Olivia frowned as if reaching for memories buried beneath layers of time.
“Roman, you and I hunted together. Life was good.” I sighed, pushing away from the wall and settling back into my chair. “But the hunger never left me. I still had to kill.”
I let my gaze drift to the flames. “I chose my prey carefully. The corrupt. The wicked. Those who thrived on cruelty and destruction. I watched them for days, ensuring they were deserving of their fate. And when the time came… I ended them. Took their souls for strength.”
I met Roman’s gaze, searching for any judgment. “You saw me kill once.”
His jaw tightened slightly, but he said nothing.
“You didn’t turn away. You didn’t fear me. Instead, you made me a promise.” My voice softened. “That’s when you said it—‘I was born a monster, but I won’t die one.’”
A spark of recognition lit in Roman’s eyes. He snapped his fingers. “Yes! I remember that moment. As clearly as if it were yesterday.”
I nodded. “We returned home, and I noticed the two daggers mounted over the headboard in your bedroom. That was when I asked if you were Timebornes.”
I inhaled deeply, the memory playing like an old melody. “You both told me you had been born with the blades but knew nothing about them. The villagers saw the daggers as a divine sign—God’s intervention. They believed you were meant to be together. So, they married you.”
A faint smile ghosted across my lips before fading. “I brought trouble into your lives.” My voice dipped, heavy with regret. “Before I arrived, everything was normal. But I knew what the daggers meant. I knew what they were capable of.”
I let out a breath. “I told you the truth about them. About your abilities. About Balthazar. And I asked for your help.”
I glanced between them, remembering the doubt in their eyes, the disbelief written across their faces all those years ago. “At first, you refused to believe me. It was too much, too impossible. But then you conferred with one another, deciding the truth of what I had told you. And in the end, you chose to trust me.” My voice softened. “You took on the quest with pride and honor.”
Roman’s eyes darkened with memory. “We left our home,” he murmured. “Took the children and searched for the Sun and Moon Daggers.”
I nodded. “Yes. We scoured the surrounding lands, searching for the blades. And in that time, we became a family. Your children loved me. And I—” My throat tightened. “I loved them.”
I paused, staring into the fire as it illuminated the cold stone walls. “For the first time in my life, I felt content. Whole.”
Silence stretched between us.
Then, in a quieter voice, I continued. “But traveling with three young children became too dangerous, too burdensome. Roman, you decided to search for the Moon Dagger alone while I stayed behind to care for Isabelle and the children.”
I hesitated. I could have said more.
But some memories were too painful to resurrect.
The quiet settled thick and heavy until Roman finally broke it.
“You’re telling us about the cycle of reincarnation.” His voice was measured and thoughtful. “That Olivia and I have lived before… that we once knew you in another life.”
His gaze met mine. “Do you live forever, Malik? While the rest of us are reborn again and again?”
“Yes and no,” I murmured. “The darkness ages… but ever so slowly. It takes time.”
Roman frowned, his mind still turning over the implications. “Then tell me this—if I can remember pieces of our past, why doesn’t Olivia seem to?”
I exhaled, leaning my weight against the mantel. “I can’t say for certain,” I admitted. “Perhaps Olivia is resistant to knowing. Maybe her soul refuses to awaken those memories.”
Roman shuddered. “What if we ended up in a place and time where another of our past selves existed?”
The thought alone seemed to unsettle him, and for good reason.
“I don’t have an answer for that either,” I said honestly. “As far as I know, that has never happened. The dagger… it possesses a wisdom all its own. It guides. It protects. Perhaps it even prevents such a paradox.”
But that wasn’t the whole truth.
There was so much more to say beyond the mechanics of time travel and reincarnation. The words clawed at my throat, caught between the need to remain hidden and the unbearable truth I had carried alone for too long.
