Clara stared at Erynn in shock. "My daughter? That's impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible across time and worlds," Erynn said. Her green eyes—eyes that suddenly looked familiar to Clara—held both sadness and drive.
Lucien shook his head. "This is another trick. Another manipulation."
"It's the truth," Erynn maintained. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a locket identical to Clara's. "This was yours. You gave it to me before you died."
Clara's hand went to her own locket. "If you're really my daughter, why have you been playing games? Why not tell me from the beginning?"
Erynn's face darkened. "Would you have believed me? Or would you have thought I was insane?" She turned to Lucien. "We need to save Dominic. Now."
"Where is he?" Lucien asked, still suspicious.
"In the old dungeon beneath the north tower. Selene has at least a dozen shadow wolves guarding him."
Clara looked between them, her mind rushing. Could Erynn really be her daughter from the future? It seemed impossible, yet after everything she'd learned about rebirth and magic, could she really rule anything out?
"I need a moment," Clara said. "To think."
"We don't have time—" Erynn began.
"Let her think," Lucien interrupted. "We'll need a plan anyway."
As they talked strategy, Clara stepped away into the cottage. Her head was spinning with too many discoveries. Her daughter? Dominic being her ancestor? What other lies were still hidden from her?
She paced the small room, trying to sort through her confused thoughts. Through the window, she could see Lucien and Erynn talking, their faces serious. Something about their closeness bothered her.
A floorboard creaked behind her. Clara whirled around to find Isolde standing in the darkness.
"How did you—"
"Shh," Isolde whispered, putting a finger to her lips. "I can only stay hidden for a few moments. Listen carefully." She glanced toward the window. "Don't trust her."
"You mean Erynn? She says she's my daughter."
"She's lying," Isolde said simply. "Think, Clara. In all your recovered memories, do you remember ever having a child?"
Clara frowned. "No, but—"
"Because you never did. In every life, you died before you could."
Clara's head throbbed. Who was telling the truth? "Why should I trust you instead? You and Dominic have been manipulating me too."
"We tried to protect you," Isolde said. "In our own way." She pulled something from her pocket—a small bottle of glowing blue liquid. "Take this. If Erynn tries to make you drink anything, switch it. You'll see her true form."
Before Clara could ask more questions, Isolde disappeared like smoke. Clara stared at the vial in her hand, then quickly tucked it into her dress as Lucien entered the house.
"Clara? Are you ready? We need to move soon."
"Yes," she said, faking a calm she didn't feel. "I'm ready."
They rejoined Erynn in the garden. She had drawn a special circle on the ground with silver dust.
"This will take us directly to the dungeon," she explained. "Stand in the center."
Clara and Lucien stepped into the circle. Erynn joined them, finishing a strange symbol with her boot.
"Remember," Erynn said, "Selene is powerful. She can shift between human and shadow form. And she feeds on magic—don't use your powers directly on her or she'll only grow stronger."
The circle began to glow. Clara felt that same waterfall feeling as the pocket dimension dissolved around them. When it cleared, they stood in a dark, damp prison. Torches cast shifting shadows on stone walls.
"This way," Erynn whispered, leading them down a narrow hallway.
They moved quietly, stopping when they heard growling ahead. Peering around a corner, Clara saw the shadow wolves moving in front of a heavy wooden door.
"Dominic must be in there," Lucien whispered.
"I'll distract the wolves," Erynn said. "You two free Dominic."
Before they could argue, she stepped into the hallway. The wolves turned toward her, snarling. Erynn raised her hands, green fire dancing on her fingers. The wolves charged.
"Now!" Lucien hissed, pulling Clara toward the door.
They slipped past the chaos of Erynn fighting the wolves. Lucien broke the lock with his strength, and they hurried inside.
Dominic hung from the wall, held by silver chains. His body was covered in strange symbols painted in what looked like blood.
"Lucien," he croaked, his eyes barely open. "It's a trap."
Too late, Clara felt movement behind them. She turned to see Erynn standing in the doorway, green fire still flashing around her hands.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way," she said.
"You betrayed us," Lucien snarled.
"I did what was necessary," Erynn answered coldly. "The wolves are my creations. Did you really think I'd fight my own creatures?"
Clara reached for her power, but Erynn waved a hand. A heavy feeling fell over Clara, dampening her magic.
