Elara's POV
The note falls from my shaking hands.
We have the child. Come to the Shadow Market at the next reset. Come alone, or she dies. Tell the prince, and she dies.
"No." The word tears from my throat. "No, no, no—"
Cassian is already moving, checking every corner of the small apartment. But I know what he'll find. Nothing. They're too smart for that.
Mrs. Holloway groans from the floor. I drop beside her, my hands hovering over the bruise spreading across her temple.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, tears streaming down her wrinkled face. "Three men. They wore masks. I tried to stop them, but—"
"It's not your fault." My voice sounds strange. Hollow. Like someone else is speaking through my body.
Cassian kneels beside me, his face carved from stone. "Elara, look at me."
I can't. If I look at him, I'll shatter completely.
"Elara." His hands cup my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. "We will get her back. Do you hear me? We will find Iris."
"They said come alone." My throat closes around the words. "If I tell you—if I bring you—they'll kill her."
"They'll kill you both if you go alone." His jaw tightens. "This is a trap. They want to separate us."
"I don't care!" I shove his hands away, rage flooding through the numbness. "She's my daughter! I won't risk her life!"
"She's our daughter."
The words hit me like a slap. Our daughter. He knows. Somehow, he figured it out.
"When?" I whisper.
"The moment I saw her eyes." His voice cracks. "She has my eyes, Elara. And the way she looked at me—like she could see through time itself. How could she be anyone else's?"
A sob breaks free from my chest. "I was going to tell you. I swear, I was—"
"Later." He stands, pulling me up with him. "Right now, we focus on getting her back. Then you can explain why you hid my child from me for four years."
The coldness in his tone cuts deep, but I deserve it. I deserve all of it.
"Your Highness." Dorian appears in the doorway, slightly out of breath. "I came as soon as I got your message. What's—" He sees Mrs. Holloway on the floor, the overturned furniture, my tear-streaked face. "Saints above. What happened?"
"Someone took Iris," Cassian says flatly. "They left a ransom note demanding Elara come to the Shadow Market alone during the next reset."
Dorian's expression darkens. "It's Victor. Has to be. He's the only one who knows about—" He stops, glancing at me.
"About what?" I demand.
The two men exchange looks.
"Tell me," I say through clenched teeth. "Now."
Cassian sighs. "Victor has been working with a group that hunts memory keepers. We've known for weeks."
The floor seems to tilt beneath my feet. "You knew? You knew he was dangerous to people like us and you didn't—"
"We had no proof that would survive a reset," Cassian interrupts. "And we needed to catch him in the act, not just accuse him. I was protecting you—"
"By keeping secrets?" I laugh bitterly. "Just like I kept Iris secret? How well did that work out for either of us?"
Silence fills the room like poison.
Dorian clears his throat. "With respect, we can argue about this after we save the child. The next reset is in two hours. We need a plan."
Two hours. Two hours until the moon resets and I have to walk into a trap that will probably kill me.
But if there's even a chance to save Iris, I'll take it.
"I'm going," I say firmly. "Alone, like they demanded."
"Absolutely not." Cassian's voice could freeze fire.
"You don't get to control this!" I whirl on him. "She's my daughter—"
"She's OURS!" He's never yelled at me before. The sound echoes off the walls. "And I won't lose either of you. Not when I just found out—" His voice breaks. "Not when I finally know she exists."
The raw pain in his eyes nearly destroys me.
"Then help me," I whisper. "Please. Help me save her."
He stares at me for a long moment. Then nods once, sharp and decisive.
"Dorian, gather the guards. Discreetly. I want the Shadow Market surrounded, but they can't know we're coming."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Elara will go in alone as demanded, but she'll be wearing a tracking charm. The moment she has eyes on Iris, we move in."
"What if they kill her the second they see me?" I ask quietly.
"They won't." Cassian's certainty is absolute. "They need you alive. Memory keepers are valuable. That's why they've been hunting you."
"How do you know?"
He exchanges another look with Dorian. "Because three memory keepers have disappeared in the last month alone. All of them found dead after the reset, their power drained. Victor is collecting us like trophies."
Ice floods my veins. "And you didn't think to tell me this?"
"I was trying to protect you without terrifying you." His hand reaches for mine. "I failed. I'm sorry."
I pull away. "Save your apologies. Just help me save our daughter."
An hour later, I stand at the entrance to the Shadow Market wearing a simple cloak and a tracking charm hidden in my boot. Cassian's guards are positioned throughout the district, invisible but present.
The prince himself stands in a nearby alley, watching me with an expression that's equal parts fury and fear.
"If anything goes wrong—" he starts.
"It won't."
"If it does, run. Don't try to be a hero. Just run, and I'll find you."
I nod, not trusting my voice.
Then I step into the market.
The Shadow Market operates during reset hours—a place where criminals trade in stolen moments and erased crimes. Vendors call out their illegal wares in hushed voices. The smell of dark magic hangs heavy in the air.
I follow the directions from the note, winding through narrow passages until I reach an abandoned warehouse at the market's edge.
The door creaks open at my touch.
Inside, Victor waits.
But he's not alone.
Standing beside him, wearing the robes of the Lunar Temple, is High Priestess Morgana.
And in Morgana's arms, unconscious and pale as death, is Iris.
"Hello, Elara," Morgana says, her smile cold as winter. "We've been waiting for you."
My blood turns to ice.
Because I suddenly understand. Victor isn't the mastermind. He never was.
Morgana—the kingdom's most trusted spiritual leader—is the one who's been hunting memory keepers.
And I just walked straight into her trap.