Chapter : 1961

  "I want to make you a deal," Lloyd said. "No more hiding. No more pretending we are strangers. I will teach you everything I know. I will teach you how to use your light. I will teach you the science behind the magic—the physics, the geometry, the logic. I will help you become strong enough that no one can ever put you in a cage again."

  "And in return?" Airin asked.

  "In return," Lloyd said, his voice dropping to a whisper, "you stay with me. You stand by my side. Because I can't do this alone. I have power, yes. I have spirits and money and influence. But I’m tired, Airin. My soul is tired. I need someone who knows the map."

  Airin looked at him. She saw the fatigue etched into his face. She saw the loneliness he hid behind his sarcasm and his plans.

  She realized then that the dynamic had shifted. He wasn't the savior anymore. He was a man holding up the sky, and his arms were shaking. He needed help.

  "I’m not Anastasia," Airin said firmly. "I don't know how to fix a generator. I don't know about cars or electricity."

  Lloyd nodded. "I know."

  "But," Airin said, a small smile forming. "I know about light. I know about angles. And I know you."

  She reached out with her bandaged hand and took his.

  "I’ll stay," she said. "I’ll learn. I’ll fight."

  Lloyd let out a breath, his shoulders slumping in relief. He squeezed her hand carefully, mindful of her injuries.

  "Good," he said. "Because I have a lot of work to do. And I think I’m going to need a second opinion on some of these blueprints."

  "Is that all I am?" Airin teased gently. "A second opinion?"

  Lloyd looked at her. The air in the room seemed to change. It wasn't the heavy, charged atmosphere of a battle. It was softer. Warmer.

  "No," Lloyd said. "You’re the primary source."

  The door to the infirmary opened with a creak. A nurse poked her head in.

  "Visiting hours are over, Lord Ferrum," she said sternly. "The patient needs rest."

  Lloyd stood up immediately, reverting to his polite nobleman persona. "Of course. My apologies."

  He looked back at Airin.

  "Rest," he commanded gently. "Sleep. Don't dream about the war tonight. Dream about... I don't know. Dream about math."

  Airin laughed. "I'll try."

  Lloyd walked to the door. Before he left, he turned back one last time.

  "Airin?"

  "Yes?"

  "Thank you," he said. It was simple, but it carried the weight of two lifetimes.

  "You're welcome, Evan," she whispered.

  He smiled, a real, genuine smile that reached his eyes, and then he was gone.

  Airin lay back against the pillows. Her hands throbbed, and her chest stung, but she felt lighter than she had in weeks. The secret was out. The ghosts were real, but they weren't haunting her anymore. They were helping her.

  She looked at the ceiling. She thought about the laser grid. She thought about the feeling of power when she unleashed the light.

  "Solar Core," she whispered to herself.

  She closed her eyes. She didn't dream of the rain and the olive uniform that night. She dreamed of a sun that never set, and a mirror that never broke. She dreamed of standing next to the Lion, not behind him.

  And for the first time, she wasn't waiting for him to come home. She was already there.

  ________________________________________

  The morning sun was shining brightly over the Royal Academy, but to Airin, everything felt different. The stone walls, the manicured gardens, and the busy students rushing to class—it all looked the same as it did yesterday, but the world had shifted beneath her feet.

  She sat on the edge of her small bed in the dormitory, staring at her hands. They were wrapped in fresh white bandages. Underneath the cloth, the cuts from the glass shards were already healing, thanks to the high-quality medicine Lloyd had given her. But she wasn't looking at the injuries. She was remembering the feeling of power. She was remembering the feeling of turning her skin into a mirror and bouncing a beam of pure energy to save the man she loved.

  Chapter : 1962

  For a long time, Airin had felt like she was living in a fog. She was a commoner girl from a vegetable market who had suddenly been thrown into a world of magic, nobles, and war. She had felt small. She had felt like an impostor. And then, the dreams had started—the dreams of another life, of rain and machines and a husband named Evan. Those dreams had confused her even more. Was she Airin? Was she Anastasia? Was she just a ghost haunting a new body?

  But today, the fog was gone.

  The battle in the greenhouse had burned it away. When she stood facing that monster from the Abyss, when she looked into Lloyd’s eyes and saw that he trusted her to take the shot, everything clicked into place. She wasn't just a memory. She wasn't just a student. She was a partner.

  She stood up and smoothed down her uniform. She didn't feel like going to class today. Algebra and history seemed silly after you had fought a time-bending wizard. She had something much more important to do.

  She left her room and walked into the hallway. Other students passed her, whispering behind their hands. Rumors about the explosion in the greenhouse were already spreading. Some said a dragon had attacked. Others said a spell had gone wrong. They looked at Airin with a mix of curiosity and fear, noticing her bandages.

