Rain hit the window lightly as Aria Lane sat by her room's window, a soft lamp glow making her history book pages shine. She had read the same lines three times, yet her mind was far away, stuck in a dream she couldn't shake off.

  It had begun a week ago.

  In that dream, she was someone else. She wore long robes of silver silk, her hands shone with magic, and she went by Elara. She was on a war field where the sky was deep red, saying an old spell to lock up a dark shadow. And right before the dark took her, a man with deep eyes held her close.

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  "I will find you, in every life," he had said.

  Then she'd wake up short of breath, her heart full of a deep want and a hurt she couldn’t place.

  Aria shook her head and looked at the time—it was past midnight. School tomorrow. She let out a sigh, shut her book, and turned off the light. She thought the dream was just from stress and her love for fantasy books.

  But as she fell asleep again, the air in her room glowed a bit. A cool wind flew in through the curtains. And far past the edge of the world she knew, something—or someone—was looking.

  In a far-off place untouched by time, a figure walked through old castle ruins. His armor was old, his eyes weary but with drive.

  “She’s back,” he said low, his voice bouncing off the rocks. “Elara… at last.”