Sera's POV
The entire throne room goes silent.
Emperor Caspian is staring at me like I just spoke a forbidden spell. His hands grip the journal so tightly the pages crinkle.
Answer me, he says, his voice barely controlled. How do you know my mother's name?
I swallow hard. It's in the journal. Page forty seven. You wrote about her.
I've never written a journal in my life, he says, but his voice wavers.
Then who wrote it? I challenge. Look at the handwriting. Look at the details. Only YOU could know those things.
Caspian looks down at the page again. His jaw clenches. I can see the war happening inside him his logical mind fighting against something he doesn't understand.
Lucian steps forward smoothly. Your Majesty, this is obviously a trick. The girl has temporal magic. She could have stolen your memories somehow, copied your handwriting
Be quiet, Caspian snaps without looking at him.
Lucian's mouth closes with a click. He looks furious.
Read the entry out loud, I urge Caspian. Let everyone hear it.
This is highly irregular someone starts to protest.
READ IT, I shout, and I don't care that I'm a servant speaking to the Emperor like this. If I'm going to be executed for crimes I didn't commit, at least let everyone hear the truth first!
Caspian stares at me for a long moment. Then, slowly, he begins to read.
Page forty seven. Date: Unknown. Time: Mortal hours. His voice is stiff, uncomfortable. I had another dream about my mother today. I don't know if it's a real memory or just my mind creating comfort. But I saw her face. Heard her voice. She used to call me her little star because I was born during a meteor shower.
Gasps echo through the courtroom. That detail isn't public knowledge. No one knows that story except
She died when I was seven, Caspian continues reading, his voice getting quieter. Murdered in the coup that destroyed my family. I became Emperor at twenty two to avenge her. But somewhere along the way, I forgot what her smile looked like. Forgot the sound of her laugh. The curse took even my memories of her mortal hours, and now I can only remember her in fragments. During these six hours every night, when I'm human again, I try to piece together who she was. Who I was. Who I was supposed to be.
His voice breaks on the last word.
The throne room is completely silent. Some nobles look shocked. Others confused. A few look terrified.
Because their immortal, untouchable Emperor just revealed that he's not what everyone thinks he is.
There's more, I say softly. Keep reading.
Caspian's hands shake as he continues. The loneliness is worse than the danger. Worse than knowing someone wants me dead. Every night I become mortal and experience what it means to feel, to fear, to love. And every morning I forget it all. I'm trapped in a cycle of remembering and forgetting, living and dying. I'm not sure how much longer I can survive this. Not just physically. Mentally. I'm breaking apart into two different people who can never meet.
A tear rolls down his cheek.
I've never seen the Emperor cry. No one has. It's like watching a statue crack and bleed.
He slams the journal shut. Where did you get this? he demands again, but there's no anger now. Only desperation.
You gave it to me, I repeat. Last night. During your mortal hours. You begged me to help you because someone is trying to kill you and you can't remember enough to stop them.
That's insane, Lucian interrupts. Your Majesty, she's clearly manipulating you
I SAID BE QUIET. Caspian's power explodes outward, making the air itself vibrate. Lucian stumbles backward. One more word and I'll remove your tongue.
He turns back to me, and I see something incredible happening. His cold eyes are warming. Not much. But enough.
Prove it, he says. Prove that I wrote this. Prove that I have mortal hours. Prove everything.
This is my chance. My only chance.
The entry is dated 'mortal hours,' I point out. That means midnight to dawn. Tonight, stay awake during those hours. Watch yourself. See if you transform.
And if I don't?
Then I'm lying and you can execute me at sunrise, I say simply. But if I'm telling the truth, if you DO transform... then you need to listen to what I have to say about who's really trying to kill you.
I glance meaningfully at Lucian and Morgana.
Caspian follows my gaze. His eyes narrow.
You're accusing Lord Lucian? Of attempting to assassinate me?
I'm saying the people who framed me for stealing from your vault are the same people who framed me for murder last night, I say carefully. And the same people who want you dead so they can take your power.
Morgana bursts into fake tears. How can you lie like this, sister? After everything we've been through
After YOU framed me for treason? I shoot back. After YOU helped Lucian kidnap our father to lure me into a trap? Stop pretending you're innocent, Morgana. We both know the truth.
