SERA'S POV
"Sixty seconds," the Council Head repeats, divine fire crackling in his palm. "Choose now, Seraphina."
My mind races. Complete memory erasure or death. Those are my options.
Neither is really a choice at all.
Caspian steps forward, his body still blocking mine. "Lord Aldric, with respect, the prisoner is under my supervision. The Council's orders were to keep her contained, not to—"
"The orders have changed, Keeper." Aldric's galaxy eyes fix on Caspian, cold and merciless. "Your prisoner has been attempting to break her memory seal. That violates the terms of her sentence."
"I didn't—" I start to protest, but Aldric cuts me off with a gesture.
"Don't lie to me, fallen one. We know about the rogue mage. The memory crystal. Your keeper's little research project." His gaze shifts to Caspian, and I see the brand on Caspian's chest flare painfully bright. "Did you truly think we wouldn't notice?"
Caspian's face goes white but he doesn't back down. "Whatever I've done, punish me. Not her."
"Oh, I intend to punish you both." Aldric's smile is cruel. "But first, Seraphina must choose. Thirty seconds."
My heart hammers against my ribs. If I choose erasure, I'll lose everything—not just my past, but any hope of remembering the truth. I'll be their puppet forever.
But if I choose death...
I look at Caspian's back, at the way he's standing between me and a god despite knowing it's hopeless. This man who's risked everything to help me. Who's fighting his own curse every day just to give me a chance.
I can't let him die for nothing.
"I choose—" I begin.
"Wait!" A new voice rings out.
Everyone turns. Elena bursts into the cell, breathless and terrified but determined. She's holding something—a scroll with official seals.
"My lord," she gasps, bowing quickly to Aldric. "I have evidence. Legal evidence from the divine archives."
Aldric's eyes narrow. "What evidence could a mortal possibly—"
"Proof that Seraphina's imprisonment was never legally sanctioned." Elena's hands shake as she unrolls the scroll. "According to divine law, any goddess accused of exposing Council corruption must be given a fair trial before the full pantheon. Not just the Council. The law is ancient—older than your position, Lord Aldric."
Silence falls like a thunderclap.
Aldric's face goes very, very still. "Where did you get that scroll?"
"I found it," Elena says, though I can tell she's lying. Someone gave it to her. But who? "In the manor's library. It was filed under obsolete laws, but obsolete doesn't mean invalid. The law still stands."
"You dare quote divine law to me, mortal?"
"I dare quote truth," Elena says, her voice stronger now. "And the truth is, you never gave Seraphina a fair trial. You imprisoned her based solely on accusations. That makes her captivity illegal."
My breath catches. Is it possible? Could there really be a legal loophole?
Aldric's divine fire burns brighter, hotter. He's furious. But I see something else in his expression too—calculation. He's weighing his options.
"Even if what you say is true," he says slowly, "the law also states that any prisoner who attempts to break their binding while awaiting trial forfeits their right to that trial. She used a memory crystal. She violated the terms."
"Actually," a new voice drawls from the doorway, "she didn't."
Kieran leans against the doorframe, looking entirely too relaxed for someone facing down the Head of the Divine Council. His green eyes sparkle with mischief.
"The crystal I used was purely observational," he says. "It showed her existing memories—fragments that had leaked through the damaged seal. I didn't break anything. Technically, I didn't even touch the seal itself."
"Semantics," Aldric hisses.
"Law is built on semantics, my lord." Kieran grins. "And as a registered mage with divine licensing, I'm well within my rights to provide magical consultation to prisoners. It's in section forty-seven of the Divine-Mortal Relations Act. I can cite the specific clause if you'd like."
Aldric looks like he wants to incinerate all of us on the spot. The fire in his hand burns so hot now that sweat runs down my face even from across the cell.
But he doesn't attack. Because Kieran and Elena are right, and he knows it.