"Don't bother," Erynn said. "I've placed binding spells throughout this room."
"Why?" Clara asked. "If you're really my daughter, why do this?"
Erynn's face softened slightly. "That part wasn't a lie. I am your child—just not the way you think." She moved closer to Clara. "He'll destroy you again," she warned, pointing at Lucien. "He doesn't tell you that he drinks from you in every lifetime until you die."
Clara looked at Lucien in fear. "Is that true?"
"No!" Lucien said furiously. "Never! I would never harm you."
"He's lying," Erynn insisted. "The curse makes him crave your blood. It's why you die every time—he can't control his hunger."
Clara didn't know who to trust. Lucien had hidden things from her before. But something about Erynn's story felt wrong.
"If Lucien kills me in every life," Clara said slowly, "then how could you be my daughter? I would have died before having a child."
Erynn's smile turned cold. "You're smarter in this lifetime. Good." She reached into a pouch at her waist. "I am your daughter, Clara. But not by birth."
She pulled out a small bottle filled with dark red liquid. "I'm your daughter by blood. Your blood, mixed with the essence of the three realms, created me."
"You're not human," Dominic said softly from the wall. "Tell her what you really are."
Erynn glared at him. "I am the future. The perfect balance of all three worlds."
"She's a construct," Dominic stated. "A magical creation made to look human. Isolde and I discovered her plan centuries ago. That's why we've tried to keep you apart."
"Enough talk," Erynn snapped. She held out the bottle to Clara. "Drink this. It will protect you from what comes next."
Clara remembers Isolde's warning and the vial hidden in her dress. With shaking hands, she took Erynn's bottle.
"What is it?" she asked, stalling.
"A protection potion," Erynn said. "Drink it quickly. Selene will be here soon."
Clara faked to stumble, using the moment to switch the bottles. She lifted Isolde's blue liquid to her lips, only pretending to drink.
"Good," Erynn smiled, pleased. "Now we wait."
But instead of Clara changing, it was Erynn whose form began to shimmer. Her beautiful face melted away, showing something ancient and terrible beneath—skin like cracked porcelain, eyes completely black, and hair writhing like living flames.
"What have you done?" Erynn screamed, her voice no longer human.
Clara backed away in fear. "Shown you for what you really are."
Erynn screamed in rage, her disguise totally gone now. "You've ruined everything! Do you know how many centuries I've waited? How many of your lives I've manipulated?"
She lunged at Clara, her hands now tipped with black claws. Lucien jumped between them, but Erynn swatted him away like a doll.
"I am not your daughter," Erynn growled, pinning Clara against the wall. "I am your replacement. When the ritual happens tomorrow night, I will take your place in all three worlds. I will become the bridge, and you will cease to exist!"
As Clara struggled, a silver light started to glow around her heart. The locket she wore burst open, producing a blinding flash. Erynn screamed and fell back.
In that moment of freedom, Clara ran to Dominic and broke his chains with newfound power.
"We have to escape," she gasped.
"Too late," Erynn hissed, recovering quickly. She raised her hands, and the entire prison began to shake. "If I can't have your willing participation, I'll take what I need by force!"
The roof cracked, stones falling around them. Clara helped Dominic while Lucien stumbled to his feet. They needed an exit, but there was nowhere to run.
As a big stone crashed down, about to crush them, Clara acted on instinct. She threw her arms around both men and called upon her inner power. Silver light surrounded them as the dungeon collapsed.
When the light faded, they stood in a strange, misty place Clara had never seen before.
"Where are we?" she asked, looking around at the whirling gray nothing.
"The Void," Dominic said seriously. "The space between worlds."
"Is that... good?" Clara asked.
"No," Lucien whispered, pulling her closer. "It's very, very bad."
From the mist ahead, a figure appeared—a woman with long white hair and golden eyes.
"Hello, Clara," Isolde said, her voice echoing oddly. "Welcome to my true home."
Behind Isolde, more forms emerged—dozens of them, all with golden eyes. And leading them was a man Clara had never seen before, with eyes like pools of darkness.
"Who is that?" Clara whispered to Lucien.
Lucien's face had gone pale. "The Creator of Curses. The one who started it all."
The dark-eyed man smiled. "So, the latest vessel has arrived. How convenient."