Chapter 1

The smell of smoke and burning wood woke me up. It was sharp and suffocating. My eyes shot open, my heart pounding against my ribs. For a second, I didn't know where I was. The air was thick and gray, and a strange orange light flickered against the far wall of the chamber. Panic seized me, cold and tight. I scrambled out of bed, my feet hitting the cold stone floor. The fire. It was already here.

Then the memory hit me, a brutal, overwhelming wave of pain and grief. This wasn't my future. This was my past. I wasn't just Elara, the disciple of Aethelgard. I was Elara, the woman who had already lived this nightmare once. I saw him again, just for a flash, Kaelen' s body limp and lifeless, his face pale under the scorching light of the flames. The vision was so clear it stole my breath. In my first life, this fire was the end of everything. It was the day I lost him.

A frantic noise from the hallway broke through my horror. The door to my chamber burst open, and he was there. Kaelen. Not dead, but alive, his face tight with anger and annoyance. His silver eyes, usually so calm, were narrowed and cold. He didn't look at me. His gaze swept the room, searching for someone else. "Lyra? Where is Lyra?" he demanded, his voice sharp. He didn't ask if I was okay. He didn't seem to notice the smoke or the growing heat. He only cared about her.

It hurt. Even knowing what I knew, it hurt. My one and only mission was to change his fate, to erase the deep, soul-crushing regret I had seen in his eyes before he died in my past life. He had died because of his choices, because of his blind devotion to Lyra. He died regretting me. My task was simple: I had to save him from himself. I had to make sure he lived, even if he hated me for it. "She is not here," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "You should go. The fire is spreading."

He finally looked at me, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. "You did this," he accused, his tone flat and empty. "You set this fire to hurt her." My heart clenched. It was happening already, the misunderstanding, the blame. I couldn't explain. He wouldn't believe me. I took a deep breath, pushing down the pain. I walked past him, towards the source of the fire. I had to put it out. I had to protect him. "I will handle this," I said, my back to him. I couldn't let him see the tears welling in my eyes.

I raised my hands, a faint, cool blue light gathering in my palms. This was my power, the power of lifeblood, the ability to heal and restore. As I focused on the flames, I felt a familiar object against my skin, tucked beneath my robes. It was the Heartstone, a small, smooth stone tied to his life force. Before, it was a dull, lifeless gray. Now, a faint, barely perceptible warmth emanated from it. My mission had just begun. The clock was ticking.