That's enough, Caspian interrupts. He's studying all of us now me, Lucian, Morgana, my father. Trying to figure out who's lying. Here's what's going to happen. All of you will be confined to the citadel until this is resolved. Sera Ashlyn and her father will be placed under house arrest, not in the dungeon. Lord Lucian and Lady Morgana will also be... monitored.
Your Majesty! Lucian protests. You can't seriously believe
I don't know what to believe, Caspian says coldly. But I'm going to find out. Tonight. At midnight, I will lock myself in my chambers with trusted guards outside. If I transform as Sera claims, then everything changes. If I don't... He looks at me. Then you'll be executed at dawn. Along with anyone who helped you escape custody.
That includes Elira. And my father.
I nod. That's fair.
Fair? My father gasps. Sera, this is
Our only option, I finish. Trust me.
Guards escort us out. Lucian and Morgana are taken one direction. My father and I are taken to a small but comfortable room in the servant quarters definitely better than the dungeon.
Once we're alone, my father grabs my shoulders. Are you insane? What if he doesn't transform? What if this is all some delusion caused by your magic?
It's not, I say firmly. I've seen it happen. Twice now. He becomes mortal every night from midnight to dawn.
But if something goes wrong
Then we die, I say bluntly. But we were going to die anyway. At least this way, we have a chance.
My father sinks onto the bed, looking defeated. I don't understand any of this. Curses, transformations, temple plots... When did our lives become so complicated?
When they decided I was worth destroying, I mutter.
I sit next to him and pull out the journal again. There has to be more information in here. Something that can help.
I flip through pages randomly, reading snippets of Night Caspian's life:
Year 347 of the curse: I fell in love tonight. Her name was Elena. She held my hand as I bled from a wound I won't remember getting. Tomorrow I'll wake up and won't know her face. This is torture.
Year 562: Another assassination attempt. Poison this time. I survived but only because I vomited it up during my mortal hours. Dayself doesn't know how close he came to dying.
Year 891: I'm forgetting how to be human. Even during mortal hours, I feel like I'm pretending to be something I'm not. What if I've been immortal so long that my mortality is the lie?
Page after page of loneliness and pain. A thousand years of being trapped between two worlds.
My heart aches for him.
He's been alone this whole time, I whisper. Everyone thinks he's this cold, powerful Emperor who doesn't need anyone. But the truth is he's dying inside and no one even knows.
My father looks at me strangely. You care about him. The Emperor who sentenced you to servitude.
I care about the version of him that's real, I say. The one who remembers what it's like to be human.
I keep reading until my eyes get heavy. The last thing I see before I drift off is an entry from just two days ago:
I saw her again. The new servant. Sera. There's something about her. Something familiar. I dream about her even though we've never met during my mortal hours. Day self keeps thinking about her too. We're both drawn to her somehow. Is this fate? Or am I just so desperate for connection that I'm imagining things? Tomorrow night I need to find her. Talk to her. Figure out why she's different from everyone else.
I fall asleep with the journal pressed against my chest.
And I dream.
In the dream, I'm standing in a garden under the stars. A young boy sits on a bench, crying. He can't be more than seven years old.
Mother's gone, he sobs. They killed her. They killed everyone.
I kneel beside him. I know. I'm sorry.
He looks up at me with eyes I recognize. Caspian's eyes. But young and full of pain.
I want revenge, the boy says. I want to make them pay.
Revenge has a price, I tell him gently. Are you willing to pay it?
I'll pay anything, he says fiercely. Even my soul.
The scene shifts. Now I'm in a temple. The same boy, older now maybe twenty two. He kneels before a glowing altar.
A woman's voice echoes: You want immortality? The power to never lose anyone again?
Yes, young Caspian says.
Then you must give up your humanity. Every night, you'll remember what it means to be mortal. And every morning, you'll forget. You'll live forever but never truly live. Do you accept?
I accept.
The boy the man begins to glow. His skin turns cold. His eyes freeze over.
And I watch him transform into the Emperor I know.
But just before the transformation completes, he whispers one last thing:
I hope someday someone will break this curse. Even if it kills me. At least then I'll finally be free.
I jolt awake.
It's dark outside. I check the time11:30 PM.
Thirty minutes until midnight. Thirty minutes until Caspian transforms and discovers the truth.