  Usually, Airin would have lowered her head. She would have tried to disappear into the background. But today, she walked with her chin up. She walked with a steady, calm rhythm. It was the walk of a woman who had made a decision and wasn't going to turn back.

  She navigated the twisting corridors of the Academy, heading toward the faculty wing. This was where the professors had their private offices. It was a quiet, serious part of the school, smelling of old paper and floor wax.

  She reached the heavy wooden door at the end of the hall. There was a small brass plate on it that read: Professor L. Ferrum.

  Airin stopped. Her heart did a little flip in her chest. This was it.

  She raised her hand to knock, but then she hesitated. Her old fears tried to creep back in. What are you doing? a voice in her head whispered. He is a Lord. You are nobody. He has a wife. He has a fiancée who is a princess. He has another fiancée who is a noble lady. Where do you fit in? You are just the girl who looks like his dead wife. You are just a shadow.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She remembered the feeling of his hand holding hers in the infirmary. She remembered the way he looked at her—not like she was a ghost, but like she was the only real thing in the room.

  "No," she whispered to the empty hallway. "I am not a shadow."

  She knocked three times. The sound was sharp and clear.

  "Come in," a familiar voice called from inside. It was calm and flat, lacking any emotion. It was his teaching voice.

  Airin pushed the handle and stepped inside.

  The office was messy, but in an organized way. There were stacks of books on the floor, rolls of blueprints covering the desk, and a half-eaten sandwich on a plate. The air smelled of coffee and ink.

  Lloyd was sitting behind the desk. He was wearing his glasses, frowning at a complex drawing of a mechanical gear. He looked tired. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was a little messy, like he had been running his hands through it.

  He didn't look up immediately. "Just leave the report on the table, I’ll grade it later."

  "It's not a report," Airin said.

  Lloyd stopped writing. He went very still. Then, he looked up.

  When he saw her, the tired, boring expression vanished from his face. His eyes widened slightly. He took off his glasses and set them down on the desk.

  "Airin," he said. His voice changed. It wasn't the flat teacher voice anymore. It was softer, filled with a quiet concern. "You should be resting. The healer said you needed at least two days for the mana burn to settle."

  He stood up and walked around the desk. He stopped a few feet away from her, keeping a respectful distance, but his eyes were scanning her bandages, checking for any sign of pain.

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  "I’m fine," Airin said. "My hands don't hurt."

  Chapter : 1963

  "They will later," Lloyd said, leaning against the edge of his desk. He crossed his arms, but he didn't look closed off. He looked like he was trying to hold himself together. "You used a lot of power yesterday. Your core isn't used to that kind of output. You shouldn't be walking around."

  "I couldn't stay in bed," Airin admitted. "I... I needed to talk to you."

  Lloyd nodded slowly. He gestured to the comfortable chair in front of his desk. "Sit down. Do you want some water? Or tea? I think I have some tea somewhere, though it might be cold."

  "I don't want tea," Airin said. She didn't sit down. She stayed standing, wanting to face him on equal ground.

  The room went silent for a moment. It wasn't an awkward silence, but it was heavy. It was the silence of two people who had shared a life-or-death moment and hadn't figured out how to fit it into their normal lives yet.

  Lloyd looked at her, really looked at her. He wasn't seeing the ghost of his past right now. He was seeing the young woman standing in his office, wearing a school uniform and bandages, looking at him with a determination that scared him a little.

  "Okay," Lloyd said. "We can talk. What's on your mind? Is it about the Seventh Circle? I've already increased security around the dorms. You don't have to worry about them coming back."

  "It's not about the bad guys," Airin said. She took a step closer. "It's about us."

  Lloyd tensed up. He looked away, focusing on a spot on the wall. "Airin... we talked about this. You know the situation. You know who I am. You know... the baggage I carry."

  He was putting up walls. He was trying to be the responsible adult, the protector who keeps people safe by keeping them away. He was trying to be the lonely soldier again.

  "I know," Airin said. "I know everything. I have the memories, Lloyd. I remember how stubborn you are. I remember how you try to carry the whole world on your shoulders because you think no one else is strong enough."

  Lloyd flinched. "That was a different life. That was a different man."

  "Was it?" Airin asked softly. "Because yesterday, in the greenhouse, I saw the same man. I saw the man who would burn down the world to save one person. I saw the man who is so terrified of losing people that he tries to push them away before they can get hurt."

  She took another step. She was close enough to touch him now, but she kept her hands at her sides.

  "I spent all night thinking," Airin continued. "I thought about the memories. I thought about Anastasia. For a long time, I was scared of her. I was scared that you were only looking at me because I had her face. I thought I was just a replacement. A doll you were using to pretend she wasn't dead."

