Lena's breath came in short, sharp gasps. The weight of the vision pressed against her chest like a heavy stone, suffocating, inescapable.
She had seen it. Lived it.
Died in it.
Her mind reeled. Was this real? A trick? Or had she truly been here before?
Rehan's grip on her tightened, his voice tense. "Lena, focus. Don't let him get inside your head."
Kian's smirk didn't falter, but there was something else in his eyes now—satisfaction. Like he had been waiting for her to remember.
"You don't believe me?" Kian said, stepping closer. "Then tell me—why does your heart ache when you look at him?"
Lena's eyes snapped toward Riven.
His wrists were raw from struggling against the chains. Blood trailed down his temple, mixing with the dark mess of his hair. His chest rose and fell with slow, deliberate breaths, as if holding himself together through sheer will.
But when he looked at her—
It was as if he had already known.
"Lena." His voice was hoarse, desperate. "You don't have to listen to him. Just get out of here."
Lena's stomach twisted.
There was something in the way he said it.
Not just urgency—but fear.
Kian sighed, shaking his head. "Still so noble, aren't you, Riven?" He turned back to Lena. "And yet, no matter how many times you try to save him, you always end up right here. Failing."
The room felt colder.
Lena forced herself to move, stepping forward. "You're trying to mess with my head," she said, voice shaking but firm. "But it won't work."
Kian chuckled. "Won't it?"
The air shifted again—and the past came rushing back.
Lena gasped as another memory struck her like a crashing wave.
A different time. A different version of herself.
Aarya stood before Riven, her hands trembling, her body broken.
The chains around him were the same. The pain in his eyes—the same.
And Kian?
The same.
Except in that life, he had a blade in his hand.
And it was dripping with her blood.
Lena's knees buckled. Rehan barely caught her in time. "Lena!"
The memory faded, but the pain lingered.
Her heart pounded so loudly it drowned out every sound.
She had been here before.
She had died here before.
Lena clutched her head, gasping for air.
Kian knelt before her, his voice a soft whisper. "You're starting to see it, aren't you?"
She hated the way his voice slid into her mind like a slow poison.
"I don't—" she started, but she couldn't finish.
Because she did see it.
She saw her past.
She saw him.
Kian.
He had been there, again and again. And every time—
She lost.
Her fingers dug into the floor.
Kian leaned closer. "You can't fight fate, Aarya."
Lena's whole body trembled. She wanted to scream.
But then—
A voice broke through the chaos.
"Lena!"
Not Kian.
Not Rehan.
Not the whispers of her past.
Riven.
Her gaze snapped to him.
His eyes, sharp and burning with intensity, cut through the fog in her mind.
"This isn't over," he said. "Not this time."
Lena felt something stir inside her—something different.
A fire that hadn't been there before.
Kian's smirk faltered. Just slightly.
Lena inhaled sharply. The weight of the past, the chains of her forgotten self—they were heavy.
But she wasn't just Aarya.
She was Lena Carter.
And she wasn't going to let history repeat itself.
Her eyes locked onto Kian's. "I don't care what happened before," she whispered.
Then, with newfound determination—
She stood.
This time, she would win.
---