The Echo Garden – A Forbidden Place
Hidden deep within the Royal Academy grounds was a place few dared to enter.
The Echo Garden.
A labyrinth of silver-leafed trees and crimson roses, where sound didn't behave normally.
Words whispered inside the Echo Garden could linger for days, repeating in the wind long after they were spoken.
It was a place where memories became echoes—and sometimes, the garden whispered things you never said aloud.
Selene's Gamble
Selene stood at the garden's entrance, crimson cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
Her memory had worsened since the shattering spell.
Some mornings, she woke up thinking she was still seventeen. Other days, she thought she was already dead.
I need to anchor myself.
That's why she came here.
If she spoke her memories into the garden, the echoes would preserve them—even if her mind forgot.
Inside the Garden
Selene walked between the silver trees, her breath visible in the cold air.
She spoke softly, letting the garden carry her words.
"Lucien Aurelian."
"He held my hand beneath the Moon Tree."
"He kissed me once… in a life I barely remember."
"I loved him. I still do."
Her voice trembled, but the garden caught each word and whispered them back, weaving them into the wind.
Lucien Watches
Unseen by Selene, Lucien stood at the garden's edge, cloaked in shadow.
He hadn't meant to follow her.But his feet had moved on their own.
And now he stood there, heart tight, listening to her fight for him in whispers.
"If I forget him completely," Selene whispered into the cold, "please let him remember me."
Lucien's breath hitched.
A Dangerous Choice
Lucien stepped forward, breaking the rules of the Echo Garden.
He let his voice join hers.
"I won't forget."
Selene turned sharply, crimson eyes wide—but not startled. Somewhere deep down, she'd known he was there.
Her lips parted.
"Lucien…"
The Soft Confession
He stepped closer, golden eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
"I heard everything."
Selene's throat tightened.
"I didn't say it for you to hear."
"I know."
Lucien's voice dropped lower.
"But I'm glad I did."
A Shared Memory
The garden whispered back their words, over and over:
"I won't forget.""I loved him. I still do."
The echoes wrapped around them like fragile threads of magic.
A Moment of Peace
For the first time in days, their souls aligned again—if only for a moment.
Selene reached for Lucien's hand.
He didn't pull away.
Their fingers laced together beneath the crimson roses, frost gathering softly around their feet.
But Peace Never Lasts
Far away, in the Eastern Sanctum, Evelyne Greymoor finished her second spell.
This one wasn't meant to shatter memories.
It was meant to rewrite them.
Her lips curved as she whispered the incantation.
"Let the past shift. Let enemies become lovers. Let lovers become strangers."
Back in the Echo Garden
Lucien and Selene's eyes widened at the same time, pain lancing through their temples.
Their hands tightened reflexively—but the world spun.
For a terrifying second, Selene forgot why she was holding his hand.
Lucien's mind blanked for an instant, forgetting what side he was on.
The spell had begun.
The world's cycle of love and tragedy had just twisted again.