Selene's POV
I wake up in Kael's penthouse three days later.
Three days of darkness. Three days of nightmares. Three days of dying.
At least, that's what Elara tells me when I finally open my eyes.
"You're awake," she says. She's the woman who came with Thorne. Ancient eyes in a young face. "How do you feel?"
"Like I got hit by a truck." My voice is scratchy. My whole body aches. "What happened?"
"The curse activated early." Elara hands me water. "When you touched Kael during a life-threatening moment, it triggered the countdown. You have eighteen days left."
The water turns to ice in my throat. "Eighteen days until what?"
"Until you die."
The words hang in the air like poison.
"But Kael said we had three weeks to break the curse—"
"You did. Three days ago." Elara's face is sad. "You've been unconscious since then. Your body is fighting the curse but it's getting weaker."
I try to sit up. My arms shake. I can barely hold myself up.
"Where's Kael?" I ask.
Elara hesitates. "He's... dealing with something."
"What something?"
"The choice he has to make." Elara stands. "I'll let him explain. But Selene... you should know. He hasn't slept in three days. He's been sitting by your bed the entire time. The only reason he left is because Thorne forced him to eat something."
She walks out before I can ask more questions.
I look around the guest room. There's a chair pulled close to the bed. A blanket draped over it like someone was sleeping there. Empty coffee cups on the nightstand.
He stayed with me.
Why? Why does he care so much about someone he barely knows?
Except he says he's known me for a thousand years. That I'm Aria reborn. That we're cursed to repeat this cycle forever.
My head hurts thinking about it.
I force myself out of bed. My legs wobble but they hold. I walk slowly to the bathroom. When I look in the mirror, I gasp.
I look terrible. My skin is pale. My eyes have dark circles. My lips are almost blue.
I look like I'm dying.
Because I am.
Eighteen days.
I splash water on my face. Get dressed in the clothes Kael left for me—how does he know my size perfectly? I stumble out of the room.
The penthouse is quiet. Too quiet.
"Hello?" I call out.
No answer.
I walk down the hallway. Past closed doors. Past windows showing the ocean. Everything is beautiful and empty.
Then I hear voices. Low and angry. Coming from Kael's office.
I move closer. The door is cracked open.
"—can't ask me to make that choice!" Kael's voice. Angrier than I've ever heard it.
"I'm not asking. I'm telling you the facts." That's Elara. "If you become mortal to save her, The Architect's collected magic will explode. The entire city dies. Millions of people."
"There has to be another way."
"There isn't. I've looked. I've searched every vision, every prophecy, every ancient text." Elara sounds tired. "It's her or them, Kael. One girl or a million people."
Silence.
Then Kael: "What if I don't choose at all? What if I just... let it play out?"
"Then she dies in eighteen days. The nineteenth life begins. And we start this all over again."
"But the city survives."
"Yes. The city survives. But can you survive watching her die again?"
More silence.
My chest tightens. He's deciding whether to let me die.
"She asked me to promise," Kael says quietly. "Before she passed out. She begged me not to sacrifice the city for her."
"And what did you say?"
"Nothing. Because I don't know if I can keep that promise." His voice breaks. "Elara, I've watched her die seventeen times. I can't do it again. I can't."
"Then you'll kill a million people to save one."
"I know!" Something crashes. Glass breaking. "Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I've thought about nothing else for three days?"
I should leave. I shouldn't be listening to this.
But I can't move.
"There's something else you should know," Elara says carefully. "The Architect sent another message."
"What message?"
"He said if you choose to become mortal, he'll make sure Selene dies anyway. Before the magic explosion. He'll kill her himself just to watch you suffer."
"Then I'll kill him first."
"He's not in a physical form, Kael. He's pure energy now. You can't kill him without becoming mortal. And if you become mortal before breaking the curse properly, you'll both die and the city still explodes."
"So what you're saying is there's no way to win."
"I'm saying every path leads to death. The only question is whose death you can live with."
I can't listen anymore. I push the door open.
Both of them spin toward me.
Kael's face is devastated. His silver eyes are red like he's been crying. There's broken glass on the floor from whatever he threw.
"Selene," he breathes. "You're awake."
"I heard everything," I say. My voice is steady even though I'm shaking inside. "And I've made a decision."
"What decision?" Kael moves toward me.
"I'm leaving."
He stops. "What?"
"If I'm going to die anyway, I'm not doing it here. I'm not letting you watch. And I'm not letting you make an impossible choice because of me." I turn to walk away.
Kael's hand catches my wrist. "You can't leave."
"Watch me."
"Selene, please—"
"Let go of me!" I try to pull away but he's too strong. "You don't get to decide this! It's my life! My death! And I choose to die away from you!"
"Why?" The word is torn from him.
