blood & eternity part 5

Eva’s breath came in shaky bursts. The night air was cold, but a strange heat curled beneath her skin, a feverish warmth she couldn’t explain. Her fingers still tingled where they had touched the ring, as if it had left an invisible mark.

She clenched her hands into fists, trying to steady herself.

“This doesn’t make sense,” she said, barely recognizing her own voice. “I’ve never met you before. Not in this life.”

Lucian’s jaw tightened. “No. But your soul has.”

She shook her head, stepping back. “That’s insane.”

“Is it?” He tilted his head, watching her with an intensity that sent a shiver through her. “You felt it, didn’t you? The memory. The pull between us.”

Eva swallowed hard, her pulse a wild drumbeat in her chest. She had felt something. A flicker of another time, another place. But that wasn’t possible.

She turned away, pressing a hand to her forehead. The chapel ruins loomed around her, their presence almost oppressive. The wind whispered through the cracks, as if the walls themselves held secrets.

“Why are you telling me this?” she asked finally. “What do you want from me?”

Lucian hesitated. For a moment, something raw passed over his face—so quick she almost missed it.

“I want you to remember,” he said.

His voice was softer now, the sharp edges dulled by something like regret.

Eva forced out a laugh, but it was hollow. “And then what? What happens if I do?”

Lucian didn’t answer right away. The wind stirred, rustling the leaves at their feet.

Finally, he said, “Then you’ll understand why you’re in danger.”

Eva’s stomach twisted. “Danger from what?”

Lucian’s gaze darkened. “From the ones who took you from me before.”

A chill crept up her spine. “What do you mean?”

His hands curled into fists. “They knew what we were. They knew what we had. And they ended it.” His voice was tight, controlled, but there was an old fury beneath it. A fury that had lasted lifetimes.

Eva’s throat went dry. “Are you saying I—I died?”

Lucian’s eyes locked onto hers.

“Yes.”

The single word sent a bolt of fear through her, sharp and cold.

She shook her head. “That’s impossible.”

“You saw it,” he murmured. “Felt it.” He took a slow step closer. “You’ve always known, haven’t you? That something was missing. That something in this life didn’t quite fit.”

Eva’s breath hitched.

Because he was right.

There had always been something—an emptiness she couldn’t explain, a sense of longing for something she could never name. A shadow in the corner of her dreams, a whisper in the back of her mind.

Lucian searched her face, his expression unreadable.

“You’ve felt me before,” he said. “Even before we met.”

Eva squeezed her eyes shut.

This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be real.

But deep down, in a place she didn’t want to acknowledge—

She knew it was.

She opened her eyes, meeting his gaze. “If what you’re saying is true… if we knew each other in another life… then why don’t I remember?”

Lucian exhaled slowly. “Because they made sure you wouldn’t.”

A silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken truths.

And then—

A sound.

A rustling in the trees. A whisper of movement in the dark.