Chapter3

[Leila's POV]

Alrik came early the next morning.

He carried a copper basin himself, wrung out the cloth, and wiped my face.

"Did you sleep well, Leila?"

He cleaned my face with careful, deliberate tenderness.

"Very well." I watched my reflection in the bronze mirror—my skin as pale as paper—and he didn't notice a thing.

He picked up a comb and drew it through my hair, stroke by stroke.

"After the ceremony," he said suddenly, with an air of coaxing, "I'll take you to the northern valley. No one will bother us there—just the two of us."

"You can raise wolf pups if you want. Grow flowers if you'd rather. Whatever you like."

I watched his face in the mirror and let the corner of my mouth curve upward.

"I'd like that, Alrik. I'll wait for you to take me."

He smiled. The relief in it was impossible to hide.

He'll be waiting forever.

In the stone chamber, Serena lay on the altar, pale and barely breathing.

Alrik walked me to the center. His golden eyes were bright with anticipation.

"Are you ready, Leila?"

"I'm ready," I said softly.

He placed a dagger in my hand. The blade caught the firelight and threw back a cold gleam.

"Remember—the heart must come out whole. Not a single nick." His voice trembled as he spoke. "When you come back, I'll crown you myself."

I closed my fingers around the hilt. My skin met cold metal.

Shana screamed inside me: "Leila! Don't do this! You'll die!"

"Don't be afraid, Shana," I answered her softly. "This is the last time."

I raised the dagger and pointed it at my own chest. Alrik's eyes stayed fixed on the blade, something barely contained burning behind them.

On the altar, Serena's eyes opened just a sliver. Her lips curved into a weak smile—a smile that held triumph, and greed.

The blade went in.

The pain was like lightning detonating through every nerve in my body.

I clenched my teeth. My hand shook. But I didn't stop.

One cut. Two cuts. I carved out my own heart with my own hands, blood seeping through my fingers and dripping down onto the altar stone.

"Leila!" Alrik's voice rang out above me, wild with elation. "You did it! You actually did it!"

I looked up at him and smiled—a smile red with my own blood.

The moment the heart left my chest, all strength emptied out of me. I slid down slowly and settled onto the floor.

My vision blurred at the edges. But I could still see Alrik cradling my heart in both hands as he moved quickly to Serena and pressed it into her chest.

He never looked back at me.

Even through the agony, I felt something I had never felt before—

Release.

Like setting down a weight that had crushed me for years. Like stepping free of a cage I had worn so long I'd forgotten it was there.

Shana's cries grew farther and farther away, replaced by something ancient and vast that poured into my consciousness like a tide.

My body dissolved into the dark—but I felt myself being remade. Stronger. Whole. No longer shackled by love or hate. No longer ground between life and death.

Alrik—you were wrong.

This isn't the last time.

This is my rebirth.