"This changes nothing," Aldric finally says. "Legal technicalities won't save you, Seraphina. The Council will convene a proper trial, as the law requires. But make no mistake—the outcome will be the same. We will prove your guilt, and you will be executed legally."
"Then I look forward to defending myself," I say, finding courage I didn't know I had. "With my memories intact."
Aldric's eyes flash dangerously. "Your memories remain sealed until the trial. That is non-negotiable."
"Actually—" Kieran starts, but Caspian cuts him off.
"Enough." Caspian's voice is hard. Final. "Lord Aldric, you have stated your position. The prisoner will await her trial as the law requires. Now, with respect, I must ask you to leave. Only the Keeper and approved caretakers are permitted in the holding cells."
It's a bold move—ordering a Council Head to leave. Aldric could destroy him for it.
But Caspian's right about the law, and we all know it.
Aldric stares at Caspian for a long, terrible moment. Then, slowly, the divine fire in his hand extinguishes.
"Very well, Keeper. But know this—you have made a powerful enemy today. When the trial is over and Seraphina is executed, the Council will remember your... creative interpretations of your duty."
"I serve faithfully," Caspian says flatly. "As I always have."
Aldric sweeps out, his power trailing behind him like a storm. The temperature in the cell drops back to normal.
Elena nearly collapses. Kieran catches her, steadying her.
"That," Kieran says cheerfully, "was the stupidest, bravest thing I've ever seen. Well done, Elena."
"Where did you really get that scroll?" I ask her.
Elena glances at Caspian. "Someone left it on the kitchen table this morning. With a note that said 'Use this.'"
Everyone looks at Caspian. His expression gives nothing away.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he says. But I see the truth in his eyes. He found that scroll. He gave it to Elena.
He's been planning this.
"The trial," I say, reality sinking in. "When?"
"Three days," Caspian says quietly. "Divine law requires it to be held within three days of a formal challenge."
Three days. That's all I have.
"Then we have three days to restore my memories," I say firmly. "All of them. If I'm going to defend myself, I need to know exactly what happened. What I discovered. What proof I had."
"The ritual to fully break the seal will take hours," Kieran warns. "It'll be agonizing. And there's a real chance it could kill you."
"I don't care."
"Sera—" Caspian starts.
"I said I don't care!" I lean forward, chains rattling. "They're going to execute me anyway. At least let me die knowing who I really am. What I was fighting for."
Silence falls. Then Caspian nods slowly.
"Tonight," he says. "We'll do it tonight, after the divine surveillance spells reset at midnight."
"I'll prepare the ritual," Kieran says.
"I'll help however I can," Elena adds.
They file out one by one, leaving me alone with Caspian.
He approaches my chains, checking them like he does every day. But his hands are shaking worse than ever.
"You could have turned me over," I say quietly. "Saved yourself. Why didn't you?"
Caspian's fingers still on the chains. He looks up at me, and the emotion in his gray eyes takes my breath away.
"Because sixteen years ago," he says softly, "I swore to serve the gods. But I never swore to serve injustice."
Our faces are inches apart now. I can feel his breath. See the flecks of blue in his eyes.
"Caspian," I whisper. "What happens if we succeed? If I get my memories back and somehow survive the trial?"
"I don't know."
"Will you still be my keeper?"
He swallows hard. "I don't know that either."
The air between us feels electric. Charged. Like lightning about to strike.
Then his brand flares bright, making him gasp in pain. He pulls back quickly, hand pressed to his chest.
"I have to go," he says roughly. "Before the curse—"
"I know."
He backs toward the door, eyes never leaving mine.
"Tonight, Sera. We'll finish this. One way or another."
The door closes.
I'm alone again.
But as I sit there in the darkness, my wrists aching and my heart pounding, I realize something that terrifies and thrills me in equal measure:
I think I'm falling in love with my keeper.
And tonight, when they break my seal and my memories flood back, I'll discover if the woman I used to be would approve—or if loving Caspian Thorne is the biggest mistake I could possibly make.