"Because Elara was right!" Tears run down my face now. "You can't survive watching me die again. So I won't make you watch. I'll go somewhere far away. I'll die alone. And then you can live your immortal life without this burden."
"You're not a burden."
"Yes, I am!" I finally yank free. "I've been your burden for a thousand years! Well, I'm done. In eighteen days, this ends. The curse ends. You'll be free."
"I don't want to be free. I want you."
"You can't have both!" My voice echoes through the penthouse. "You can't save me and save the city. You can't love me without killing me. So I'm choosing for you. I'm leaving. Tonight."
Kael's face crumbles. "Selene, no. Please. Let me find another way—"
"There is no other way!" I'm shouting now. "And you know it! So let me go with what little dignity I have left!"
"I can't." His voice is barely a whisper. "I've spent a thousand years finding you. I can't just let you walk away."
"You have to."
We stare at each other. Both of us crying. Both of us broken.
Then Thorne bursts into the office.
"We have a problem," he says. "A big one."
"Not now, Thorne," Kael growls.
"No, you need to hear this." Thorne pulls out his phone. "Ryan and Vivienne just posted something. About their wedding."
He shows us the screen.
It's a live video. Ryan and Vivienne standing in front of a church.
"Hi everyone!" Vivienne says cheerfully. "We're so excited to announce that we've moved up our wedding date! We're getting married tomorrow night instead of in two weeks!"
Tomorrow?
"We realized life is too short to wait," Ryan adds. "So we're doing it at the Grandeur Hotel. Same place as the original engagement party. Poetic, right?"
Vivienne giggles. "And we have a special surprise for everyone. A guest who's going to make the night unforgettable."
The camera pans.
And my blood turns to ice.
Standing behind Ryan and Vivienne, smiling that empty smile, is my mother.
But it's not my mother. I can see it in her eyes. The Architect is still inside her.
"We're inviting Selene Carter," The Architect says through my mother's mouth. "We have so much to celebrate. And we'd love for her to join us."
The video ends.
Thorne looks grim. "It's a trap."
"Obviously," Elara says.
I look at Kael. "He wants me to go."
"Yes."
"So he can kill me there. In front of everyone. Make a spectacle of it."
"Yes."
"And if I don't go?"
"He'll kill your mother." Kael's voice is flat. "She's possessed but she's still alive in there. If you don't show up, he'll destroy her body from the inside out."
My mother. Who helped betray me. Who disowned me. Who stood by while they tried to institutionalize me.
But she's still my mother.
"I have to go," I whisper.
"No." Kael grabs my shoulders. "It's suicide. That's exactly what he wants."
"I know. But I can't let him kill her because of me."
"Selene—"
"I'm going." I pull away. "Tomorrow night. To their wedding. And whatever happens, happens."
"Then I'm going with you," Kael says.
"No. If you're there and something happens to me, you might make the wrong choice. You might become mortal to save me. The city—"
"I don't care about the city!" Kael shouts. "I care about you!"
"Well, I care about the million people who'll die if you choose me!" I shout back. "So you're staying here!"
"Like hell I am."
We glare at each other.
Elara clears her throat. "There might be a third option."
We both turn to her.
"What third option?" Kael demands.
"What if Selene doesn't have to die?" Elara pulls out an ancient book. "What if we can transfer the curse to someone else?"
My heart stops. "Transfer it? To who?"
Elara's eyes meet mine. "To the person who deserves it most. To one of your original betrayers."
"Vivienne or Ryan," I whisper.
"Yes. If we can perform the ritual during their wedding, when they're bonded and vulnerable, we can shift the curse from you to them. They'll become the ones who die and reincarnate. You'll be free."
Hope flares in my chest. "Will it work?"
"Maybe. The timing has to be perfect. And you'll need to be at the wedding. At the exact moment they say their vows."
"Then that's what we do," I say immediately.
"Selene, wait." Kael looks torn. "If the ritual fails, you'll die right there. In front of everyone."
"If I do nothing, I die alone in eighteen days." I square my shoulders. "At least this way, I'm fighting."
Kael studies my face. Then, slowly, he nods. "Okay. We go to the wedding. We perform the ritual. We save you."
"And if it doesn't work?"
His silver eyes burn into mine. "Then I become mortal. I save you. And whatever happens to the city... happens."
"Kael, you can't—"
"That's my choice," he says firmly. "You chose to fight. I choose to fight for you. No matter the cost."
Thorne groans. "We're all going to die, aren't we?"
"Probably," Elara says cheerfully. "But at least it'll be interesting."
I look at each of them. These people who barely know me but are willing to risk everything.
"Tomorrow night," I say. "We crash a wedding and break a curse."
"Or die trying," Kael adds.
"Or die trying," I agree.
We shake on it.
None of us mention the obvious problem.
Tomorrow is Friday the 13th.
And in every one of my past lives, I've died on Friday the 13th.