Elara's POV
I can't stop shaking.
The festival is over. Guards escort students back to their dorms. Healers treat people poisoned by the airborne toxin. Prince Adrian personally supervises Lucian and Lady Margot's arrest, their hands bound in magical chains that glow with suppression spells.
Everything should feel like a victory. I saved Caspian. Exposed the real villains. Changed the story.
But those burning words on the wall haunt me: YOU BROKE THE STORY. NOW YOU'LL PAY THE PRICE.
Elara? Caspian's hand touches my shoulder gently. Are you hurt?
I'm standing in the middle of the emptying courtyard, frozen. Students pass by, shooting nervous glances at us. Some whisper. Most hurry away as fast as they can.
I'm fine, I lie.
His dark eyes study me too closely. You're trembling.
It's just the adrenaline wearing off.
You're also staring at that wall like you saw a ghost. He follows my gaze to where the burning message appeared. The words are gone now, like they were never there. What did you see?
Nothing, I almost say. But I'm so tired of lying.
A warning. Someone was watching me. They wrote something on the wall.
Caspian tenses immediately. What did it say?
Before I can answer, Seraphina approaches with Adrian. They both look exhausted, their formal clothes stained and torn from helping with the chaos.
Duke Noctis, Adrian says formally. We need statements from both of you about what happened tonight.
Tomorrow, Caspian says flatly. Elara needs rest.
This is a serious matter
She nearly died saving my life. Again. Caspian's voice goes cold. She can give her statement tomorrow when she's recovered. Or do you plan to interrogate someone who just prevented a massacre?
Adrian's jaw tightens, but he nods. Tomorrow morning, then. Both of you.
Seraphina looks at me with something like sympathy. Are you alright, Miss Ashwood? You look pale.
I'm fine, I say again. The lie is getting easier.
After they leave, Caspian gently takes my arm. Come on. You're staying in the Noctis wing tonight. I'm not letting you out of my sight.
I should argue. Should insist I can go back to my own room. But the truth is, I don't want to be alone right now.
We walk through quiet hallways toward the Noctis wing. Guards nod respectfully as we pass. A few students stare, but one look from Caspian sends them scurrying away.
You saved me again, he says quietly. That's twice now with poison.
You would do the same for me.
In a heartbeat. He says it so simply, like it's the most obvious fact in the world. But most people wouldn't throw themselves in front of a poisoned drink meant for the villain everyone fears.
You're not a villain.
He stops walking, turning to face me fully. You keep saying that. Even after watching me lose control tonight. Even after my shadows almost killed people.
You were fighting poison! That wasn't your fault!
It could have been. His expression turns serious, almost haunted. When the darkness took over, I felt it, Elara. That rage. That desire to destroy everything. For a moment, I wanted to. The only thing that stopped me was you. Your voice. Your hand on my arm.
My heart aches at the vulnerability in his eyes. Caspian
You keep me human, he continues, his voice dropping lower. You anchor me. Without you, I would have become exactly what everyone fears. So tell me how did you know? How did you know about the poison in the library, about my stepmother's betrayal, about tonight?
We've reached his private study. He opens the door and ushers me inside, closing it behind us for privacy.
This is it. The moment I've been dreading.
I could lie again. Make up another excuse. But looking at Caspian, who trusts me completely, who just admitted I'm the only thing keeping him from darkness, I can't.
He deserves the truth. At least part of it.
What if I told you, I say slowly, that I can see possible futures? Paths things might take?
He doesn't laugh. Doesn't look skeptical. Just studies me with those intense dark eyes. Then I'd ask what future you saw for me.
My eyes fill with tears before I can stop them. A dark one. You were betrayed by your family which almost happened tonight. You lost control of your magic. You became... something dangerous. And three months from now, Prince Adrian killed you in battle.
Silence. Long and heavy.
Then Caspian smiles. Actually smiles. Well, we've already changed part of that future, haven't we? Lucian's betrayal is exposed. My stepmother is arrested. The festival disaster was stopped.
