Chapter Four

SELENE. 

Pain.

It was all I knew.

The lash of the whip, the searing burn as it bit into my flesh. The wet warmth of blood trickling down my back, soaking into the ragged edges of my dress.

I’d endured countless wounds throughout my existence. Beatings. Bruises. Humiliation. But never before had I honestly wanted to die as I did now.

I tried to block it out, to let myself float, but Kieran's raging demands pulled me back to the land of the living.

"Tell me the truth, Selene!"

I lifted my head, blear-eyed. "I don't— " my throat was sore from screaming. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The whip descended again.

I gagged on a sob.

Somewhere outside the dungeon's little, barred window, the sky had gone dark to a deep crimson.

A Blood Moon.

How fitting. How symbolic.

I was going to die under a Blood Moon.

Kieran exhaled a rough breath, stepping back, his expression changing from anger to frustration. He was wearing thin.

The guards glanced at each other nervously, sensing tension. Even they now seemed on edge.

Then a soft voice cut through the thick silence.

"Kieran." I froze.

I didn't need to glance to know who was calling him.

Lyra.

A set of gracious, light steps approached, and out of the edge of my eyesight, I could make her out, tall, draped in folds of expensive fabric.

She was standing beside Kieran, her tiny hand outlining along his arm.

"My love," she breathed,"how much longer will you waste time?"

Kieran's jaw ticked. "She's lying to me."

Lyra diverted her gaze to me, her mouth twisting into a sneering smile.

"Of course she is."

I turned my face away,bile burning in my throat.

Hatred scratched in my chest. 

Lyra released a sigh, standing in front of Kieran once more. "Stop beating around, darling. Literally." She traced her hand down his chest, nails scraping against him. "Do what you have to do."

Kieran's hands curled into fists.

"Lyra—"

"Don't get cold feet now," she whispered, nipping his jaw. "You want to be healed, don't you?"

Silence.

Kieran drew a deep breath, long and slow.

Then, he stood. 

I forced myself to remain motionless as he turned, walking towards the closest guard.

My heart was beating weakly in my chest.

Kieran reached out and grabbed a dagger.

The metal shone dully in the light of the torches as he tested its balance, rolling his wrist.

He then faced me. My blood turned cold.

Kieran strode toward me, crouching so close I could see the darkness pooling in his golden eyes.  

I flinched, then swallowed back a whimper as pain flared across my ruined back.

His voice was a snarl. “I gave you a chance.”

My breath shuddered. “I—I don’t know what you want from me.” 

Kieran’s expression twisted and his grip on the sword tightened.

His jaw clenched.Then the blade plunged into my heart.

A piercing, searing agony tore through my chest.  

I gasped, blood bubbling up my throat.  

My eyes widened, my body convulsing as pain swallowed me whole.  

The world blurred, my limbs going limp.

Life… slipping away.  

But then…Something strange happened.

Right before my dying eyes, I saw something that wasn’t real. Or maybe… it was.  

Memories. Flashes of images.  

Scenes I’d never lived but knew. I saw myself.

I saw Kieran.

And a second man.

A stranger with stormy eyes, one black, the other silver draped in shadows.  

The three of us, in different times, different places.

A castle. A*battlefield.  A moonlit temple. 

Spanning over a century ago. 

My mind reeled.  I had…lived these lives before.

I had died before. This…this moment, this death, had happened before.

The revelation snapped something deep inside me.  

And suddenly I felt it. 

A power, buried and forgotten, awakening in my dying heart.

I gasped, struggling to breathe, my vision dissolving.

My strength weakened. My eyes blinked one last time, focusing on Kieran's face, now fading.

With what little life was left in me, I said a final, last wish to the Moon Goddess.

"Give me another chance… one where I make my own choices."

Then, my eyes closed.

And life left me.

—-

My eyes flew open.

My chest heaved as I sucked in a deep breath, panic crushing me from all sides.  

Wait…What? 

The last thing I remembered was dying.The sword. The pain. The cold embrace of death.  

But now, I was here.  

A sudden pounding on the door made me jump.

Thud. Thud. Thud. It was noisy, angry.

I blinked, my mind still in a state of confusion.

Thud. Thud.

"Selene!" A harsh voice cut through. "Open the damned door!"

My body acted on instinct.

I stumbled to the door, my legs feeling odd and unstable. With trembling hands, I flung it open.

A blast of cold air surged in. My hand flew to my chest, then to my stomach.  

No wound.  

My fingers pressed against my skin, my breathing shallow.  

Nothing. No pain. No gaping hole. No blood.  

My back. I reached behind me, fingers brushing over smooth, untouched skin.  

No scars. No lash marks.  

Like it never happened.  

Like I’d never died.

My stomach twisted.

Did I come back from the dead?

"Are you deaf?"

My head snapped up.

A figure familiar to me stood in the doorway, arms folded, glowering.

Isla.

The omega scowled at me with thinly veiled annoyance. "You missed breakfast," Isla growled curtly, before slamming a folded piece of paper against my chest. I barely managed to catch it in time.

"Here's your work for the day."

I stared at the paper, my mind still foggy.

"Don't be late again," Isla warned, voice dropping into a low sneer. "'Cause next time? I won't wake you up. I'll smother you in your sleep instead."

My head snapped up and my stomach churned.

Not because of Isla's usual threats but because everything about this was… wrong.

Terribly, terribly wrong. 

Isla let out a high-nosed huff and marched off,disappearing down the hall.  

I watched her go, frozen.  

My hands trembled around the paper.  What is happening?

I’d died.

I remembered dying.

I remembered everything. Kieran.  The sword.  The blood.  The past lives.

It had all come back to me the moment he killed 

And yet… I was alive. Breathing.

I stumbled out of the small omega quarters, the morning air biting at my skin.  

It was chilly.  Too chilly.

My brow furrowed.

The Moon Festival period was always in summer.

This wasn’t summer.

My pulse sped up.

No.  No, no, no.  

I whirled around, spotting a group of girls chatting by the well.  

I rushed toward them, my heart hammering.  "Wait!"

The girls turned, giving me an annoyed once-over.  

I barely noticed.  

"What day is it?" I demanded. "What year?"

They exchanged incredulous looks.  

Then they laughed. Mocking.

"Are you kidding me?" one of them snorted. "Did you bump your head or something?"

I clenched my teeth. "Just tell me!" My stinging tone stopped them in their tracks.

The tallest girl rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"It's 2015, duh." She scrunched up her nose. "What kind of stupid question is that?"

My heart skipped a beat.

2015.

I barely heard them laughing, scoffing, muttering insults as they walked away.  

My ears rang.

A year before the rejection.

A year before my death.   

Somehow, I’d gone back.

One year in the past.  

Back to 2015.