The Danger I Want Episode 14
825 Words
Nalia’s POV -
*10:07am. The Lodge. Kitchen.*
The eggs are burning.
I can smell it.
Reno’s at the stove but he’s not moving.
Cassian’s at the table. Not drinking. Not reading.
Just staring at me like I’m glass.
“Eat,” Reno says. Voice rough.
He slides a plate to me. Scrambled eggs. Toast.
The same breakfast he’s made me every Saturday for 18 years.
I don’t touch it.
“Tell me,” I say.
Cassian exhales.
Reno’s jaw ticks.
“Tell me,” I say again, louder.
“Wards. Hive. Commander, how do you also know about them and why you look at me like I’m gonna disappear.”
Silence.
Then Reno turns the stove off.
He sits. Across from me.
Cassian doesn’t look away.
Reno starts.
“We lied to you.”
My stomach drops.
“About what?”
“About who you are.”
Cassian cuts in. Low. Royal.
“You’re not Nalia by blood.”
Reno shoots him a look.
“Let me do this.”
He drags a hand down his face.
“I found you. 18 years ago.
In a forest. In a blue blanket.
3 months old. Crying.”
The room tilts.
“What?”
Reno nods.
“The note said ‘Not wanted’.
You were left there. After you....and came as a baby again.”
My hands are cold.
“after I was what?”
Cassian answers this time.
“Killed.”
I laugh. It comes out wrong.
“That’s not funny.”
“It’s not a joke, Nalia,” Reno says.
“Your name isn’t Nalia.”
The word hits like ice.
“What is it then?”
Cassian leans forward.
Eyes red. Tired.
“Elena.”
He says it like a prayer.
“Elena Virell. My...”
He stops. Swallows.
“My love. 400 years ago.”
Reno picks it up. Bitter.
“She was killed by the Hive.
Because she was a beacon.
Because she was ours.”
My breath catches.
“Beacon?”
Reno nods.
“It means you’re a target.
It means your soul is old.
It means you keep coming back.”
The kitchen goes quiet except for the hum of the fridge.
“Reincarnated,” Cassian whispers.
“You died. And you came back.”
Something cracks in my chest.
Fragments.
A black coat. Red eyes.
Running. Screaming.
Cold hands around my throat.
A voice: _“Run, Elena.”_
I gasp.
Reno’s up instantly.
“Elena? Hey. Breathe.”
“Don’t call me that,” I choke out.
“I don’t know who that is.”
“You are.....,” Cassian says. Soft.
“You’re her. Same eyes. Same soul.
That’s why I broke my oath to the crown.
That’s why I found you weeks ago....you reincarnated.”
“And I won't let you go, because she’s mine, you're my mate” he adds. Quieter.
“And I won’t lose her twice.”
Reno glares at him.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Cassian snaps.
“Make this about you?”
“Make it about her,” Reno says.
He looks at me.
“I raised you because Elena was like a sister to me.
Because I was tired of being alone.
Because I hated him for letting you die.”
I stare between them.
400 years.
An oath. A death. A forest.
And me. In the middle.
“So I’m not your sister,” I say. Voice small.
“No,” Reno says. Hurts to say.
“So you’re the...”
“yes” Cassian says. He cuts me but I still go ahead to complete it
“So you're the Vampire prince you talked about”
He nods.
“And I would burn the world to keep you safe.”
Tears burn.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because we swore we wouldn’t,” Reno says.
“Because the Hive gets you faster if you remember.”
“Because we were cowards,” Cassian adds.
I push the plate away.
“So what now?”
Reno reaches across. Takes my hand.
His hands are calloused. Warm.
“Now no more lies,” he says.
“Now we teach you.
About the wards. About the Hive.
About how to fight.”
Cassian nods.
“And we stay. Together.
This time we don’t run.”
I look at them.
My brother who isn’t.
My course mate who isn’t.
The two men who’ve been grieving me for 400 years.
“Elena,” I whisper. Testing it.
It feels heavy. Old.
“Nalia,” I say after.
“That’s who you raised.”
Reno’s eyes go wet.
“Yeah.”
Cassian just nods.
I pull my hand back.
“I need time.”
“Take it,” Reno says.
“But eat something first.”
I don’t.
I stand.
Walk to my room.
Shut the door.
And for the first time in 18 years...
I feel lost.
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