Clara stared at Lucien in shock. "What do you mean I die every time we fall in love?"
Lucien turned away, his shoulders tight. "We should keep moving. Erynn will be back."
"No!" Clara grabbed his arm. "Tell me the truth!"
Lucien's silver eyes met hers, and for a moment, time seemed to stop. Those eyes—the ones from her dreams. They held so much pain, so much history.
"Fine," he said quietly. "But not here."
He led her through the only unbroken glass in the room. Stepping through felt like walking through cold water. When they exited, they were in a beautiful garden lit by moonlight. Strange flowers glowed with blue and purple light, and the air smelled sweet.
"Where are we?" Clara asked, looking around in wonder.
"A safe place in the vampire world. Erynn can't find us here for now."
They walked to a stone bench surrounded by bright flowers. The whole yard felt like a dream, with star-filled skies that seemed too bright and too close.
Lucien sat down, motioning for Clara to join him. "What I'm about to tell you will sound impossible."
"More impossible than finding out I'm half-witch with past lives and magical powers?" Clara tried to joke, but her voice shook.
"Fair point," Lucien said with a sad smile. "Three hundred years ago, we met for the first time. You were a town healer, like your aunt. I was already a vampire, though a young one. We fell in love, which was illegal."
Clara listened, feeling a strange stirring in her chest at his words.
"A strong blood witch named Erynn wanted to merge the three realms—human, vampire, and witch. She needed the blood of perfect opposites who shared a soul bond. A vampire who still yearned to be human... and a human with vampire blood."
"And that was us," Clara breathed.
Lucien nodded. "You agreed to help me stop her. During the ritual, you sacrificed yourself to avoid the merging. But Erynn's magic was already working. Instead of dying totally, your soul was bound to the cycle of rebirth."
"So I keep coming back? As the same person?"
"Yes. Every hundred years, you're reborn with the same face, same name, but no memories of your past lives. And every time, something draws you back to me, back to this house."
Clara looked at the ring around her neck. "This is what guides me to you."
"Yes. And every time we meet, the same thing happens. We begin to fall in love. Your memories slowly return. And then..." He stopped, pain flashing across his face.
"I die," Clara finished for him. "But why?"
"Because the curse Erynn put on us works two ways. I'm cursed to find and lose you over and over. You're cursed to remember and die. The more you remember, the closer death comes."
Clara felt cold despite the warm night air. "So right now, by telling me all this, you're killing me?"
Lucien's eyes filled with sadness. "Yes."
Clara stood up, backing away. "Then why tell me? Why not keep me in the dark?"
"Because Erynn is getting stronger. The walls between worlds are weakening. This might be our last chance to break the curse before all three realms fall."
"And how do we break it?"
"I don't know. We've tried different ways in each lifetime. Nothing has worked." Lucien stood, reaching for her hands. "But this time is different. You're showing skills earlier than ever before. Your evil blood is stronger."
Clara let him take her hands, surprised by how warm they felt for a vampire's. "What if I don't want to remember? What if I just want to go home and forget all this?"
"Then I would let you go," Lucien said softly. "I've done it before. But the pull between us always brings you back, and Erynn always finds you. At least here, I can protect you."
A gust of wind swept through the yard, making the glowing flowers sway. In the background, thunder rumbled.
"She's searching for us," Lucien said, looking at the sky. "We need to return to the castle."
They stepped back through the mirror and found themselves in a different part of the castle—a grand hall with high ceilings and huge chandeliers.
Vampires rushed about, carrying weapons and boarding up windows. They stopped and stared when they saw Clara and Lucien.
"My lord," one vampire said, bowing quickly. "The west wall is secure, but we can't hold the north tower much longer."
"Move everyone to the inner chambers," Lucien ordered. "No one fights alone. They'll pick off singles."
The vampire nodded and rushed away.
"What's happening?" Clara asked.
"War," Lucien said sadly. "Erynn has been planning this attack for decades."
A tall vampire with dark skin and one golden eye neared them. "The witch is here," he said to Lucien. "She demands to see the girl."
"Isolde?" Clara asked eagerly.
"No," the vampire answered. "Another. She claims to be your aunt."
Clara's heart jumped. "Aunt Meredith? But she's dead!"
Lucien and the other vampire traded dark looks. "Bring her in," Lucien ordered. "But carefully."
Moments later, two vampires led a woman into the hall. She looked exactly like Aunt Meredith—same gray hair, same kind eyes, same gentle hands that had cared for Clara all her life.
"Clara, my darling!" the woman cried, running forward.
Lucien stepped between them. "Stop."
"Get out of my way, vampire," the woman hissed. "I've come for my niece."
Clara peeked around Lucien. "Aunt Meredith? How is this possible? I saw you die."
The woman's face softened. "What you saw was an illusion, dear. I had to fake my death to draw you out, to make you follow the locket's call. Now come with me. We need to get you home before it's too late."
Something felt wrong. Clara remembered holding Aunt Meredith's hand as she died, remembered burying her in the town cemetery.
"If you're really my aunt," Clara said slowly, "tell me what you gave me on my sixteenth birthday."
The woman smiled. "A metal locket, of course. The very one around your neck."
Clara's blood ran cold. "You're lying. Aunt Meredith gave me this locket on her deathbed, three weeks ago. Not on my birthday."
The woman's smile didn't falter, but her eyes hardened. "You're confused, dear. The vampire has been filling your head with lies."
"No," Clara said, backing away. "You're not my aunt."
The woman's face suddenly twisted with rage. Her features melted and moved until she no longer looked like Aunt Meredith at all. Instead, she looked like Clara herself, but with black eyes and wicked smile.
"Smart girl," the fake Clara said in Erynn's voice. "But not smart enough."
She lunged forward with impossible speed, grabbing Clara's locket before anyone could stop her. The chain broke with a snap.
"No!" Lucien shouted, reaching for the locket.
Too late. Erynn crushed it in her hand. A blast of blue light burst through the hall, throwing everyone back. Clara hit the floor hard, her head spinning.
As her eyes cleared, Clara saw something impossible. Where her locket had been broken, a swirling portal opened in the middle of the hall. Through it, she could see a dark forest and a familiar stone with weird symbols.
"The anchors are breaking," Erynn laughed, her voice echoing weirdly. "The worlds are bleeding together."
Lucien staggered to his feet. "What have you done?"
"Given Clara a choice." Erynn pointed to the doorway. "That leads back to your town, Clara. You can go home and forget all this. Or stay and die when your memories return." She looked at Lucien with hate. "She always picks you. Let's see if she's smarter this time."
Clara looked between the opening and Lucien. Home and safety, or risk and death?
"Don't believe her," Lucien said. "That portal could lead anywhere."
"Only one way to find out," Erynn said with a wicked smile. Then she disappeared in a swirl of red mist.
The castle shook strongly. Cracks emerged in the walls and floor. The portal started to shrink.
"Choose, Clara," Lucien pushed. "But know this—if you go, I won't be able to protect you from what's coming."
Clara stood frozen, looking at the silver-eyed vampire who claimed they'd loved and lost each other for centuries, then at the portal that might lead home.
The answer came from deep inside her, from a place she didn't know existed.
"I choose…"