[Divine Library—Lavinia’s POV—Continuation]
The words "...because of " echoed like a curse in my head, twisting everything I thought I knew. My hands trembled as fragnts of mory flashed before —mories I had thought were from a novel.
Rey... in that mory, he was the one who passed the poison to Caelum. He was said to be greedy, willing to do anything for money. My chest thudded violently as I glanced at him. The calm, unreadable Archmage before now—he had been that man before.
He stepped closer, voice steady but laced with sothing I couldn’t na. "I have been searching for you all this ti, Princess... even in your last life. Because you were tied to Rakshar."
I froze, every instinct screaming. "What... what do you an?"
Rey’s eyes darkened with mory, shadowed and sorrowful. "As Supre Archmage, my ancestors always served the Master of Rakshar. In your last life... I worked as a guild master. I found the egg of Rakshar, thinking it would lead to you. But... it did not. Sothing... unnatural had severed the threads of your fate as Rakshar’s master."
I furrowed my brows, panic tightening around my chest. "Severed... threads of my fate?"
He shook his head, voice dropping lower, almost a whisper. "Yes, Princess... soone interfered. Soone used sothing rotten to steal your destiny."
My eyes widened, disbelief burning through . "What?"
Rey nodded solemnly. "While I was guild master... Caelum ca to and purchased a poison. At the ti, I didn’t know it was ant for you. But after your death... Rakshar’s egg began to shatter. It signified that its master—the one it was bound to—had perished."
I stared at him, numb.
"But..." Rey continued, his voice tight, deliberate, heavy with regret, "Rakshar has the power to restore its master... to turn back ti. With the help of your father and Rakshar, we did it. We brought you back. But... everything has consequences, Princess. Consequences that you must bear, because it was for you alone."
I whispered, voice trembling, "Consequences...?"
His gaze t mine, unwavering, and I felt the weight of his words like chains around my chest. "Yes. The burdens, the pain... the mories you carry—they are yours because you were returned. Since the mont you ca back, Princess... they have been yours to bear. You must’ve faced sothing."
And then the realization hit like a brick. Panic rising, the cold marble beneath biting into my palms as I sank to the floor. "No... no... don’t tell it’s... it’s—"
"What is it, Princess?" Rey asked.
"I... I rember my past life." My voice cracked, almost a sob.
Rey’s brow furrowed, a hint of grief in his voice. "Yes... this is your second life, as Lavinia. You were given a chance to live again."
I cut him off, shaking my head violently. "No... not as Lavinia. Not with this face, not in this world. One life... different life... different !"
Silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. My knees trembled, and my fingers dug into the cold marble as though I could anchor myself to sothing solid. But there was nothing. Nothing familiar. Nothing safe.
The realization slamd into like a tidal wave.
I am the real Lavinia. This isn’t a book world. This isn’t a story soone wrote to entertain themselves.
I was abandoned. Truly abandoned.
Osric chose soone else. My father... left . Everything I had once dismissed as fiction, as novelized fantasy... had been reality. My heart ached with every rembered betrayal, every whispered cruelty, every stolen joy.
I pressed my face to my knees, shivering uncontrollably, the cold marble biting through my dress and into my skin. The weight of the truth pressed down on like iron chains.
I had lived once... and suffered. And now... I was forced to rember it all. Every betrayal, every stolen joy, every shadow of despair. The library held its breath, utterly silent, as if even the centuries-old walls were afraid to witness what I was feeling.
Rey stood quietly, his eyes dark and unreadable, but they burned with sothing I couldn’t na. He just watched. And I... I stared at the floor, hollow-eyed, like a girl who had lost her reflection.
"...His Majesty is rushing here, Princess," Rey whispered, his voice soft, careful, and almost breaking.
I didn’t move. My fingers dug into the marble, gripping like claws, trying to anchor myself to sothing solid. Slowly, trembling, I raised my head and stood. My legs shook as I walked toward the door. Every step felt heavy, like dragging my heart behind .
Rey’s voice ca again, gentle but firm. "Princess..."
I paused.
He continued, "Please... don’t forget. Emperor... and Osric... they weren’t at fault. Your fate... it was stolen... and they suffered as well."
