"On your knees. The enemy has breached the city." The guard's voice is cold. His sword presses against my spine. I sink down onto the stone floor of the tent. My silk gown pools around me like blood. "I was promised the war would end if I died." My voice doesn't shake. I've been preparing for this moment for weeks. The guard laughs. It's a cruel sound that echoes off the canvas walls. "Wars never end that easily." I close my eyes. At least it will be over soon. The tent flaps burst open. Heavy footsteps shake the ground. "Stop." One word. But every sword in the room freezes. I look up. A man stands in the entrance, backlit by firelight. He's massive. Armor stained with blood and mud. The enemy's crest on his chest. The enemy commander. "Untie her. Now." The guards hesitate. Then they move. Ropes fall from my wrists. I don't understand what's happening. The commander walks toward me. His soldiers part like water. He stops inches away. I whisper, "You're the enemy commander... Why are you helping me?" He kneels. Brings himself to my level. "Because they stole you." My heart pounds. "I've never seen you before." "That's what they wanted." His hands move to his helmet. Slowly, he lifts it off. Dark hair. Sharp jaw. Eyes like storm clouds. There's something about his face that makes my chest ache. But I don't know him. I don't. "Three years ago, you were my wife." The world tilts. "That's impossible." My voice sounds far away. Like it belongs to someone else. He reaches for my hand. I let him take it. His touch is warm. Familiar in a way that terrifies me. "They erased your memories and gave you to this kingdom as a 'princess.'" I shake my head. "No. I've been here my whole life. I remember—" "What do you remember?" I open my mouth. Close it. What do I remember? Waking up in the palace. Being told I was the king's ward. That my parents died when I was young. But the memories are hazy. Like looking through fog. "Then why start a war?" The question comes out broken. He looks at me like I'm the only thing in the world that matters. "Because they refused to give you back." Tears burn my eyes. I don't know why. "So... all this bloodshed... for me?" Thousands dead. Cities burned. Families destroyed. For me? He cups my face with both hands. His touch is gentle despite the blood on his armor. "Not just for you. For the life they tried to steal from us." I want to believe him. God help me, part of me does. But how can I trust the man who's been killing my people? "I don't remember you," I whisper. Pain flashes across his face. "I know. But I remember everything." A guard behind me shifts. The commander's eyes snap up. His hand moves to his sword. "Leave us." They hesitate. "Now." The tent empties. We're alone. He stands, pulling me up with him. His hands stay on my arms. Like he's afraid I'll disappear. "Tell me something only you would know," I say. "Prove it." He's quiet for a moment. Then: "You have a scar. Right here." His finger traces a line just below my collarbone. Exactly where a thin white scar sits beneath my dress. My breath catches. "You got it when you were twelve. Fell from a horse. Your brother dared you to jump a fence that was too high." I don't have a brother. Do I? "The healers said you were lucky it didn't kill you. You laughed and said luck had nothing to do with it. You were just too stubborn to die." That sounds like something I would say. "Anyone could know about a scar," I manage. "You talk in your sleep. You say the same thing every night: 'Find the river where the willows weep.' It's from a song your mother used to sing." My throat closes. I do say that. Every night. I wake up with those words on my lips. I thought it was just a dream. "How—" "Because I spent two years sleeping beside you. Listening to you. Learning every part of you." His voice breaks on the last word. I step back. My mind is spinning. "This is insane. You're insane." "I know how it sounds." "You've destroyed everything. Killed thousands. And you expect me to believe it was all for love?" "Not love." His jaw tightens. "Justice. They took you from me. Turned you into a weapon. A symbol. The perfect princess to unite their fractured kingdom." "I'm not a weapon." "No. You're a queen." The word hits me like a physical blow. "They're planning to execute you tomorrow," he continues. His voice turns urgent. "Before your memories start coming back. Before you remember who you really are." "That's ridiculous. King Aldric would never—" "King Aldric is the one who ordered your capture three years ago." No. No, that can't be right. Aldric raised me. Protected me. He's been like a father. "You're lying." "Am I?" He pulls something from his belt. A letter. The royal seal is broken. "Read it." My hands shake as I take it. The handwriting is Aldric's. I'd know it anywhere. *The girl must not remember. Execute her at dawn. Make it look like the enemy did it. We'll use her death to rally the troops.