But the prophecy
I don't care about prophecies. He steps closer, and my breath catches. You've saved my life twice. You've changed my fate. If the future can change that much, then maybe I don't have to die at all.
It's not that simple
It is. His hand reaches up, cupping my face with surprising gentleness. His thumb brushes away a tear I didn't know had fallen. You said I lose control and become a monster. But look at tonight I was in control. I protected you. I didn't hurt innocent people. Do you know why?
I shake my head, not trusting my voice.
Because you were there. You're my anchor, Elara. As long as I have you, I won't lose myself to the darkness. His dark eyes search mine. Do you understand what I'm saying?
Yes, I think. You're saying I matter to you. You're saying you need me.
You're saying you're falling for me just like I'm falling for you.
But before I can respond, a voice cuts through the room like ice:
How touching.
We both spin around. Impossible the door is closed. Locked. We're alone.
But standing in the center of the study, materializing out of thin air like a ghost, is a woman I've never seen before.
She's tall and elegant, wearing flowing robes that seem to be made of mist and starlight. Her face is beautiful but cold, ageless in a way that's deeply unsettling. And her eyes...
Her eyes glow with an otherworldly light that makes my skin prickle.
Caspian's shadows explode outward immediately, placing himself between me and the intruder. Who are you? How did you get past my wards?
Your wards? The woman laughs, and the sound echoes strangely, like it's coming from everywhere at once. Child, I exist outside such things. I am the Veiled Oracle. The one who sees all paths, all futures, all possibilities.
My blood turns to ice. The Oracle. The one who appeared in the outline. The one who's supposed to be the true antagonist.
She's real. And she's here.
An Oracle? Caspian's voice is sharp with suspicion. Impossible. The last true Oracle died centuries ago.
Did I? Her smile is cold and knowing. Or did I simply retreat from a world that stopped listening? No matter. I'm not here for you, Duke Noctis. I'm here for her.
Those glowing eyes fix on me, and suddenly I can't breathe. It feels like she's looking through me, seeing every secret, every truth I've tried to hide.
Elara Chen, the Oracle says, and my birth name my real name from my real world makes my knees nearly buckle. You don't belong here. You know that, don't you?
Caspian's head snaps toward me. Elara Chen? Your name is Ashwood.
Is it? The Oracle tilts her head, amused. Or is that simply the name of the body she's wearing? Tell him, dear. Tell him the truth about who you really are.
I don't know what you're talking about. My voice comes out shaky and weak.
Liar. The Oracle waves her hand, and suddenly the air in front of us shimmers. Images appear like reflections in water scenes from my life. My real life.
Me in modern clothes, walking to the library. Me holding Crown of Ashes, the book. Me stepping into traffic. The horrible crunch of the car hitting me.
And then me waking up in Elara Ashwood's body.
Caspian stares at the images, his expression shifting from confusion to shock to something I can't read. What... what is this?
The truth your little savior has been hiding. The Oracle's voice drips with satisfaction. She's not from this world, Duke Noctis. She died in her world and woke up in yours. In the body of a minor character from a story a story she'd read a hundred times.
No, I whisper, but there's no point denying it. The images show everything.
That's how she knew about the poisoning, the Oracle continues. How she knew about your stepmother's betrayal. How she knew about the festival. Because she read it all in a book. To her, you're not real. You're just a character in a story. A villain destined to die so the hero can triumph.
Elara? Caspian's voice is quiet, almost broken. Is this true?
I can't look at him. Can't bear to see the betrayal in his eyes. Yes.
The single word falls like a stone.
I died in a car accident, I continue, my voice barely above a whisper. I woke up here, in this body, two weeks before the festival. I knew everything that was supposed to happen because I'd read the book. I knew you were supposed to go dark. Supposed to die. I tried to avoid you, tried to stay out of the story, but
But you saved me anyway. His voice is flat now, emotionless. Even knowing I was the villain. Even knowing I was supposed to die.
