My Reincarnation

Chapter Sixteen

The cold stone floor of the northern realm castle pressed against my knees, a stark contrast to the warmth that once radiated from Octavia's spirit. My fingers trembled as I brushed her pale cheek, tracing the path where life had once danced. "Oh, Octavia," I whispered through hitched breaths, my voice a broken melody amidst the silence of mourning.

"Avan..." My words trailed off as I glanced toward him, his form hunched and shrouded in grief so palpable it stole the air from the room. It hurt to see him like this, with hollow eyes that mirrored the void left by his love's departure.

"Octavia would not have wanted this for you, Avan," I said softly, but my conviction faltered, ringing hollow in my ears. Could I even trust my voice when it felt like an imposter's?

"None of us wanted this, Lizzy," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper, a testament to the weight of sorrow that bore down upon him.

I looked away, my gaze falling upon my hands, now stained with the remnants of battle and loss. "What good is a warrior princess if I cannot protect those dear to me?" The question was a venomous thorn in my mind, puncturing the facade of strength I'd so carefully constructed.

"Octavia believed in you," Avan murmured. "We all do."

"Belief seems a frail thing when faced with such...such unyielding darkness." The tears came again, unbidden, carving hot trails down my dirt-streaked face. I struggled to swallow the lump forming in my throat, each beat of my heart echoing Octavia's absence.

"Your strength is not defined by the shadows you face, but by the light you cast," Octavia's voice echoed in my memory, a bittersweet reminder of her unwavering support. But without her, doubt crept into every corner of my thoughts, a relentless tide threatening to erode my resolve.

"Is it truly strength, or merely a stubborn refusal to accept reality?" I asked the empty air, searching for an answer I feared didn't exist. "Perhaps I'm just a corrections officer playing at being a savior."

"Stop that," Avan's voice cracked, jolting me from my reverie. "You are Princess Annalise, Lizzy, whether you remember her fully or not. You've come this far, haven't you?"

"Perhaps too far," I admitted, the burden of two lives pressing down on me. "Annalise might be part of me, but I am also Lizzy Fallon—full of doubts and insecurities."

"Both are the same," Avan insisted, moving closer. "And both are capable of more than you know."

"Or perhaps capable of great mistakes," I countered, unable to shake the fear that my inexperience could doom us all.

"Even princesses are allowed their moments of doubt, Lizzy," he said gently, reaching out to place a comforting hand on my shoulder. "But you must not let those doubts consume you. We need you...the realms need you."

"Need is a heavy word, Avan," I sighed, feeling the weight of countless expectations. "But I suppose it's not one I can afford to shy away from—not now."

"Exactly," he affirmed, though his voice still held the ghosts of his pain.

And there we stood, two souls marred by loss, clinging to the faint hope that our shared journey could mend more than just the fractures within our worlds. It was a hope that flickered like a candle in the wind, vulnerable yet persistent—much like me.

The cold stones of the southern kingdom castle pressed against my knees as I trudged through its echoing halls, the weight of Octavia's death heavy on my shoulders. I found myself outside, in the walled garden where frost clung to the petals of sleeping flowers, seeking a solace that seemed just out of reach. And there he was, Adonis, his thick fur the color of moonlit snow. He bounded toward me, sensing my sorrow as only a creature of pure empathy could.