Rhea woke with a gasp like she'd broken the surface of deep water.
Her sheets were soaked in sweat. Her window was wide open, though she didn't remember leaving it that way. Outside, the streetlights flickered like they were glitching.
She was back.But not all of her had returned.
She pressed her hand to her chest. Her heartbeat was there — frantic, alive — but underneath it, something else pulsed. A rhythm not her own. A thread of shadow still wrapped around her.
"You saw her," Isaac said from the corner.
She jumped.
He wasn't looking at her. Just standing near the door, staring out the window. Tense. Still. Like he'd been standing there the whole night, guarding her while she slept — or watching to see if she'd wake up as herself.
"Yeah," Rhea whispered. "I saw her."
Isaac turned slowly. His eyes held something new: fear. Not of her. For her.
"Then we don't have much time."
The room darkened, even though it was just past dawn. The sun was rising, but shadows clung to the corners unnaturally, refusing to fade.
Rhea stood up weak, but steady.
"Tell me the truth. No more riddles. Who am I?"
Isaac hesitated. Just a breath too long.
Then: "You're the last reincarnation of a soul that's been hunted for centuries. The first was a seer. A girl who saw the death of kings and the rise of monsters. She was cursed for what she knew… and every life after that, the curse followed."
Rhea's mouth went dry. "And the shadow?"
"That's the part of you that remembers everything. The original soul, unfiltered. But it's twisted. Bitter. She wants out and she'll take over if you let your fear win."
Rhea swallowed hard. "So what happens if she does?"
Isaac looked her dead in the eye."Everyone dies. Again."
Later that night, Rhea sat alone on the roof.
She stared at the stars, remembering the shadow's face. Her own face, smiling like it knew something she didn't.
Behind her, a voice spoke. Not Isaac's. Not Jace's.
"You should've taken my hand, Rhea."
She turned.
No one was there.
Just the sound of wind brushing past her ear like a whisper meant only for her.