Because I couldn't just let you be murdered! I couldn't watch you suffer when I had the power to stop it!
How noble. The Oracle's mocking voice cuts through my desperate explanation. But don't you see what you've done? You've broken the story. Changed the plot. And now the consequences are spiraling out of control.
She waves her hand again, and new images appear. Dark ones. Terrible ones.
Cities burning. Armies clashing. Caspian covered in shadows, his eyes black, destroying everything in his path. Bodies everywhere. Chaos. Destruction. The entire kingdom falling into darkness.
This is what happens when you defy fate, the Oracle says coldly. Caspian Noctis was supposed to die at the festival. His death was meant to prevent this the corruption of his power, the fall of the kingdom. But you saved him. And now, three months from now, this is what your mercy creates.
No, I breathe. That's not... he wouldn't...
He would. He will. It's inevitable. The Oracle's eyes bore into mine. His power is too great. Without the check of his prophesied death, he'll lose control completely. And everything you love, everyone you've tried to save, will die screaming.
Caspian is silent. Completely silent. I can't read his expression.
I'm offering you a choice, the Oracle says, and now her voice turns almost kind. Almost sympathetic. Leave this world. Go back to yours. I can send you home, let you live your life. All you have to do is step away from Caspian Noctis. Let the story correct itself. Let him face his fate.
You want me to let him die, I say flatly.
I want you to save thousands of lives by sacrificing one. Isn't that what heroes do? The Oracle extends a hand toward me, glowing with otherworldly light. Take my hand, and I'll send you home. Back to your real body, your real life. You'll wake up in a hospital, injured but alive. You can go back to normal. Forget all of this.
Go home. Back to my world. Back to everything I knew.
It's everything I wanted when I first woke up here. To escape this nightmare and return to reality.
But that was before. Before I met Iris. Before I saved Caspian. Before I fell in love with a man who was supposed to be a villain but who looks at me like I'm his entire world.
I look at Caspian. He still won't meet my eyes. His jaw is tight, his hands clenched into fists.
Caspian, I whisper. Say something.
What do you want me to say? His voice is rough. That I'm not angry you've been lying to me this whole time? That I don't care that I'm apparently just a character in your book? That I'm fine being your... what? Your fictional villain turned pet project?
The words sting like a slap. That's not
Or should I say thank you? He finally looks at me, and the pain in his eyes breaks my heart. Thank you for deigning to save the life of someone who isn't even real to you?
You're real to me! Tears stream down my face. Everything here is real to me! You're not just a character, Caspian, you're
What? What am I? He steps closer, and there's something desperate in his expression now. Tell me, Elara. In your book, in the story you read, what was I to you?
You were tragic, I choke out. You were someone who deserved better than the fate you got. Someone who was broken by everyone who was supposed to love you. Someone I wanted to save even knowing I shouldn't.
Why?
Because I fell in love with you! The confession bursts out of me before I can stop it. Even in the book, even knowing you were the villain, I couldn't stop caring about you. And when I woke up here, when I met you in person, when I saw you dying in that library I couldn't just let you die. Not when I could save you.
Silence. Heavy and suffocating.
The Oracle sighs. How predictable. Love. The most destructive force in any story. She looks at Caspian. Tell her, Duke Noctis. Tell her what she wants to hear. Or let her go and save your kingdom from the darkness you'll become.
Caspian's hands shake. His shadows writhe around his feet, responding to his emotional turmoil.
If I ask you to stay, he says quietly, am I being selfish? Am I condemning thousands to death just because I can't bear to lose you?
The visions aren't set in stone
But they could be true. The Oracle's right about one thing my power is dangerous. Growing stronger every day. What if I do lose control? What if I become exactly what everyone fears? His dark eyes are full of anguish. What if loving you is what destroys everything?
Or what if loving each other is what saves everything? I step toward him, reaching for his hand. Caspian, that vision she showed you it's one possible future. Not the only one. We've already changed so much. We can change that too.
