Chapter 155

Chapter 155
Lynette's POV

The warmth of the living room still clung to my skin. Mom's tears. Dad's trembling hands. Ethan's awkward but fierce hug. All of it felt surreal. Like I'd stepped into someone else's life.

Except it was mine. This was supposed to be mine all along.

Ethan cleared his throat. "You two should rest. I'll go set up the guest room—"

"No need." Elara's voice cut through gently. She looked at me. "Lynette and I will share my room. We're sisters."

Something twisted in my chest. Sisters. The word felt strange. Foreign. But also... right.

Ethan's eyebrows rose slightly. He glanced between us. Then nodded. "Alright. I'll bring up the spare cot."

He disappeared upstairs. I heard the sounds of furniture being moved. Drawers opening and closing.

Mom wiped her face again. Her eyes were still red. Puffy. She reached out and squeezed my hand one more time before letting go. "I'll make up some fresh sheets. You girls go on up."

I followed Elara up the narrow staircase. Each step creaked under my weight. The house was small. Old. Nothing like the fortress compounds I'd lived in up North.

But it smelled like home cooking. Like safety. Like family.

Elara pushed open a door at the end of the hall. "This is my room. Well... our room now."

I stepped inside.

The walls were painted a soft cream color. There were photos tacked to a corkboard. Landscape pictures. Nothing personal. A desk sat under the window. Textbooks stacked neatly. A worn backpack hanging from the chair.

I knew this room.

I'd been here before. Slept in that bed. Sat at that desk. But then I'd been pretending to be Elara. Playing a role. Hiding who I really was.

Now I was here as Lynette. As myself.

And somehow that made everything feel different. Unfamiliar.

I touched the wall. The paint was cool under my fingers. I moved to the bed. Sat down on the edge. The mattress dipped under my weight. The same way it had before.

But it wasn't the same. Nothing was the same.

"Lynette?"

I looked up. Elara was watching me. Her expression careful. Like she wasn't sure what I was thinking.

I stood. Crossed the room until I was right in front of her.

"Thank you."

She blinked. "For what?"

My throat felt tight. "For letting me experience what it's like to be loved. Even though I was pretending to be you. Even though I didn't deserve it."

Her eyes widened.

"In the North..." I had to pause. Swallow. "In the North, no one cared if you lived or died. Family didn't mean anything. Blood didn't mean anything. Only strength mattered."

I gestured vaguely toward the stairs. Toward the family waiting below. "But here? You gave me this. You gave me a home to come back to. A family that actually wants me."

My voice cracked on the last word.

Elara stepped forward. Wrapped her arms around me. "We're sisters now. Really sisters. And that means you always have a home here. Always."

I let myself lean into the hug. Just for a moment. Just long enough to feel the warmth of it.

When we pulled apart, Elara's expression had shifted. Gone serious.

"But we still have a problem."

I knew what she meant. "Wild Hunt."

She nodded. "Their leader won't stop. Not until they finish the contract."

"The Council's protecting the town," I said. But even as I said it, I knew it wasn't enough.

"Wild Hunt has been doing this for decades," Elara said quietly. "They're good at getting past defenses. At finding their targets no matter how well protected."

She was right. I'd seen them work. Seen how they operated. They were patient. Methodical. And they never gave up.

"We need help," Elara continued. "Real help. Professional fighters who know how to deal with mercenaries."

I thought about the Council agents. The ones who'd been assigned to watch our family. They were competent. Trained. But they weren't specialists. Not like what we needed.

"The Council won't send more people," I said slowly. "That's what I heard from last time ."

Elara's jaw tightened. "Then we need to find someone else."

Silence fell between us. I could hear Ethan's footsteps in the hallway. The sound of him setting up the cot in the corner.

My mind turned over possibilities. People I'd known. Allies I'd had. But most of them were dead. Or scattered. Or wouldn't come even if I called.

Then a thought struck me.

There was one person. Someone close. Someone powerful.

Someone who might actually help.

"Maybe..." I hesitated. "Maybe there is someone."

Elara's eyes sharpened. "Who?"

I stood. Moved toward the door. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

I didn't answer. Just opened the door and headed downstairs.

Mom looked up from the kitchen. "Girls? Where—"

"Just stepping outside for a minute," I called back. "We'll be right back."

I heard Elara's footsteps behind me. Felt her confusion. But she didn't argue.

I pushed open the front door. Stepped out into the cool evening air.

The street was quiet. Most of the houses had their lights on. Warm glows spilling from windows. Ordinary families doing ordinary things.

I turned left. Walked three houses down. Stopped in front of a door I'd never knocked on before.

But Elara had. Many times.

"Lynette?" Elara's voice was uncertain now. "This is the Harrington house. What are we doing here?"

I took a deep breath. "We're asking for help."

Before she could respond, I raised my hand and knocked.

Footsteps inside. Heavy. Male. Getting closer.

The door swung open.

Kael Harrington stood there. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dark hair slightly messy like he'd been running his hands through it. Those amber eyes that I remembered too well.

He looked at me first. His brow furrowed. "Can I help you?"

My heart stuttered. Because he didn't know. Couldn't know. To him, I was just some girl he'd never met.

The girl whose body I was wearing now had never spoken to him. Never trained with him. Never kissed him in a cave during a rainstorm.

All of that had been me. But I was in Elara's body then.

Then his gaze shifted. Landed on Elara standing behind me.

And I saw it. The way his eyes darkened. The way his jaw tightened. The flash of heat that crossed his face.

He recognized her. Recognized the body he'd held. Touched. Made love to.

Even though the soul inside it was different now.

"Elara," he said. But this time he was looking at my sister. His voice dropped lower. Rougher. "What are you doing here?"

I realized then how complicated this was going to be.

Kael thought Elara was me. The girl he'd been drawn to. The girl he'd saved. The girl he'd slept with.

And he had no idea that the person standing in front of him—in the body he'd never seen before—was actually the one who remembered everything.

Elara glanced at me. I could see the question in her eyes. What do we tell him?

I opened my mouth. But no words came out.

Because how do you explain to someone that souls can switch bodies? That the girl he thought he knew was actually someone else entirely?

How do you tell him that the person he'd been falling for was me—but I was standing in front of him in a stranger's face?

Kael's eyes moved between us. Confusion flickered across his features. "Is something wrong?"

I forced myself to speak. "We need to talk to you. It's important."

His gaze locked on me. Really looked at me this time. I saw the exact moment he registered something familiar. Something he couldn't quite place.

His head tilted slightly. "Do I know you?"