Chapter 37: Stolen

Nobody spoke.

The ruined palace seemed to hold its breath.

Moonlight spilled across broken stone.

The kneeling students remained motionless.

Jacob stared at Lena.

Seraphine stared at Lena.

Everyone stared at Lena.

But Lena's attention was fixed on one thing.

One sentence.

I was the one who raised you.

Her heart pounded.

Hard.

Fast.

Painfully.

"What?"

The word barely left her lips.

Seraphine's expression softened.

Not the fake smile she'd been wearing.

Not the unsettling affection.

Something genuine.

Something sad.

"I knew you wouldn't remember."

Lena shook her head.

"No."

Her voice rose.

"No."

Because if that was true...

Then who was Seraphine?

Who was James?

Who was she?

The questions crashed together until her head hurt.

"You are lying."

Seraphine didn't react.

Didn't get angry.

Didn't defend herself.

She simply looked at Lena the way someone might look at a child who didn't understand.

And somehow that made Lena even angrier.

"I am not."

The answer was quiet.

Certain.

Absolute.

Caleb stepped forward.

Immediately.

Positioning himself between them.

"Don't."

One word.

A warning.

Seraphine's eyes slowly shifted toward him.

The warmth vanished.

Instantly.

The temperature in the ruins seemed to drop.

"Oh."

Her voice became cold.

"So you're still here."

The hostility was immediate.

Undeniable.

Lena noticed it.

So did Adrian.

Apparently neither woman liked Caleb very much.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Caleb's expression hardened.

"You should leave."

Seraphine laughed.

A beautiful sound.

Cruel.

"You really think you can tell me what to do?"

The ruins trembled.

Stone cracked beneath her feet.

Jacob flinched.

Several of the kneeling students lowered their heads even further.

Lena felt her pulse quicken.

This wasn't just an argument.

These two genuinely hated each other.

Seraphine looked back at Lena.

The warmth returned.

As though flipping a switch.

"Do you know what he told you?"

She nodded toward Caleb.

"How much of the truth have you heard?"

Lena hesitated.

Then answered honestly.

"Not much."

A bitter smile touched Seraphine's lips.

"Of course not."

Caleb's jaw tightened.

"That's enough."

"No."

The word cracked through the ruins like thunder.

Everyone froze.

For the first time, Seraphine's calm demeanor slipped.

Not much.

Just enough.

Enough for Lena to glimpse the fury underneath.

The grief.

The rage.

The years.

"So many lies."

Seraphine's gaze swept across Caleb and Adrian.

"You hid her."

Silence.

"You stole her."

Nobody answered.

The silence felt significant.

Dangerously significant.

Lena's stomach tightened.

"Stole me?"

The words escaped before she could stop them.

Seraphine looked at her.

And something broke in her eyes.

Pain.

Raw pain.

The kind that couldn't be faked.

The kind that came from losing something precious.

"Yes."

The single word shattered whatever certainty Lena still had.

Because Seraphine believed it.

Truly believed it.

Not manipulation.

Not acting.

Belief.

A horrible possibility began creeping into Lena's mind.

What if everyone thought they were protecting her...

But nobody had actually told her the full story?

The thought unsettled her.

Deeply.

Seraphine took a slow breath.

Then looked toward the ruined palace surrounding them.

Moonlight reflected in her silver eyes.

"Do you know what this place was?"

Lena already knew.

Sort of.

The visions had shown her.

The memories.

The palace.

The throne.

The crowds.

Still, she shook her head.

Seraphine smiled sadly.

"This was your home."

Silence.

Lena felt something twist inside her chest.

The words shouldn't have affected her.

They should have sounded ridiculous.

Impossible.

Instead...

They hurt.

Because some part of her recognized the place.

Some part of her remembered.

The realization frightened her.

A lot.

Seraphine gestured around them.

"Every stone."

Her voice softened.

"Every hallway."

"Every garden."

"Every tower."

The ruins seemed different suddenly.

Less like ruins.

More like ghosts.

The remains of something beautiful.

Something lost.

Then Seraphine pointed toward the center of the palace.

Toward a broken platform illuminated by moonlight.

Lena's breath caught.

A throne.

Or what remained of one.

Shattered.

Broken.

Destroyed.

The sight sent a sharp pain through her chest.

A memory flickered.

A little girl laughing.

Running through those halls.

Chasing silver wolves.

A woman watching fondly from a throne.

The memory vanished.

Lena stumbled.

Caleb caught her immediately.

The contact grounded her.

Steadied her.

For a brief moment their eyes met.

And suddenly Lena became aware of how close he was.

How often he caught her.

How often he protected her.

How often he chose her.

The realization flashed through her before she could stop it.

Then Seraphine's voice shattered the moment.

"They erased you."

The ruins fell silent.

Even the wind seemed to disappear.

Lena slowly looked up.

"What?"

Seraphine's silver eyes burned.

Not with power.

With grief.

"They couldn't kill you."

The words landed heavily.

"So they erased you instead."

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

Seraphine pointed toward Adrian.

Then Caleb.

Then somewhere beyond them.

As though accusing an entire world.

"They took your memories."

"They changed your life."

"They buried your name."

The mark on Lena's wrist suddenly flared.

Pain exploded through her arm.

Silver light burst beneath her skin.

A scream escaped her throat.

The ruins shook.

Every kneeling student cried out.

The ground cracked.

Caleb grabbed her shoulders.

"Lena!"

The world blurred.

Moonlight.

Silver fire.

Blood.

Screaming.

A palace under attack.

People running.

Dying.

Falling.

The throne room burning.

And in the center of it all...

A little girl.

Crying.

Terrified.

Being carried away by someone.

Away from the palace.

Away from the fire.

Away from Seraphine.

The vision shattered.

Lena gasped.

The ruins returned.

Everyone stared at her.

The mark still glowed.

Brighter than ever.

And for the first time...

She remembered something.

Not a vision.

Not a dream.

A memory.

Real.

Small.

But real.

A woman kneeling before her.

Silver eyes.

Dark hair.

Holding her face.

Crying.

Whispering:

"Come back to me."

The memory hit harder than any vision.

Because she knew that voice.

She knew that face.

And for one terrifying second...

She remembered loving her.

Seraphine saw it.

The moment of recognition.

The tiny crack in the wall.

Hope exploded across her face.

"Lena..."

The way she said her name hurt.

Actually hurt.

Like hearing someone desperately trying not to break.

Then a sound echoed through the ruins.

A low growl.

Everyone froze.

Caleb's head snapped toward the forest.

Adrian swore.

Seraphine's expression darkened instantly.

The warmth vanished.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

The growl came again.

Closer.

This time Lena felt it.

The vibration beneath her feet.

Something was approaching.

Fast.

From the darkness beyond the ruins.

Whatever it was...

Every single person present reacted.

Even Seraphine.

And that frightened Lena more than anything else.

Because for the first time since meeting her...

Seraphine looked worried.