Chapter 26

The realization that Nanash was a part of my forgotten past stirred a whirlpool of emotions within me. The fact that he knew me as a child was both a comfort and a source of unease, especially when I discovered he was aware of the impending attack on my sect. I was left wondering what he stood to gain from all this.

Why did he choose to befriend me and warn only me?

I was plagued by the question of why I had no memory of all this. My suspicions pointed toward Emelio. After all, he and Lord Jekia were my saviors when my sect was annihilated, and Emelio was the mage of the ruler.

If anyone had the power to suppress my memories, it would be him.

What troubled me the most was what Navine might have known. It was clear that he and Lord Jekia communicated frequently enough to exchange information, and he had confessed to seeing me right after Lord Jekia rescued me.

I mused, sitting on the bed with my hands folded, “Navine has always trusted Nanash. Did he keep Nanash on the mountain because he was involved in the incident and knew me? Did he know the truth all along?”

This thought was hard to swallow, but I couldn’t just dismiss it. The more I pondered, the more I was convinced that secrets were being kept from me. Perhaps they thought they were protecting me, but I couldn’t tolerate it any longer.

I needed to know the truth and understand my real purpose.

I slid out of bed, carefully standing up to maintain my balance before walking over to the window and drawing back the curtain. The elongated shadows outside indicated that evening was approaching. I wondered how long I had been unconscious.

I vaguely remembered it being early afternoon when Emelio returned, but my memory was hazy due to my confused state of mind.

Feeling much better, I decided to leave the room and find someone. I assumed Lord Jekia and the others were nearby, probably letting me rest. I would find them first, then have a serious discussion about what I remembered.

It felt strange to think so clearly after the confusion caused by the fruit. Even stranger was the realization that my thoughts were clearer than ever before. It was as if everything was finally coming into focus.

Was this a side effect of the fruit and the antidote, or the spell that was used with it?

Regardless, I knew I had to confront them all. That was the only way to move forward.

I opened the door and peered into the hallway. Everything looked familiar, and I could hear voices coming from the right end of the hallway. I straightened my dress before stepping out of the room and heading toward the voices.

The voices became louder and clearer as I approached the double doors at the end of the hall. I paused by the doors, eavesdropping. It sounded like Lord Jekia and Navine were engaged in a heated argument.

“There is no more that can be done. If there is no proof, then there is no proof,” Lord Jekia was saying.

“So I am supposed to stand by and allow him to continue attempting to use and destroy her? You do understand that it will be no better than the last time if I do,” Navine retorted.

“I am well aware of that, but my hands are tied,” Lord Jekia responded. He sounded exhausted. “I have done everything in my power to protect her even long before I understood her role in this, and I will never see her as anyone other than who she is now. It is enough that she’s had to suffer so much loss already because of her soul’s past. I won’t let her suffer anymore.”

“And neither will I. That is why I need you on my side against Dominick. You know as well as I do that if he gets his way with her, then he will attempt to destroy her,” Navine insisted.

I leaned against the wall, listening to their conversation. I had a feeling he was right. Dominick had succeeded in destroying Rosaline before, and he wanted to do the same with me because I continued to choose Navine. The cycle was still very much alive.

Lord Jekia’s voice interrupted my thoughts, sounding much more stern than before. “Navine, this is ultimately your battle, even though I’ll stand by you if necessary. But I’m counting on you not to stumble this time. If you do, I’ll hold you accountable for anything that happens to Raelina.”

“And I’ll blame myself even more than you would. You know where I stand when it comes to her.” Navine’s voice was grave, leaving no room for doubt about his sincerity.

I touched my chest, feeling an odd fluttering sensation as I looked down. “I lost him once. I can’t let it happen again. I won’t repeat the same mistakes in this life.”

These thoughts were mine, but they felt like they belonged to an older version of me. It made me wonder if my soul hadn’t actually split but had somehow merged more with my past and present selves. Only time would reveal if this was a blessing or a curse.

“There you are.” Lady Lana’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up to see her approaching. “It’s so good to see you awake and up. How are you feeling, Raelina?”

“I’m feeling much better. My thoughts are clearer now,” I replied.

“I’m so relieved,” Lady Lana sighed, though her eyes clouded slightly as she glanced at the door. The voices of Lord Jekia and Navine could still be heard arguing inside. “I understand you might want to keep listening to them, but why not wait until later to talk to them? You just woke up, and it might be too much to take in all at once.”

She had a point. Charging in there and demanding answers might not be the best course of action right now.

“All right. I suppose I can wait until they’re done talking to speak to them,” I conceded.

