Page 25 of His Eternal Claim

“No—no, you’re wrong—how can I forget a part of my life?”

“You had an accident when you ran away. Adrian saved you.”

My heart slams against my ribs. “Stop it.”

“He killed your Father,” she continues, her voice lowering, threading into something darker. “Just like he killed your fiancé.”

My knees nearly give out.

My fiancé.

A face tries to form in my mind, but it’s blurred. Fiancé. Why don’t I remember him clearly? It’s just a vivid memory of him. I think I am going insane.

“I—I would remember that,” I whisper, but it sounds weak.

Fragile. Even to me. Wouldn’t I?

Her smile turns almost pitying.

“That’s the tragedy, my love,” she murmurs. “You don’t.”

The pain explodes through my skull again. I cry out, clutching my head as images flicker. Blood. A hand slipping from mine. A voice calling my name, but whose?

“Make it stop—” I gasp.

“I know, I know,” she coos instantly, pulling me into her arms. Her embrace is warm, suffocating, inescapable. “Your mind is trying to protect you.”

Or break me.

I can’t tell anymore.

Her hand moves to the bedside drawer, retrieving a small white pill.

“You’re overexerting yourself again,” she murmurs, pressing it into my palm. “Take it. It will help.”

Help.

I stare at the pill.

Her eyes are on me. I lift it to my lips and swallow. Or at least, I make it look like I do.

She smiles, satisfied, brushing my hair back like I’m still her obedient little girl.

“Good,” she whispers. “That’s my Selene.” My throat burns with the lie I just fed her.

The pill rests hidden beneath my tongue until she turns away.

Only then do I slip it into my sleeve. My heart is racing, not from fear alone but from something sharper. Awareness.

She’s lying.

Or worse, she believes what she’s saying.

“Come,” she says, already moving toward the wardrobe. “We have a big day ahead.”

My head still throbs, but something inside me is waking up.

“A big day?” I repeat cautiously.