CHAPTER 6: The Mark

 

For several seconds after the crimson symbols vanished, neither of us spoke.

The garden seemed unnaturally quiet. Water trickled softly from the fountain behind Kael, and somewhere beyond the palace walls, a night bird called into the darkness. My wrist still burned where he had touched me. The sensation wasn't painful exactly, but it lingered beneath my skin like trapped heat, as though a coal had been buried there and left smoldering.

Kael's gaze remained fixed on my arm.

"What was that?"

His voice was steady, but I caught the tension beneath it.

I immediately pulled my wrist free and tucked it against my side.

"I don't know."

For once, I wasn't lying.

His eyes narrowed.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't particularly care what you believe."

The answer came out sharper than intended.

For a brief moment, genuine surprise crossed his face. It almost made me smile.

Good.

Let him be surprised.

The Seraphina he remembered would have apologized immediately. She would have worried about offending him. She would have spent the rest of the evening replaying the conversation and wondering how to earn back his approval.

That version of me had died in the execution square.

The flames had taken more than my life that night. They had burned away my illusions too.

Kael studied me in silence. His attention felt physical, like sunlight focused through glass. It made the back of my neck prickle.

"You've changed."

A bitter laugh nearly escaped me.

If only he knew.

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's true."

His expression remained unreadable. "Three days ago, you could barely hold a conversation with me. Tonight you've lied to my face, challenged me twice, and somehow managed to predict an assassin's attack."

The knot in my stomach tightened.

This was exactly why I had wanted to avoid him.

Kael wasn't foolish. People often focused on his strength and forgot how observant he could be. Once something caught his attention, he pursued it relentlessly. He noticed details others overlooked. He connected patterns.

And if he kept looking closely enough, eventually he might discover something I couldn't allow anyone to know.

The truth.

That I had already lived through five years of this life.

That I remembered every betrayal.

Every death.

Every mistake.

"Maybe you simply never paid much attention before."

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

For the first time that evening, something shifted in his expression.

The change was brief. So brief that another person might have missed it.

Guilt.

It flashed across his face and disappeared almost instantly.

Yet I knew what I had seen.

Interesting.

Before I could decide what to make of it, a sharp sensation shot through my wrist.

I sucked in a breath.

Heat spread beneath my skin, radiating outward through my arm. It wasn't painful, but it was strange enough to make my stomach drop.

The world tilted.

My vision blurred.

Suddenly, an image appeared in my mind.

A colossal stone gate rose from darkness, its surface carved with symbols unlike any language I knew. Crimson fire spilled through the cracks in the ancient rock, illuminating thousands of glowing runes.

The sight lasted less than a second.

Then it vanished.

I staggered.

Kael caught my arm before I could lose my balance.

"Seraphina."

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

The concern in his voice caught me off guard.

I looked up and found him watching me closely.

For a ridiculous moment, another memory surfaced.

Not the flames.

Not the pain.

The moment before my execution.

The brief instant when I had looked into his eyes and thought I saw hesitation.

I had clung to that hesitation like a fool. Even with death waiting for me, part of me had believed he would stop it.

That he would choose me.

He hadn't.

The memory settled over me like cold water.

I stepped away from him.

"I'm going home."

His jaw tightened.

"We're not finished."

"We are from my perspective."

I turned toward the garden entrance.

"Seraphina."

I stopped.

Not because he commanded it.

Because of the way he said my name.

There was something different in his voice. Something quieter.

Careful.

The sound of it unsettled me far more than anger would have.

When I glanced back, he was still standing beside the fountain, moonlight silvering the edges of his dark clothing.

"I don't know what's happening," he said. "But whatever you're involved in, it's dangerous."

A humorless smile touched my lips.

If only he knew how right he was.

"I'm aware."

Then I left.

This time, he didn't try to stop me.

---

The journey home felt longer than usual.

The streets were nearly empty, but every shadow seemed darker than before. Every distant footstep made me glance over my shoulder. By the time I climbed through my bedroom window, exhaustion sat heavily on my shoulders.

I kicked off my boots and collapsed onto the bed without bothering to change.

Sleep claimed me almost instantly.

The dreams returned.

At first there was only darkness.

Then fire.

The same crimson flames from before spread across an endless void. Beyond them stood the enormous gate I had glimpsed in the vision. It towered above me, impossibly large, its black stone surface covered in ancient runes.

Thousands of them.

Each glowing with a dull red light.

The air vibrated.

A voice echoed from somewhere beyond the gate.

Find it.

Find the truth.

The words seemed to bypass my ears entirely. I felt them inside my bones.

Slowly, I turned.

The dragon stood behind me.

Its ruby scales reflected the crimson fire surrounding us. Golden eyes watched me with unsettling intelligence.

This time, there was no sadness in its gaze.

Only urgency.

"The enemy awakens."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

I opened my mouth to ask what enemy it meant.

But before I could speak, the dream shattered.

---

I woke before sunrise.

My shirt clung to my skin with sweat. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.

For several moments, I sat motionless in the darkness, trying to steady my breathing.

The dream hadn't felt like imagination.

It felt like a memory.

A knock sounded at my door.

I nearly jumped out of bed.

"Seraphina?"

My mother's voice.

Relief washed through me immediately.

"Come in."

The door opened.

She entered carrying a breakfast tray balanced carefully in her hands. Warm tea scented the air, mixing with the smell of fresh bread.

For a moment, I simply looked at her.

Alive.

Healthy.

Smiling.

The sight squeezed something painfully tight inside my chest.

In my first life, I had assumed there would always be more mornings like this.

I had been wrong.

"You look terrible," she said.

I snorted.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Despite everything, I laughed.

The sound faded when I noticed the hesitation in her expression.

Something was wrong.

My stomach tightened.

"What happened?"

She sighed and set the tray down.

"A visitor arrived this morning."

Every muscle in my body stiffened.

"A visitor?"

She nodded.

"From the palace."

Of course.

The memory of Kael's questioning gaze immediately surfaced.

My pulse quickened.

"Kael?"

"No."

The answer surprised me.

Then she spoke three words that sent a chill racing down my spine.

"It's Lady Vivienne."

The smile vanished from my face.

Because in my first life, Vivienne hadn't visited our estate until weeks later.

Weeks.

Not days.

Which meant the timeline was shifting again.

And if Vivienne had arrived this early, then she had already begun moving her pieces across the board.

The game that destroyed my life was starting sooner than before.

This time, I intended to be ready.