Kieran's POV
Blood dripped from my nose onto the stone floor.
I ignored it. My shadow magic swirled around me, forming shapes I'd mastered in my former life. A sword. A shield. Tendrils that could grab or hit.
But my fifteen-year-old body screamed in protest.
Pain shot through my head. My view blurred. The shadows flickered and died.
I fell to my knees, gasping.
Not good enough. Not nearly good enough.
Elena was in her room right now, probably crying herself to sleep. She had memories of dying four times. Four times she'd been killed because I failed to protect her.
Marcus was in the healing ward, unconscious from protecting me against Cassian.
And Adrian—Adrian had watched me die four times across different realities.
I couldn't fail them again.
I forced myself to stand. Shadow magic collected in my shaking hands. I had to push harder. Had to be better. Had to—
"Kieran, stop."
I spun around. Shadows exploded into sharp weapons directed at the voice.
Adrian stood in the moonlight coming through the tower window. His hands were raised. His face was pale with fear.
"It's just me," he said quietly.
My heart hammered. The shadow weapons disintegrated.
"You're following me again," I said. My voice came out tired instead of angry.
"You snuck out at midnight to practice forbidden magic in a dangerous tower." Adrian stepped closer. "Of course I followed you."
"I need to train."
"You're bleeding."
I touched my nose. My fingers came away red. More blood than I thought.
Adrian pulled a cloth from his pocket and moved toward me. I flinched back automatically.
He froze. "Kieran—"
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine." Adrian's voice cracked. "You're pushing yourself too hard. Just like in the other worlds."
"I don't have a choice!" The words burst out. "Lyanna gave Elena the timeline memories! My sister knows she died four times now! She's scared and traumatized and it's my fault!"
"It's not your fault—"
"Yes, it is!" I slammed my fist against the stone wall. Pain shot up my arm. "I'm the one who found the conspiracy. I'm the one they want dead. Everyone around me suffers because of me!"
Adrian grabbed my shoulders. "Listen to me. Elena's suffering isn't your fault. It's Lyanna's. She's the one who forced those images into Elena's head."
"To punish me," I said angrily. "To make me suffer more."
"To make us all suffer." Adrian's grip tightened. "But killing yourself won't help Elena. It won't help Marcus. It won't help any of us."
"Then what will help?" I yanked away from him. "Because my current plan of 'get stronger and destroy our enemies' isn't working fast enough!"
"Maybe because you're doing it alone!"
"I'm not alone! You're here—"
"But you don't let me help!" Adrian's voice rose. "You sneak off to train in secret. You hide how much pain you're in. You act like you have to carry everything by yourself!"
"Because I do!"
"No, you don't!"
We glared at each other. My chest heaved. Blood still dripped from my nose.
Adrian's face softened. He stepped forward slowly, like approaching a hurt animal.
This time, I didn't move away.
He lifted the cloth and gently wiped the blood from my nose. His touch was careful. Tender.
My heart did something complex in my chest.
"You're pushing too hard," Adrian said quietly. "In earlier timelines, you always pushed too hard. You'd train until you fell. You'd take on too much alone. You'd give yourself for everyone else."
"I had to—"
"And you died every time." Adrian's hand remained on my face. "Every. Single. Time. Because you wouldn't take help. Wouldn't trust anyone to share the load."
"I trust you."
"Do you?" His eyes searched mine. "Because right now, you're standing in a forbidden tower, bleeding, about to fall, training alone in the middle of the night. That doesn't look like trust to me."
The words hit harder than any of Cassian's strikes.
He was right.
I'd been so focused on getting stronger, on preparing for the next disaster, that I'd shut everyone out. Even Adrian.
Especially Adrian.
"I'm scared," I admitted. The words felt like pulling glass from a wound. "I'm scared that if I'm not strong enough, everyone dies again. Elena dies. You die. Even Marcus dies, and I barely know him."
"I'm scared too," Adrian whispered. "I'm scared every second of every day. But Kieran, we have something now we never had before."
"What?"
"Each other. Really each other. Not hiding lies. Not working properly." Adrian's hand moved to cup my cheek. "You know I've been reborn. I know you've been reborn. Elena knows everything now. Even Marcus knows the truth about Cassian. We're all on the same side."
"That just means more people I can lose."
"Or more people who can help you win."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust that working together would change things.
But four paths of failure haunted both of us.
"What if it's not enough?" I asked. "What if even together, we still lose?"
"Then at least we lose together," Adrian said. "No more dying alone. No more carrying everything alone. We're a team now. All of us."
His face was so close to mine. I could see every detail. The worry in his eyes. The determination. The love.
Wait.
Love?
My breath caught.
Adrian had loved me in the original reality. We'd been together. But this was before that. We were young. We barely knew each other.
Except we did know each other. Across different timelines. Multiple lives. " Adrian—" A scream cut through the night.
We both jerked apart.
The scream came again. High and frightened. Female.
Elena.
Horror poured through me. "No. No, no, no—"
I ran for the stairs. Adrian was right behind me.
We burst out of the tower and ran toward the student dorms. Other students poked their heads out of windows, confused by the yelling.
Elena's window was dark.
I threw shadow magic at her door, breaking the lock. We crashed inside.
Her room was empty.
The window stood wide open. Curtains flapped in the night breeze.
On her bed lay a single white feather that glowed with holy light.
And written in blood on the wall were four words: COME ALONE OR SHE BURNS
My blood turned to ice. " Cassian took her," Adrian breathed. "He took Elena."
The note was clear. Come alone, or they'd kill my sister.
The same way she died in the first reality.
They'd burn her alive.
"I have to go," I said. My voice sounded faraway. Numb. "I have to go alone, or—"
"It's a trap," Adrian grabbed my arm. "Kieran, if you go alone, you'll die. That's what they want."
"Then I die!" I yanked free. "But Elena lives!"
"She won't! Don't you see? This is exactly what Lyanna wants! You sacrifice yourself, Elena dies anyway, and we lose everything!"
"Then what do you want me to do? Let them burn my sister?"
"No." Adrian's jaw set. "We go together. We bring Marcus. We bring anyone we can trust. And we save Elena without losing you." " The note said come alone—"
"I don't care what the note says!" Adrian's eyes blazed. "I've watched you die four times because you tried to be the hero! I won't watch it happen a fifth time!"
My mind raced.
Elena was in danger. Real, direct danger.
But if I walked into this trap alone, I'd die. And she might die anyway.
Adrian was right.
But what if he was wrong?
What if trying to be smart got Elena killed?
A knock on the door made us both spin.
Marcus stood there, wounded but awake. Behind him stood three other kids I recognized from classes.
"We heard the scream," Marcus said. "What happened?"
I looked at the bloody message on the wall.
Then at Adrian's determined face.
Then at Marcus and the others who'd come to help.
Maybe Adrian was right.
Maybe this time, we could win by working together.
"They took my sister," I said. "And we're going to get her back."