The next entry took longer to appear, as if the system itself hesitated to unveil it. The handwriting was cleaner, more steady, and resembled surrender rather than confession. Yerofey no longer wrote to explain. He wrote because silence was worse.
"The third life began the same way as the others, with a crown above me, a curse beneath me, and the same faces smiling through deception. I was born again in Palatine, with the same palace halls, brothers, and kingdom that was already crumbling under the weight of debt and pride.
I remembered everything this time. The bond, the fire, the scream that tore Saha apart. I remembered Asier's hands and how they had once trembled when he marked me. I remembered the warmth of his chest and the sound he made when they killed me. I remembered it all, and I decided I would never feel it again."
Trevor's thumb froze above the tablet. The tone was colder, stripped of all tenderness.