Lady Lana gestured toward the other end of the hallway. “Why don’t we take a walk while we wait for them? It might be a good distraction rather than sitting by this door indefinitely.”

“Yes, that does sound better.”

I followed her away from the door, the two of us heading down the hall toward the staircase. As we descended, I noticed we seemed to be alone.

“How long was I unconscious?” I asked.

“Only about a day,” Lady Lana replied. “I’m sorry for not being there when you woke up. I had to step out to deal with an issue with Selenia, and it took longer than I expected.”

“Is something wrong?” I needed to know.

“No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just that Selenia has been wanting more freedom lately, and it worries us. She is our youngest, after all.”

“Yes, she is, but she’s also sixteen. It’s good for her to have some independence.”

“I agree, even if it’s a bit hard to accept.”

We stopped in the foyer, and I looked down, contemplating what I wanted to say next. I knew that Lady Lana was privy to almost everything Lord Jekia knew. Would she be willing to discuss my past, both as Rosaline and as a child?

I decided to take the risk, if only to see how she would respond.

“I know this might seem inappropriate, my lady, but I need to know the truth. Did you and Lord Jekia know from the start that I was the reincarnation of Rosaline’s soul?”

Lady Lana looked away for a moment, hesitating before she answered.

“Yes and no. It was quite complicated back then, and it still is in some ways.”

“You can tell me the truth about all this. I’m not angry or upset with you or anyone else. I just want to know what really happened to my sect,” I assured her.

She looked puzzled. “But you do know what happened to them. The lycans killed them all that night.”

“Yes, I know that. What I mean is why the lycans targeted them. It always seemed odd to me that they would attack us when we had nothing to do with anything, as far as I knew. Why would they come in the middle of the night and slaughter us? What was the point?”

“Yeah. I’ve wondered about that too,” Rin added.

We both turned to see him standing in the main doorway, the fading sunlight highlighting his red hair, ears, and tail. It was strange that we hadn’t heard him open the door.

“Lady Lana, I didn’t realize Rin was coming back today,” I said.

“I just thought I’d swing by when I heard Raelina was here,” Rin quickly clarified, approaching us. “Actually, I was worried when I heard about what happened to her, so I told Aurora I wanted to check on her.”

“Aurora didn’t come with you?” I asked, scanning the room.

Rin gave me a warm smile. “I’m sorry. I know you’re eager to meet her, but I thought it would be best if it was just me for now, since you’re still recovering. I promise I’ll arrange a meeting between you two soon.”

“That would be great. I’ve been looking forward to meeting her and Luna,” I confessed.

“Speaking of,” Lady Lana chimed in, “does Rayne know about this too? I would have thought he’d come with you to check on her.”

“No, I haven’t told him yet. He’s still dealing with the fallout from everything and making sure Luna’s okay, so I thought it would be best this way,” Rin explained.

“It’s okay, Lady Lana. I get where Rin’s coming from.” I turned to Rin. “I hope Luna’s doing better too. I wish I could’ve done more to help her.”

“You did plenty. I know you were the one who got Dominick to talk, so don’t sell yourself short,” Rin reassured me before steering the conversation back to why he was here. “You’re okay, right? You don’t seem too worse for wear.”

“I’m okay now. Well, mostly okay. Emelio found an antidote that helped me fight off the effects of that fruit, and I’m feeling more like myself. I’m just trying to piece together some things that I think I’ve forgotten,” I explained.

“I heard you asking Mother about that. You’ve piqued my curiosity too. Why are you suddenly questioning what happened to the Sun Fae when you were there and attacked that night?” Rin asked.

I decided to be honest with him and Lady Lana. “Because I think I’ve regained memories of something from just before that night’s attack. This is going to sound odd, but I saw myself as a little girl in the woods near my home, talking to a Snake that I considered a friend. He asked me to keep our friendship a secret. He also warned me that something was going to happen and promised to protect me however he could.”

Rin turned to his mother. “Did you ever hear about any Snakes being involved in all of this?”

Lady Lana took a moment to think. “I can’t say that I remember that.” She paused. “Wait. There was something strange that night. Emelio mentioned a Snake calling out to him, saying that the Sun Fae were under attack by lycans. That’s how we found out.”

“Did he mention the Snake’s name?” I asked.

“No, he didn’t. Everything happened so quickly, and Jekia’s main concern was saving as many of the Sun Fae as he could. Sadly, you were the only one left by the time he got there,” Lady Lana replied.

It wasn’t much to go on, but I was now convinced that the Snake must have been Nanash. Somehow, he had known what was coming, and reaching out to Emelio was his way of trying to protect me.

“So you remember meeting this Snake before all of that?” Rin asked.