My father is asleep on the other bed. I stand and pace, too nervous to rest.
What if something goes wrong? What if the curse doesn't happen tonight? What if
A knock on the door makes me jump.
I open it to find a guard. The Emperor requests your presence. Immediately.
My stomach flips. It's not midnight yet.
He knows. He wants to talk to you before... before whatever happens at midnight.
I follow the guard through empty hallways to Caspian's private chambers. The guard opens the door and gestures for me to enter alone.
I step inside.
Caspian stands by the window, staring out at the dark sky. He's not wearing his formal robes anymore. Just a simple black shirt and pants. He looks... human. Almost.
You came, he says without turning around.
You summoned me. I didn't have a choice.
There's always a choice. He finally turns to face me. His eyes aren't warm like Night Caspian's. But they're not ice cold anymore either. Something in between. I've been reading the journal. All of it. Every page.
And?
And I don't remember writing a single word. But... He walks closer. I also can't deny that it's my handwriting. My memories. My pain. He stops right in front of me. So either you're the most skilled manipulator I've ever met, or you're telling the truth. And if you're telling the truth...
He trails off, looking lost.
Then your whole life has been a lie, I finish softly.
Yes.
We stand in silence for a moment.
Then Caspian asks the question I've been dreading: If I transform at midnight like you say I will... what happens to me? me standing here right now. Do I just... disappear?
No, I say. You transform. Your body changes. Your memories shift. But you're still you. Just... a different version of you.
Will I remember this conversation?
I shake my head. Night Caspian never remembers what Day Caspian says or does.
So I'll forget that I'm about to discover the truth about myself. He laughs bitterly. That's cruel irony.
That's the curse, I say.
He looks at me for a long moment. Why are you helping me? I sentenced you to servitude. I could have had you executed. Why would you risk everything to save someone who destroyed your life?
Because Night Caspian helped me when no one else would, I say honestly. Because he offered me revenge on the people who framed me. Because despite everything, I believe you're a good person trapped in an impossible situation. And because...
I hesitate. Should I say it?
Because? he prompts.
Because everyone deserves to be free, I whisper. Even emperors who pretend they don't need freedom.
Something shifts in his expression. For just a second, the ice cracks and I see something warm underneath.
Then the clock tower begins to chime.
Midnight.
Caspian's eyes widen. It's starting. I can feel
His words cut off with a gasp. His body convulses. I rush forward and catch him before he falls.
What's happening? he gasps, terror in his voice.
The transformation, I say. It's okay. I've got you.
His skin begins to warm under my hands. His immortal glow fades. His chest starts to rise and fall with breath.
He stares at me in horror and wonder as his body becomes completely mortal.
Oh gods, he whispers. It's real. It's all real.
Then his eyes change. The cold Day Caspian fades away, and warm Night Caspian looks at me with recognition.
Sera, he breathes. You brought me the journal. Did he read it? Did he believe you?
He's reading it right now, I say. Well. You're reading it. This is so confusing.
Night Caspian manages a weak smile. But then his expression turns serious.
Something's wrong, he says. The transformation... it hurt more than usual. The curse is degrading faster. I can feel it.
How much time do we have?
He closes his eyes, as if sensing something internal. When he opens them again, they're filled with fear.
Less than I thought. If we don't break the curse in the next twenty four hours... He grips my arms. Sera, I'm going to die. For real this time. The curse is going to kill me.
My blood runs cold. Twenty four hours? But you said two days!
I was wrong. The degradation is accelerating. He starts to stand but stumbles. I help him to a chair. We need to perform the blood bond ritual. Tomorrow night. It's our only chance.
But Day Caspian has to consent too, I remind him. And he barely trusts me.
Then make him trust you, Night Caspian says desperately. Because if he doesn't agree to the ritual by tomorrow at midnight, we're both dead.
Before I can respond, someone pounds on the chamber door.
Your Majesty! a guard shouts. Emergency! The temple has been attacked. Everyone inside is dead. And there's a message. It says: 'The Emperor dies tomorrow at midnight. And so does his temporal mage.'
Night Caspian and I lock eyes.
Tomorrow at midnight. The exact time we need to perform the ritual.
Someone knows. Someone knows exactly when we're most vulnerable.
And they're planning to kill us both right when we're trying to save each other.