Adrian's POV
I pressed myself against the wall, watching Kieran walk down the hallway toward the dining hall.
My heart wouldn't stop beating.
In the third version, Kieran was poisoned at breakfast. Someone slipped nightshade into his eggs. He died choking, his face going blue while I screamed for help that came too late.
I couldn't let that happen again.
Kieran turned the corner, and fear shot through me. I pushed off the wall and followed.
A group of students blocked my way. I shoved past them, ignoring their angry shouts. Kieran was out of sight now. My chest tightened.
What if someone grabbed him? What if there was an ambush? What if— I spotted him at the dining hall door and exhaled.
Then Kieran stopped walking. His shoulders went stiff.
He spun around and looked straight at me.
"You're following me."
I froze. Students streamed past us, going for breakfast. Some glanced at us curiously.
"I'm just... going to the dining hall too," I lied.
Kieran's eyes narrowed. "You've been following me since we left the room. I've caught you watching me during every class. Adrian, what's going on?"
My hands clenched. "I'm keeping watch."
"I don't need a bodyguard."
"Yes, you do!" The words burst out of me. "You don't know what's coming! You don't know how easy you die!"
Silence crashed down.
Students stopped moving. They stared at us. Whispers started.
Kieran's face went pale. "Adrian—"
"In the second timeline, you died in two months!" I couldn't stop now. The words kept pouring out like poison from a wound. "Training accident, remember? Cassian sabotaged your tools and you fell fifty feet. I found your body at the bottom of the cliff!"
"Stop," Kieran whispered.
"The third reality, you were poisoned at breakfast! Right here in this eating hall! I held you while you choked to death because I didn't check your food first!"
"Adrian, please—"
"The fourth reality, you threw yourself in front of a sword meant for me! You died in my arms telling me you'd do it again!" My voice cracked. "So no, Kieran, you don't get to tell me you don't need protection!"
The hallway had gone completely silent.
Everyone was staring now. Some kids looked shocked. Others looked scared—of me.
Kieran grabbed my arm and pulled me into an empty classroom. The door slammed shut.
"What were you thinking?" Kieran demanded. "You just told everyone about the timelines!"
"I don't care!" I shouted back. "Let them think I'm mad! At least you'll be alive!"
"Adrian—" "You don't understand!" Tears burned my eyes. I hated crying. Hated showing weakness. But I couldn't hold it back anymore. "I've watched you die four times. Four times, Kieran. Do you know what that does to a person?"
Kieran's anger melted. "I know. You told me—"
"No, you don't know!" I pressed my hands against my head. "Every night, I dream about it. I see your face when you died. I hear your last words. Sometimes I can still feel your blood on my hands even though it's been years—no, decades—no, I don't even know anymore because time doesn't work right when you keep repeating it!"
My legs gave out. I slid down the wall and sat on the floor.
"I'm losing my mind," I whispered. "I can't remember which era I'm in sometimes. I see danger everywhere. Every person who looks at you wrong, every food you eat, every corner you turn—I just see death coming."
Kieran sat down next to me. "Adrian..."
"In the first reality, I thought I could save you by telling you everything. We worked together. You died anyway." My voice shook. "Second universe, I stayed away from you completely. Thought maybe I was the trouble. You still died. Third reality, I tried to destroy Cassian from the inside. That was the worst one. He made me watch you die as punishment."
"You don't have to—"
"Fourth timeline, I didn't tell you about the return. Just tried to guide you quietly. But you're too smart. You figured it out. And the second you knew, you started trying to protect me instead of yourself. Then you died saving me." I looked at him. "So what am I meant to do now? How do I keep you alive when every plan fails?"
Kieran was quiet for a long moment.
"You work with me," he said finally. "Not around me. We're partners, remember?"
"Partners get each other killed," I said angrily.
"Or partners save each other."
I wanted to believe him. But belief felt dangerous. Hope felt scary. Everything felt dangerous when you'd lost someone four times.
A knock on the door made us both jump.
"Hello?" A girl's voice. "Is someone in there?"
We both stood up quickly. My heart hammered.
"Just a second," Kieran called.
He looked at me. "Are you okay?"
No. I wasn't okay. I'd never be okay again.
But I nodded anyway.
Kieran opened the door.
Marcus Kane stood there, looking terrible. His eyes were wide and scared. His hands shook.
"I need to talk to you," Marcus said quickly. "Both of you. It's about Cassian—"
"Not here," I interrupted. My instincts screamed danger. "Too public."
"Then where?" Marcus glanced over his shoulder nervously. "He's looking for me. I don't have much time."
"The old library," Kieran decided. "Third floor, back corner. No one uses it."
Marcus nodded and rushed away.
I grabbed Kieran's arm. "This could be a trap."
"I know."
"Then why—"
"Because if Marcus really discovered something about Cassian, we need to know." Kieran's jaw set. "And if it's a trap, at least we'll see it coming."
We made our way to the old library carefully. I checked every corner, every shadow. My magic tingled beneath my skin, ready to protect Kieran if needed.
The library's third floor was dusty and abandoned. Books lined the walls, forgotten and old.
Marcus waited in the back corner like Kieran said. He paced nervously.
"What happened?" Kieran asked.
"Last night, I overheard Cassian talking to High Priestess Lyanna." Marcus's words spilled out fast. "They're planning something. Cassian called you 'the real threat.' Lyanna told him to let you explore, then destroy you. And she said I was replaceable. That they'd eliminate me if I got in the way."
My blood turned cold.
This was new. Marcus never found the truth this early in previous timelines.
"Where were you when you heard this?" I asked.
"My bedroom window. They were in the plaza below."
"Did they see you?"
"I don't think so. But then Cassian came to my door right after. He said he had a welcome gift for joining his party. I didn't answer. I hid and waited until he left."
Kieran and I traded looks.
"This changes everything," Kieran said quietly.
"Or it's exactly what Lyanna wants," I replied. "She knows about the dates, remember? She could be setting us up."
"Who's Lyanna?" Marcus asked, confused. "And what timelines?"
Before either of us could answer, footsteps echoed from the stairs.
Multiple footsteps.
Heavy ones.
"Someone followed us," I whispered.
The footsteps got closer. Shadows moved in the stairs.
Then Cassian stepped into view, surrounded by six other kids from his hero party.
His warm smile was gone. His eyes glowed with cold divine light.
"There you are, Marcus," Cassian said softly. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Did you really think I wouldn't notice you eavesdropping?"
Marcus went white as death.
"And Kieran Ashford." Cassian's eyes shifted. "With your strange friend Adrian Vale who knows far too much. How convenient that you're all together."
Magic crackled in the air. The other students moved to block the doors.
We were stuck.
"The High Priestess wanted to wait," Cassian continued. "Let you explore a bit longer. But I think it's time to eliminate the threats to my fate. Starting with the three of you."
Divine light blazed around his hands.
And in that moment, I realized with terrible certainty—this timeline was about to end just like all the others.
With Kieran's death.
And mine.