Power leaves echoes.
Every time I breathe magic, something ancient stirs.
The mirrors crack. Ink fades from paper. Voices in the court stammer mid-sentence, forgetting what they meant to say. I thought it was coincidence at first until the dreams began.
Except… they weren't dreams.
They were recovered memories.
A throne carved from obsidian ribs. A battlefield where angels broke their wings kneeling before a child. A name sung in a tongue that turned stars to ash.
My name.
Not Seraphina.
But Virelya.
Not just a vessel. Not just reborn.
Reincarnated god-thing. The End Before Endings. The Girl the World Sealed in Story so She'd Be Forgotten.
Except I wasn't forgotten.
I was reinserted.
And someone, something did it on purpose.
So I traced the ritual that pulled me back.
And found a name.
Not a prince. Not a king.
A witch. A boy. A thief.
The one who remembers the old myth.
The one they call Korrin of the Silent Flame.
He's coming for me.
And the real question isn't whether he's friend or foe.
It's what he expects me to become.