Chapter 2 THE WOMAN THEY MISTOOK ME FOR

The bed was too soft. Too silent. And it smelled like lavender and candle wax.

Zara jolted upright with a gasp, heart hammering. Heavy velvet curtains blocked the light, and the canopy above her was draped in cream-colored silk. She wasn't in the woods. She wasn't even in her own time.

Her hands flew to her chest. Still there-her crossbody bag, though it had been half-unzipped. Her phone was tucked inside, along with her charger and flashlight. She clutched it like a lifeline.

This has to be a dream. A delusion. A coma?

Before she could spiral any further, the door creaked open.

A young woman stepped in, dressed in pale blue robes and balancing a silver tray. Her dark hair was pinned in a knot, and her eyes widened the moment she saw Zara awake.

"You're awake!" she whispered, like it was a miracle. "Thank the stars."

Zara stared. "Who... are you?"

"I'm Sera. Your handmaid," the girl said, kneeling beside the bed. "I was told not to disturb you, but I thought... you might be hungry."

Zara blinked at the tray-flatbread, dried fruit, something that looked like porridge.

Sera looked up at her with such hope and softness that it made Zara's chest ache. "You don't remember me yet... do you?"

Zara hesitated. "I-I hit my head. Everything's foggy."

Not a total lie.

The girl's face fell slightly. "That's alright. Lord Darius said you might be disoriented." She moved gently, like tending to a wild animal. "You've been missing for many months. We feared you were taken. Or... worse."

"Missing?" Zara repeated. "Wait-who do you think I am?"

Sera blinked, confused. "You are Lady Seraphina of House Wynn, daughter of the Eastern Viceroy. Betrothed to King Alaric since spring."

Zara's stomach turned.

Lady Seraphina?

She opened her mouth to correct the girl-but stopped herself. Her brain scrambled for logic. If they thought she was someone else... someone important... maybe that's the only reason they hadn't killed her yet.

Play along. Just for now, she told herself.

She managed a weak smile. "Right. It's... coming back in pieces."

Sera beamed. "Of course, my lady. Your body remembers what your mind has lost. It is a blessing that you returned before the solstice." She paused. "You still carry the sun mark. The gods must have guided you home."

Zara rubbed her shoulder absentmindedly, where the birthmark lay beneath her shirt.

The door creaked again.

This time, it wasn't Sera.

It was him.

Kael Darius stepped in with the presence of a storm cloud. His dark eyes swept across the room before settling on her. The soldiers who flanked him remained outside, silent and stiff.

"You've recovered," he said, voice low and unreadable.

Zara nodded cautiously, hands hidden beneath the covers.

"I need to ask you some questions."

Sera lowered her gaze and bowed. "Shall I stay, my lord?"

"No."

Sera bowed again and slipped out without protest.

Now it was just Zara and Kael-two strangers who didn't trust each other, breathing the same heavy air.

He stepped closer. His armor was gone now, replaced by dark tunics and leather straps, but he still looked lethal. His every movement was controlled.

"You claim to be Seraphina Wynn," he said. "But you return with no escort. No memory. And carrying artifacts no one in Aurelia has ever seen."

Zara's fingers curled around the edge of her bag beneath the blanket.

"I woke up here just as confused as you are," she said. "But if you think I'm this Seraphina, maybe I am. Maybe something happened to me. Maybe I forgot."

His jaw flexed. "Or maybe you're a spy sent to impersonate her. You arrived on the eve of a peace treaty. If you are not her... you could destroy everything."

"Do I look like a spy to you?" Zara snapped. "I can't even remember my own name without someone whispering it every five minutes."

For a moment, he just stared at her.

Then he said, quietly, "You speak unlike any woman I've met."

Zara blinked. "That's... probably the only true thing anyone's said to me today."

A muscle in his cheek twitched. "You'll remain here, under protection and observation. Until the king returns, no one else must see you."

"Returns from where?"

Kael's eyes narrowed. "That's none of your concern."

She crossed her arms. "Well, forgive me for being concerned. I was literally abducted by horsemen, accused of being a traitor, and now I'm being held in a glorified birdcage."

He actually looked amused. Just for a second.

Then, his face hardened again. "You're lucky I didn't order your execution on sight."

"And you're lucky I'm not allergic to medieval nonsense," she muttered.

Kael stepped closer, until he was only a few feet away. "You'll have to do better than sarcasm to survive in this court, Lady Seraphina."

"I'm not trying to survive in your court. I'm just trying to go home."

"You left home," he said, "a long time ago."

Then he turned and left without another word.

Zara stared after him, chest rising and falling in short breaths.

This was real. It wasn't a dream. And if she wasn't careful, pretending to be someone else could get her killed.

But for now-she had her bag. Her phone. A flashlight. Maybe even the chance to fake it until she found a way back.

And if Kael Darius thought he could intimidate her into silence?

He clearly hadn't met enough modern women.