Why?”

“To make sure you don’t die.”

He laughed. “You’re terrifying today.”

“I’m fine with that.”

He shook his head, but the smile stayed. Alive. I grinned back.

For one beautiful moment, I let myself believe I’d won.

Then I sensed someone behind me.

“You changed the future.”

My smile vanished. I turned.

Darius stood beneath the arch, eyes flicking between me and Kael.

I stood. “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough.”

Kael glanced from Darius to me. “Should I leave?”

“Yes,” Darius said.

“No,” I said—at the exact same time.

Kael raised an eyebrow. “I think I’ll stay.”

Darius’s look got colder. I almost smiled.

“Can we talk privately?” he asked.

I walked away with him.

“What did I change?”

“Your brother was supposed to die.”

My stomach twisted. “You remember?”

“Not all of it.”

“Then how do you know?”

“I remember what happened after.” He glanced at Kael. “I remember seeing you.”

My throat tightened. “What was I like?”

Darius hesitated. “Angry.”

I looked away. “That’s it?”

“No.” His voice softened. “Broken.”

That stung. I crossed my arms.

“I’m not apologizing for saving him.”

“I never asked you to.”

“You said I changed the future.”

“You did.”

“So?”

He studied me. “You don’t know what comes next when you do that.”

“I don’t care.”

His eyes narrowed. “You should.”

I moved closer. “No.”

“Seren—”

“I spent a whole lifetime watching people die because I was too scared to fight fate.” My voice shook. “I watched Kael die. I watched myself die.” I swallowed. “I’m not letting people die again just because I’m afraid to act.”

Something in his expression shifted. Respect, maybe even fear.

“You don’t get it,” he said quietly.

“Then help me understand.”

He looked hard at me. “Every time you change something, something else changes too.”

“Then I’ll handle it.”

“You might not get to pick what moves.”

“Neither did I, the first time.”

He went silent. Darius’s jaw set.

After a moment, he nodded. “That’s exactly what worries me.”

Before I could say anything else, a loud crack split the air.

Kael yelled.

I spun. An arrow sank itself in the stone just inches from his head.

“Kael!”

He dropped, scrambling for cover.

Darius moved fast—he grabbed my waist and dragged me behind the fountain as another arrow ripped through the air, hitting the tree above us.

“Stay down.”

“I won’t.”

“Seren—”

“I said I won’t!”

I shoved past him. Darius grabbed my arm.

“Someone’s still shooting.”

“Then we go find them.”

His eyes flashed. “Not if you’re dead.”

A third arrow zipped past. Darius pushed me flat. It hit the fountain, sending a shower of stone chips.

Kael crawled toward the garden wall.

“Kael!” I shouted.

“I’ll get him,” Darius said.

He moved fast. One second, right beside me. The next, across the garden.

He reached Kael as a shadow darted through the trees. Darius drew his sword.

“Show yourself.”

Silence.

Then someone bolted.

Darius chased. I followed.

“Seren, stay back!”

I ignored him.

We made it to the edge of the gardens. The attacker scrambled up the wall.

Darius threw his dagger. It missed the chest but sliced the arm. The man tumbled down the other side.

Darius vaulted the wall. I scrambled after him.

By the time I landed, the assassin was already on his feet—young, maybe twenty-five. Face hidden.

He looked at me and froze.

Not scared. Like he’d seen a ghost.

My blood turned icy.

“You.”

He whispered it—like he couldn’t believe I was real.

Darius stepped in front of me. “Who sent you?”

The assassin’s eyes flicked between us. He smiled.

“Too late.”

Darius yanked him up by the collar. “Answer me.”

The assassin laughed, then fished for something inside his coat.

I saw the glint.

“Darius!”

He knocked the blade away. Something else hit the dirt—a ring.

Black metal. Crescent carved in the middle.

My whole body went cold.

I knew that symbol. I’d seen it before—not in this life, but the last one, right before my execution. The man standing behind the guards wore it.

That ring. That crescent.

I remembered thinking it was weird, because the family that used it supposedly vanished decades ago.

I stepped forward. “Where did you get that?”

The assassin looked at me, smile stretching wider. “You remember.”

Darius turned to me sharply. “You’ve seen it?”

I couldn’t answer.

The assassin laughed. “You saved him.”

My heart stopped.

He looked past me at Kael, then back at me.

“You saved him,” he repeated. His eyes glittered. “Now they’ll pick another.”

Darius tightened his grip. “Who?”

The assassin didn’t answer.

Darius slammed him against the wall. “Who?”

He just smiled—then bit down hard.

His body went slack.

“No!”

Darius let go. The man dropped, dead.

I stared, hands cold and shaking.

Someone had known Kael was supposed to die. Someone knew I stopped it.

And somehow—they were counting on me to do it.

I glanced at the ring, the crescent, sitting in the dirt.

That familiar symbol from my first life. From the night before my execution.

My heart was pounding.

This wasn’t just a second chance.

Someone else remembered that first life.

And they were changing things too.