Sera's POV
I wake up screaming his name.
Azrael!
Caspian is beside me instantly, hands hovering like he wants to touch me but doesn't dare. You're safe. It was a dream.
No. I'm shaking so hard my teeth chatter. It was a memory. He was there. In my mind. He said I choke on the words. He said he's coming for me. Tonight.
Caspian's face goes pale. That's not possible. Dream walking is forbidden even for gods
He doesn't care about rules! The memory burns in my head Azrael standing in a palace of gold and fury, his hand reaching through the veil between worlds to touch my sleeping mind. He found a way. He knows where we are.
Then we leave. Now. Caspian starts gathering our supplies, moving too fast, stumbling.
Wait. I grab his arm. Stop running and tell me the truth. All of it. Who am I? Who is he? Why does he want me so badly?
Caspian stops. His shoulders sag like he's carrying impossible weight.
You want the whole story? he asks quietly.
Yes.
He sits on the floor, too exhausted to stand anymore. I sit across from him, close enough to see the dark circles under his eyes, the blood still dried at his temple from last night's attack.
Two hundred years ago, he begins, there was a goddess named Seraphine She was the Goddess of Dawn and Destruction. Every morning, she painted the sunrise across the sky. Every battle, she could level armies with a thought. She was powerful. Beautiful. And completely alone.
I lean forward, drawn into the story like it's a lifeline.
The gods loved her and feared her, Caspian continues. Azrael, the God of Vengeance, claimed her as his consort. They were together for a thousand years. But Seraphine didn't love him. She couldn't. He was too cruel, too possessive. He treated her like a possession, not a person.
My chest aches hearing this. I know it's true even though I can't remember.
Then she met a mortal, Caspian says softly. A sorcerer named Konstantin Thorne. He didn't bow to her. Didn't worship her. He just... saw her. The real her. They fell in love.
Your ancestor, I whisper.
Yes. Caspian's eyes are distant, seeing the past. When the gods found out, they were furious. Azrael most of all. He demanded her execution. The Divine Court held a trial. Seraphine own family her brothers, her sisters voted to strip her of her godhood and kill her.
They betrayed her, I breathe.
They did. But Konstantin wouldn't let her die. Caspian's voice drops. He made a deal with ancient magic. Dark magic. He bound his entire bloodline to protect her forever. Every descendant would be her Keeper, hiding her from divine detection until the gods forgot about her. He gave up his life to complete the spell.
Tears stream down my face. I don't know why I'm crying for people I don't remember, but I can't stop.
The spell worked, Caspian says. Seraphine was cast down to earth, stripped of most of her power. But she didn't die. Konstantin's family has protected her ever since. Seven generations of Keepers. I'm the seventh.
And the chains? I ask through my tears.
Caspian's expression turns anguished. Five years ago, you started remembering everything. The betrayal. The trial. Losing Konstantin. It came back too fast, too violent. You went mad with grief and rage. Your power exploded. You destroyed half the fortress, nearly killed yourself and me. When you finally calmed down, you were on your knees, begging me to make it stop.
What did I say? I whisper.
'Make me forget,' Caspian quotes, his voice breaking. 'Chain me. Lock it away. I can't survive remembering.' So I did. I used binding magic to suppress your memories and your power. I put you to sleep. I thought I was helping.
But I kept waking up, I realize.
Every few months at first. Then more frequently. The memories want to return. Your power wants to be free. The cycle keeps repeating. He looks at me with such pain. Seventeen times you've woken up confused and afraid. Seventeen times I've explained this nightmare. And every time, I hope maybe this will be the time you can handle the truth.
I stare at my wrists where the chain marks used to be. I asked you to imprison me.
You asked me to save you, Caspian corrects gently. From yourself. From memories too painful to bear. I did what you begged me to do.
Silence stretches between us. Outside, birds are singing. The morning sun filters through cracks in the cabin walls. It feels wrong that the world can be so peaceful when my entire reality is shattering.
Do you want me to remember? I finally ask. Really?
Caspian looks at me for a long moment. I want you to be whole. If remembering makes you whole, then yes. If forgetting keeps you sane, then no. What I want what I've always wanted is for you to be happy. Even if that means you never remember me.
That's the saddest thing I've ever heard, I whisper.
Maybe. He tries to smile. But it's true.
A cough wracks his body. He turns away quickly, but not before I see him cough into his hand. When he pulls it away, there's blood on his palm. Fresh blood. More than before.
Horror floods through me. Caspian
I'm fine, he says automatically, wiping his hand on his pants.
You're not fine! You're dying! I grab his shoulders, forcing him to look at me. The magic that hides me it's eating you alive, isn't it?
It's a small price
Stop lying! My hands are glowing without my permission. I can feel it. Your life force. It's fading. How long do you really have?
Caspian's mask finally cracks completely. Three months. Maybe less if I have to use heavy magic again.
Three months. Not four anymore. The attack last night cost him time.
Then stop, I beg. Let the magic go. Let them find me. I'll fight them myself
You can't fight a god, Sera!
I fought off three divine hunters yesterday!
Those were servants! Caspian's voice rises. Azrael is ancient. Powerful. He's had two hundred years to plan how to capture you. The moment you face him without preparation, he'll drag you back to the Celestial Court and make you suffer for eternity. I won't let that happen.
So you'll just die instead? I'm crying again, angry tears this time. You'll burn yourself out for someone who doesn't even remember you?
Yes, Caspian says simply. Because that's what love is. Sacrifice without expecting anything in return.
The words punch through me. Love. He loves me. Really loves me. Not the goddess I used to be, but me the broken, confused, powerless version sitting in front of him.
Before I can respond, pain explodes in my skull.
I scream. Images flood my mind not dreams this time, but real memories rushing back like a dam breaking. I see Konstantin's face. Feel his hands in mine. Hear him whisper, I'll find a way to save you, even if it costs me everything.
I see the trial. My brother pronouncing sentence. Azrael's cruel smile as he says, If you won't be mine, you'll be nothing.
I see two hundred years of hiding. Of Keepers protecting me. Of waking and forgetting and waking again.
And I see Caspian. Sixteen years old, kneeling beside my sleeping body, promising to keep me safe. Twenty-five, holding me as I sobbed and begged to forget. Thirty-two, dying slowly, never once complaining.
The memories settle. The pain fades.
I open my eyes and see Caspian watching me with desperate hope and terrible fear.
Sera? he whispers. Are you okay?
I touch his face gently. I remember, I breathe. Not everything. But enough. I remember asking you to chain me. I remember why.
Do you hate me for it?
No. I pull him close. I could never hate you. You saved me, Caspian. In every way a person can be saved.
He collapses against me, and I feel his whole body shaking with relief.
But our moment is shattered by a sound outside. Footsteps. Multiple people surrounding the cabin.
Caspian pulls away, eyes wide. No. They can't have found us this fast
The door explodes inward.
But it's not divine hunters.
It's Azrael himself.
The God of Vengeance stands in the doorway, beautiful and terrible, eyes blazing with golden fire. Behind him, twenty divine soldiers wait.
Hello, my love, Azrael says, smiling at me like we're old friends. Did you really think you could hide forever?
His eyes shift to Caspian, and his smile turns cruel.
And you. The latest Thorne. How fitting that you'll die just like your ancestor watching the woman you love taken from you, knowing you failed.
Caspian stands, putting himself between us. You'll have to kill me first.
Gladly, Azrael says.
And raises his hand to strike.