The Name He Remembered
1372 Words
“And you were holding it.”
Darius’s words echoed through the room.
Luna knelt in front of him, her hand still hovering in the air.
She wanted to touch him.
A few moments ago, it had felt simple. Natural. Now he was looking at her like she might hurt him.
“Darius,” Luna said quietly.
His eyes lifted.
The gray was gone.
Gold burned in his gaze.
Recognition.
Not of her.
Of someone else.
“Who is Solara?” Mason asked.
Darius flinched.
“Don’t,” he whispered.
Mason went quiet.
Evelyn stayed near the wall, hand resting on her weapon.
The corpse had slumped over, the smoke gone, leaving only death behind.
But something still lingered.
Not the Shadow King.
Something he had woken up.
Luna lowered her hand.
Darius noticed.
“Why’d you pull away?” he asked.
“You looked like you didn’t want me to touch you.”
“I don’t even know what I want.”
The honesty stung.
Luna stood.
“Then just take a second.”
Darius rose slowly.
“What did you see?” she asked.
“Fire.”
“We’ve both seen fire.”
“This was different.”
He glanced at the carved message.
“I could hear screaming. You were right in front of me.”
“Solara was.”
“You had her face.”
“I have my face.”
A flicker of pain crossed him.
“You were in silver armor. Blood on your hands.”
“Whose blood?”
“I don’t know.”
“Were you hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Did she attack you?”
“No.”
Too fast.
Luna’s heart skipped.
“I can’t see it clearly,” he said. “It keeps breaking apart.”
“You don’t have to force it.”
“I need to know.”
“Why?”
“Because I remember trusting you.”
Silence.
“I was on my knees,” he said. “I trusted you.”
“Then maybe she wasn’t killing you.”
“There was a blade in my heart.”
“But you told her to do it.”
He stepped closer.
“You think she had a reason?”
“The Shadow King shows the worst part.”
“He showed me just one name.”
“Exactly. He picked the moment.”
“That doesn’t make it fake.”
“It just means it’s not the whole story.”
Evelyn stepped in. “She’s right.”
“I’m not afraid of Luna.”
The bond flared.
Luna felt the lie immediately.
Silence snapped tight.
“You are,” she said.
“Not of you. Of what I might turn into.”
“Yes.”
The admission hit hard.
Mason spoke up. “We should go.”
Darius looked at Luna. “I’m taking her back.”
“I don’t need—”
“You almost passed out.”
“So did you.”
“I remembered being killed.”
“And I remember doing it.”
Regret hit her.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
“You don’t have to apologize for what she might’ve done.”
“You looked at me like it was my hand.”
“I know.”
He crossed to her but didn’t touch her.
“I know you’re not responsible.”
“Knowing and feeling aren’t the same thing.”
The bond carried the tension.
Two truths.
Luna and Solara.
Same face.
Different choice.
“Do you still trust me?” she asked.
Silence.
Then he held out his hand.
“Yes.”
“Even now?”
“Especially now.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m scared… and I still want you here.”
Her chest tightened.
“I trust Luna,” he said.
“And Solara?”
“I don’t know her.”
That should’ve scared her.
Instead, she just breathed.
“Neither do I.”
He kissed her knuckles.
“We leave together.”
The drive back was quiet.
Luna sat beside Darius, their shoulders almost touching.
He hadn’t let go of her hand.
Mason drove. Evelyn watched the mirror.
Luna studied Darius’s reflection.
Too calm.
Memories flickered through the bond.
Stone. Blood. A golden blade.
Darius tightened his grip.
“Stop.”
“I’m not—”
“You’re reaching.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know.”
“Can you close it?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t.
“Why not?”
“Because I need to know you’re here.”
She leaned into him.
He exhaled and wrapped an arm around her.
“Tell me something about you,” she whispered.
“I hate pears.”
“That’s it?”
“They’ve got a weird texture.”
“You’re over a century old.”
“I once tried violin.”
“What happened?”
“The violin didn’t make it.”
Mason let out a choked laugh.
Evelyn smiled. “Fifty-year ban on music followed.”
“You destroyed a violin that badly?”
“It was temporary.”
“Fifty years.”
“Relative.”
Luna laughed.
Darius watched her.
The memory faded a little.
She touched his cheek.
“There you are.”
“I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Remember one woman while wanting another.”
Silence.
“Do you want her?”
“No.”
“I loved her.”
Past tense.
“I remember devotion.”
“What did it feel like?”
“I would’ve followed her anywhere.”
“Even to your death?”
“Yes.”
Jealousy stung.
Darius felt it.
“You asked.”
“I know.”
“You don’t like the answer.”
“I wanted the truth.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
She turned away.
He gently guided her back.
“Solara is a memory. You’re here.”
“A woman with her soul.”
“Maybe.”
“Her face.”
“Yes.”
“Her power.”
“Maybe.”
“You’re really bad at comfort.”
“I don’t practice it.”
A faint smile.
“She didn’t make me laugh.”
“I don’t want worship,” Luna said.
“I know.”
“You’d be terrible at it.”
“Yes.”
“You argue too much.”
“You start it.”
She almost smiled.
“With you, I’m not kneeling,” he said. “I’m standing next to someone who actually challenges me.”
The bond warmed.
“She irritates me.”
“Careful.”
“She makes me want a future.”
Her smile faded a little.
He leaned in.
“I don’t want what I had with Solara.”
“What do you want?”
“This.”
He squeezed her hand tighter.
“The real version. The hard one.”
She kissed him.
The bond brightened.
A flash—
A field. A sunrise. A broken crown.
Gone.
“You saw that.”
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You looked happy.”
“So did you.”
Mason spoke. “Where now?”
“The oldest Blackwood burial ground.”
The grove was ancient.
Darius led without hesitation.
Luna noticed.
He had never been here.
And yet he knew the way.
They reached a tomb beneath yew trees.
No name.
Just a sun and a wolf.
Luna’s mark flared.
Darius’s answered.
“This isn’t in any records,” Mason said.
“It’s older,” Darius replied.
Luna stepped closer.
“One step,” he said.
She smiled. “You remembered.”
“I remember everything about you.”
They read the stone.
“Here rests the heart of the last Guardian.”
“And the man she couldn’t let die.”
The tomb cracked.
Light spilled out.
A black sword lay inside.
A sealed letter.
Her name was on it.
Luna.
Darius stepped closer.
A voice rose from the tomb.
“Solara.”
If you’re reading this, he remembered the wrong death.
The seal broke.
The letter opened.
I didn’t kill Kael.
Then:
I killed what was wearing his body.
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