I didn’t nod. I didn’t speak. I didn’t even look at him. I just kept moving, my heels clicking on the cold marble, my gaze fixed on the silver light streaming through the window. The moonlight seed cruelly serene, mocking with its calmness.
Abandoned. Truly abandoned. All of it—my father, my lover, my life—had been taken. The suffering was mine for real.
There was no other Lavinia. There was only . I was Lavinia Devereux... and I was also Reina Suzuki.
No matter the na, no matter the world—I suffered.As Reina, I was abandoned. As Lavinia, I was cast aside.
What sin had I committed to deserve pain in both lives? What cri had I done to be forsaken twice—by blood, by fate, by love itself?
Then I heard it.
"Lavinia..."
The voice... Papa’s voice, urgent, panicked, raw. I looked up and saw him—a storm of worry etched into his features, his hands trembling, his eyes wide. Everything about him scread fear... fear of losing again.
I stared at him. My eyes are hollow, my lips barely parting. "...So... you really abandoned , Papa?"
His entire body flinched, as if I had cut him with my words. "L-Lavinia..." His voice cracked, low and ragged, trembling as he stepped closer, arms reaching out. "I—"
I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I wanted to run... scream... hug him and hate him all at once. My chest tightened, suffocating .
Everything—the palace, the library, the air I breathed—it all felt suffocating, like the walls themselves were closing in. My mind spun.
And then... the mories of Papa’s strange behavior, Osric’s odd behaviour from stopping from entering the divine library, their odd glances and hesitant weird questions... a new, terrifying thought crawled into my mind:
Did they rember too? So was their love for ... real? Or was it guilt?
The question struck like a dagger, twisting deep in my chest. My head throbbed violently, pain exploding behind my eyes. It felt like a storm tearing through my skull, like every mory, every betrayal, and every sorrow was pounding against all at once.
Through the haze of agony, shapes blurred into view—Ravick, Sera, Marshi, and Solena—rushing toward us, their voices faint, swallowed by the storm raging inside .
I swayed. My knees buckled.
"Lavinia..." Papa’s voice rose, panicked and desperate, but the sound barely reached over the ringing in my head. "My dear, let’s go back. It’s late—"
THUD!
My vision shattered. Darkness swallowed whole.
"...LAVINIA...!!!"
His scream tore through the library, through my mind, and through the remnants of my soul. And then—nothing.
I was gone.
***
[Osric’s POV — Later, Midnight—Osric’s Chamber]
Sleep refused to co.
I lay there, staring at the ceiling, the silence of the night pressing down like a weight on my chest. Every ti I closed my eyes, I saw her—Lavi—turning away from , her voice trembling yet distant.
"Take a leave, Osric."
Those words kept echoing in my head, cold and final. The distance she created between us—it was unbearable.
I sat up, running a hand through my hair, exhaling a sharp breath. "I hope nothing bad happens," I muttered into the darkness.
And then—WHOOSH!
A gust of wind swept across the chamber, ruffling the curtains. Solena darted in, her feathers glinting under the moonlight.
I frowned, relief flickering briefly. "Finally back, huh?"
But instead of perching calmly, she fluttered frantically, pecking at my hand—hard.
"Solena?" I blinked. "What’s wrong?"
She let out a sharp cry, her wings twitching, movents jerky and anxious. My stomach dropped. Solena never panicked.
"Wait..." My voice caught. "Shouldn’t you be with Lavi?"
She froze.
A chill ran down my spine.
"Solena," I whispered, gripping her trembling form. "Did... sothing happen to Lavi?"
She nodded—once, twice—then pecked my hand again, as if pleading for to understand.
My pulse spiked. "What is it? Speak—" I stopped mid-sentence, realizing the impossible. "Don’t tell ..."
Solena flapped her wings desperately, then sank onto the bed, her head bowed low—like she was mourning.
My chest tightened painfully. "Did... Lavi faint?"
She nodded hard.
And that was all it took.
I was already running before the thought could finish forming. The corridors blurred past , the echo of my boots drowned by the roar of my heartbeat.
Please, no.Don’t tell she found out.
Don’t tell it’s too late.
Reviews
All reviews (0)