Can we? He looks at my hand like he's afraid to take it. Or am I just a monster waiting to happen?
You're not a monster. I grab his hand firmly, interlocking our fingers. You're the man who protected me at the festival. Who kept control even when poison tried to make you go dark. Who cares about people more than he wants to admit.
Elara
I'm not leaving. I say it loud and clear, turning to face the Oracle. I'm staying. And I'm going to find a way to save him without anyone dying. There's always another way.
The Oracle's expression turns cold. Dangerous.
Then you've chosen your path, she says, and her voice echoes with power. And you'll suffer the consequences. The story will correct itself. It always does. And when it does, everyone you love will pay the price for your arrogance.
Get out of my study, Caspian growls, his shadows surging. Now.
The Oracle smiles. As you wish. But I'll be watching, Elara Chen. And when you realize you can't win against fate, when you watch everyone you care about die because of your stubbornness, remember I offered you a way out. You chose this suffering.
She vanishes as suddenly as she appeared, leaving only a cold breeze and the faint smell of starlight.
The silence that follows is deafening.
Caspian pulls his hand from mine and walks to the window, staring out at the night. His back is rigid, his shoulders tense.
Caspian
You're from another world. His voice is flat. You died and woke up in a book. You know my entire future. You know I'm supposed to die in three months.
Yes.
And you've been lying to me about all of it.
I didn't know how to tell you! How do you explain something like that?
By trusting me! He spins around, and his eyes are blazing. I told you everything my fears, my weaknesses, my family's betrayals. I trusted you with my life. And you couldn't trust me with the truth?
I was scared! I didn't want you to think I was insane!
So instead you let me fall for you while knowing I was just a character in your book? Just a story you'd read? Pain cracks through his anger. Did you even care about me? Or was I just an interesting puzzle to solve? A villain to redeem?
I love you! My voice breaks on the words. I love you so much it terrifies me. You're not a character to me, Caspian. You're everything.
He stares at me, chest heaving, shadows swirling around him like a storm.
Prove it, he says finally. The Oracle offered you a way home. A way back to your real life. So prove you love me choose to stay. Choose me. Choose this world over yours.
I already did. I told the Oracle no.
Because you think you can save me. Not because you want to be here. His jaw tightens. If you couldn't save me, if I was just going to become the monster she showed you, would you still stay? Or would you run back to your world and forget I ever existed?
The question hangs between us.
I think about my old life. My real life. Going back to normal. No magic, no prophecies, no villains trying to kill me.
No Caspian.
If I thought you were going to become that monster, I say slowly, I'd stay anyway. Because I'd spend every second, I had left trying to reach you. Trying to bring you back. And if I failed, if you really did go dark, I'd rather face the darkness with you than live safely without you.
His eyes widen.
You're not a character to me, I continue, stepping closer. You're the person I think about when I wake up. The person whose smile makes my entire day better. The person I'd die for without hesitation. Tears stream down my face. You asked me to prove it? I already have. I gave up my chance to go home. I chose you. I choose you. Every single time.
For a long moment, he just stares at me.
Then he moves fast. His hands cup my face, and his lips crash against mine in a kiss that steals my breath and my thoughts and my fear.
It's desperate and fierce and full of everything we've been holding back. His shadows wrap around us like a protective cocoon. My hands fist in his jacket, pulling him closer.
When we finally break apart, both of us breathing hard, his forehead rests against mine.
If you're lying, he whispers, if you're just saying what I want to hear, it will destroy me.
I'm not lying. I've never been more honest in my life.
Then we rewrite the ending together, he says, echoing words from the outline I read so long ago. No prophecies. No predetermined fate. We make our own story.
Together, I agree.
He kisses me again, softer this time. Gentler.
But even as I melt into his arms, even as I feel safer than I have in weeks, a small voice in the back of my mind whispers: What if the Oracle is right? What if saving him really does doom everyone else?
What if love isn't enough?