  Lloyd looked back at her, pain flashing in his eyes. "That's not true. You know that's not true."

  "I know," Airin said. "I know that now. But I didn't know it before. I was terrified. I thought I was just a ghost to you."

  She took a deep breath, preparing to say the thing that had been burning in her chest since she woke up.

  "But yesterday changed everything," she said. "When you aimed that cannon at me... when you trusted me to be the mirror... you weren't looking at a ghost. You were looking at me. You were trusting my math. My courage."

  She looked down at her bandaged hands, then back up at his face.

  "I realized something, Lloyd," she said. "I realized that I don't want to be safe. I don't want to be just a student who watches you from a distance. I don't want to be a memory."

  Lloyd watched her, his expression unreadable, but his eyes intense. "What do you want, Airin?"

  "I want to be here," she said firmly. "With you."

  ________________________________________

  The words hung in the quiet office like dust motes in a sunbeam. I want to be here. With you.

  Lloyd let out a long breath, running a hand over his face. He looked older than his physical age. He looked like a man who had lived a hundred years and was tired of fighting fate.

  "Airin," he said, his voice low and rough. "You don't know what you're asking for. My life... it's a mess. It's a disaster zone."

  Chapter : 1964

  He pushed off the desk and started to pace a little, his restless energy filling the small room.

  "Look at the reality," he said, counting off on his fingers. "I am married. My wife, Rosa... it’s complicated, but she is part of this house. I am engaged to a Princess of the Desert who uses spies like chess pieces. I am practically betrothed to Faria Kruts, a noblewoman who could burn this building down if she gets angry. And now there is Queen Seraphina in the South."

  He stopped pacing and looked at her, his face serious.

  "I am a walking political crisis," Lloyd said. "I have enemies who want to kill me. I have responsibilities that weigh a thousand tons. And you... you are a commoner. You have a scholarship. You have a bright future. You could be a great mage. You could have a normal, happy life with someone who doesn't have a death warrant on his head."

  He spread his hands helplessly. "Why would you want to walk into this storm? Why would you want to be part of... this?"

  Airin listened to him. She heard the logic. She heard the warnings. But she also heard the fear in his voice. He wasn't trying to reject her because he didn't want her. He was trying to scare her away for her own good.

  She smiled. It was a small, knowing smile.

  "You think I care about politics?" she asked.

  "You should," Lloyd argued. "People will talk. The nobles will look down on you. They will say you are just a commoner trying to climb the ladder. It won't be easy. It will be cruel."

  "I grew up selling vegetables in the market," Airin said. "I know how cruel people can be. I know how they look at people like me. I don't care about their whispers, Lloyd. I don't care about titles or crowns."

  She walked up to him, invading his personal space. She forced him to stop pacing. She forced him to look at her.

  "And about the other women..." Airin paused. She felt a little spike of jealousy, of course. It was only natural. But the memories of Anastasia gave her a different perspective. She remembered the war. In war, you didn't worry about normal rules. You worried about who would stand back-to-back with you when the shooting started.

  "I know it's complicated," she said. "I know this isn't a fairy tale where the prince marries the girl and they live happily ever after in a quiet castle. I know you have alliances. I know you have duties."

  She looked him square in the eye.

  "But I also know that none of them know you like I do," she whispered.

  Lloyd went still.

  "They know Lloyd Ferrum," Airin said. "They know the genius. The hero. The Lord. But they don't know the man who hates mornings. They don't know the man who hums when he's fixing a machine. They don't know the soldier who cries when he thinks no one is watching."

  She reached out and, very gently, touched the sleeve of his shirt.

  "I love that man," she said.

  Lloyd’s breath hitched. He looked at her hand on his arm as if it were a burning brand.

  "I love the sarcastic way you talk when you're trying to hide your feelings," Airin continued, her voice gaining strength. "I love that monotone voice you use to pretend you don't care, even when I know you care more than anyone else. I love the heavy soul you carry around, the sadness that you try to bury under work and plans."

  Tears pricked her eyes again, but they were tears of relief. It felt so good to finally say it.

  "I tried to fight it," she admitted. "For weeks, I told myself it was just the memories. I told myself I was confused. But yesterday... when I was standing in that greenhouse... I realized that I wasn't fighting for a memory. I was fighting for you. The you that is standing here right now."

  She looked up at his face. His mask was completely gone. He looked vulnerable. He looked open.

  "I don't care if you have three wives or ten," Airin said fiercely. "I don't care if society thinks I'm not good enough. I don't care if it's dangerous. I choose this. I choose you."

  She took a breath and delivered her final argument.