I nodded. “I saw it in my dream, and I know who that Snake is now. His name is Nanash, and he’s the one guarding Navine’s palace.”

Rin looked skeptical. “Are you sure Father didn’t know about this?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Lady Lana conceded. “All I knew was that a Snake was the one who alerted us.”

I was certain that this Snake was Nanash. There was no way I could have dreamed of him so vividly otherwise. What I didn’t understand was why everything had unfolded the way it did and what role he played in it. Did he know more about why my sect was attacked than he was willing to admit?

Our conversation was interrupted by Lord Jekia’s voice. “Yes, it was a Snake who did so.”

We all turned to see Navine and him descending the stairs to join us. I tried my best to keep my cool, even though my insides were a bundle of nerves. I didn’t want to stir up any drama or get into a fight with either of them. All I wanted was to uncover more of the truth, or at least what they might know.

Rin didn’t hold back his worries. “What’s going on, Dad? Did you know about this Snake hanging around Navine’s place?”

Navine looked puzzled. “What are you talking about? Nanash is just a guard I’ve allowed to stay there. He has nothing to do with anything involving Raelina,” he reassured Rin.

~Does he not know?~ I thought to myself. It sure seemed like he was in the dark.

Jekia’s ears twitched before he turned to Navine. “You’re saying his name is Nanash? Does he have dark hair and a white tail?” he asked.

“Yes, he does,” Navine confirmed, quickly connecting the dots. “You think he’s the same Snake who warned you about what was happening to the Sun Fae?”

“I think it’s a possibility. He disappeared soon after that night, but I didn’t bother looking for him because I thought we’d resolved the issue,” Jekia explained.

I decided to lay my cards on the table. There had to be more to this, and if I was upfront about it, I was sure Lord Jekia would help me figure it out. He might also tell me why I’d forgotten about this.

“I’m sure he’s the same one,” I said, clasping my hands in front of me as I carefully chose my words. “I don’t know why, but it seems like I had forgotten things from before that night, and they came back after I took the antidote and passed out. I saw myself talking to Nanash when I was a little girl, and I heard him warn me that something was going to happen that night. He was around for a long time before that too, and I feel like I knew him very well. I just don’t understand why I’d forget him afterward.”

Now Lady Lana was suspicious. I could see it all over her face as she confronted Lord Jekia.

“What’s really going on, Jekia? Do you know more about why the Sun Fae were killed than you’ve let on?” she demanded.

“Do you think I’d keep what I know from you?” Lord Jekia retorted.

“You’ve done it before to protect me, and I have no doubt that you’d do it again if you thought it would protect Raelina. But if you know something more, I think you should be honest about it now. Don’t you think you owe her that much?” Lady Lana pressed.

Navine’s face was unreadable, but he was pushing the issue too. “If you don’t know about this, then what about your mage? He often handles things for you, and we both know that he’s overstepped his bounds before,” he suggested.

Lord Jekia frowned, conceding the point. “I can’t deny that,” he said.

Then he called out to Emelio, “Emelio, we need to talk.”

Emelio appeared within seconds of his summons, bowing his head respectfully. “How can I assist you, my lord?”

“Did you seal parts of Raelina’s memory after the attack that killed the rest of the Sun Fae?” Lord Jekia asked.

Emelio’s expression wavered slightly, which was unusual to say the least. I’d never seen him even blink when faced with tough questions.

“Is there a reason you’re asking, my lord?” he replied after a moment’s hesitation.

This only made us more suspicious, and it clearly angered Lord Jekia. “Don’t dodge the question! Did you or did you not seal some of Raelina’s memories?”

A tense silence fell over us as Emelio continued to hesitate. I wondered why he was doing so. He usually didn’t hesitate, even if it would upset Lord Jekia.

Finally, he admitted, “Yes, I did.”

“Why would you do that? Was it so terrible for me to remember Nanash?” I asked him.

“You must have known that he was around my palace after Raelina came there. Even if he wasn’t inside, he was always near the gates. Why didn’t you ever mention this to me?” Navine chimed in.

He didn’t sound angry—more like annoyed. But this wasn’t fair to him either. He had no idea that the Snake who had befriended us was involved in the death of my family.

“I’m really sorry, guys, but I had to keep this under wraps. The Higher Ones have been on edge for a while now, worried about what happened and how it might impact Lord Jekia and Lord Navine,” Emelio admitted.

Rin looked at him, puzzled. “Why would all that be so risky? Is there something else happening that we’re missing?”

Emelio sighed deeply, shutting his eyes for a second. “Sadly, yes,” he said.

“If you guys want, I can spill everything I know. It might even help us put an end to this awful cycle of pain and death once and for all.”