* The paper falls from my fingers. "No." "I'm sorry." "This is a forgery. It has to be." But even as I say it, pieces start clicking into place. The way Aldric always kept me isolated. Never let me leave the palace grounds. The strange looks from the servants. Like they were afraid of me. The gaps in my memory. Years that feel like blank spaces. "I don't believe you," I say. But my voice wavers. He steps closer. "You don't have to believe me. Not yet. But you need to come with me. Now. Before they realize I'm here." "Come with you? You're the enemy!" "I'm your husband." "You're a stranger!" "Then why does your hand fit perfectly in mine?" He takes my hand again. And god help me, it does fit. Like two pieces of a puzzle. "I can't," I whisper. "You'll die if you stay." "Maybe that's what I deserve. If what you're saying is true, thousands died because of me." "They died because of what was done to you. Not because of you." Shouts outside. Running footsteps. His expression hardens. "We're out of time." "I'm not going anywhere with you." "Even if it means your death?" "Especially then." He looks at me for a long moment. Something like admiration crosses his face. "You always were stubborn." Then he moves. Fast. Too fast. His arm wraps around my waist. He lifts me like I weigh nothing. "Put me down!" "No." He carries me toward the back of the tent. Slices through the canvas with his sword. "This is kidnapping!" "This is rescue." We burst into the night. His horse waits in the shadows. He lifts me onto it, swings up behind me. "Hold on." "I will not—" His arm tightens around my waist. The horse bolts. We fly through the camp. Tents blur past. Soldiers shout. Arrows whistle by. I should be terrified. But pressed against his chest, his heart pounding against my back, I feel something else. Safe. Which makes no sense at all. We crash through the tree line. Branches whip past. The horse's hooves thunder against the ground. Behind us, the sounds of pursuit fade. We ride for what feels like hours. Finally, he slows. Stops in a clearing. He dismounts. Helps me down. I immediately step away from him. "You can't just take me." "I just did." "I'll escape. First chance I get." "I know." He doesn't look concerned. "But you'll be alive to try." I want to argue. To scream. To hit him. Instead, I ask, "What's your name?" "Kael." "Kael," I repeat. Testing it. It feels right in my mouth. "And what's mine? My real name?" He smiles. It transforms his face. Makes him look younger. Almost gentle. "Lyra." Lyra. The name echoes through me like a bell. And suddenly, I'm somewhere else. A memory. Sharp and clear. *I'm standing in a garden. Roses everywhere. A man kneels before me, holding a ring.* *"Lyra," he says. "Will you marry me?"* *I laugh. Pull him up. Kiss him.* *"I already said yes, you fool. Three times."* *"I wanted to make it official."* *His face is Kael's face.* I gasp. The memory vanishes. Kael is watching me. Hope and fear war in his expression. "You remembered something." It's not a question. "I... I don't know. Maybe. It could have been—" A sound cuts through the night. Howling. Not wolves. Something worse. Kael's hand moves to his sword. "They sent the Hunters." "The what?" He looks at me. And for the first time, I see real fear in his eyes. "The king's shadow beasts. They track by memory. By the bonds between souls." "I don't understand." "They're hunting the connection between us. And they won't stop until one of us is dead." The howling gets closer. "Can we outrun them?" "No." "Can we fight them?" "Not both of us." He turns to me. Takes my face in his hands. "Lyra. Listen carefully. I need you to run. Due north. There's a safe house three miles from here. My second-in-command will be waiting." "What about you?" "I'll hold them off." "That's suicide." "That's love." Tears spill down my cheeks. I don't know why I'm crying for a man I don't remember. "I can't just leave you." "You can. You will." He kisses my forehead. "Because you're strong enough to survive this. To remember. To reclaim everything they took from you." The howling is right behind us now. "Go. Now." "Kael—" "GO!" I run. I don't want to. Every instinct screams at me to stay. To fight beside him. But my legs carry me forward. Into the dark forest. Behind me, I hear the clash of steel. Inhuman screams. Kael's battle cry. I run faster. Branches tear at my dress. My lungs burn. My bare feet bleed. I run until I can't hear the fighting anymore. Until I collapse against a tree, sobbing. What have I done? I left him. Left him to die. A stranger who claims to be my husband. Who started a war for me. Who just sacrificed himself for me. I press my hands to my face. Try to think. North. He said north. I have to keep moving. I push off the tree. Take one step. Then I hear it. Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Coming toward me. I freeze. A figure emerges from the shadows. Not Kael. Someone else. They step into a shaft of moonlight. My blood turns to ice. It's Aldric. The king. The man who raised me. He smiles. It doesn't reach his eyes. "Hello, daughter. Did you really think I'd let you leave?" He raises his hand. Something glints in the moonlight. A syringe. "Time to forget again."