Arwen POV
Ronan stepped into my room and closed the door behind him.
Every muscle in my body screamed to run. This man had watched me burn alive. Had smiled while I begged for mercy. Had destroyed everything I loved.
But I couldn't let him see my fear. Couldn't let him know that I knew.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, keeping my voice steady. "It's not proper for you to be in my room before the ceremony."
"Proper?" Ronan laughed, but it wasn't his usual charming sound. It was sharp. Dangerous. "Since when do you care about proper, Arwen? Or should I call you something else? Something like... the girl who shouldn't exist?"
My heart stopped.
He knew. Somehow, he knew I'd come back.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, but my voice shook.
Ronan moved closer, his fox eyes gleaming with an unnatural light. "Don't lie to me. I can smell it on you. Death. Old death. You reek of smoke and ashes, Arwen. Tell me—how does someone who burned at the stake three years from now end up standing here, eighteen years old again?"
Three years from now. Not six.
My mind reeled. In my timeline, I'd died six years in the future. But Ronan was talking about three years.
"You're confused," I said desperately. "I've never—"
"I've lived this day seventeen times," Ronan snarled, and suddenly he was right in front of me, backing me against the wall. "Seventeen times I've bonded with you. Seventeen times I've drained your pathetic family's wealth. And seventeen times, you've died exactly three years later."
Seventeen loops.
Just like the Serpent King.
"But this time is different," Ronan continued, his hand grabbing my chin, forcing me to look at him. "This time, you remember. I can see it in your eyes. You know what I am. What I'll do."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
"So here's what's going to happen," Ronan said softly, his voice deadly. "You're going to walk into that ceremony like a good little girl. You're going to choose me, just like you always do. And if you don't—if you even think about choosing someone else—I'll kill your father right now. Today. Before the poison even has time to work."
"You're working with Marguerite," I whispered.
"Of course I am. That witch has been very useful." Ronan smiled his perfect smile, the one that had made me fall in love. Now it looked like a predator baring its teeth. "But here's what you don't know, Arwen. Each loop, I remember a little more. Each time we restart, I keep pieces of the previous life. And I've figured something out."
He leaned in close, his breath hot on my face.
"You're the reason we're stuck in this loop. Your death triggers the restart. So this time, I'm going to bond with you and keep you alive just long enough to figure out how to break the cycle without losing my memories. Then I'll kill you properly. Permanently."
Terror flooded through me. This was so much worse than I'd thought. Ronan wasn't just a betrayer—he was a predator who'd hunted me through seventeen different lifetimes.
"Why?" I choked out. "Why do all this?"
"Because the Coalition pays extremely well to eliminate beast tamers. And because—" His eyes flashed with hatred. "—you were supposed to be an easy target. A stupid, trusting girl. But somehow, you became the anchor point of a time loop, and I've been trapped reliving your pathetic life over and over. I'm done being patient."
A knock on the door made us both freeze.
"Lady Arwen?" Mary's voice called. "The carriages are here. It's time to leave for the ceremony."
Ronan's hand tightened on my chin. "Remember what I said. Choose me, or your father dies today. Understand?"
I nodded, unable to speak.
He released me and stepped back, his face instantly shifting into that charming, handsome mask. When he opened the door, Mary stood there looking worried.
"Lord Ronan! What are you doing in Lady Arwen's room?"
"Just wishing the lovely lady good luck," Ronan said smoothly. "I'll see you at the ceremony, Arwen." His eyes promised violence. "I'm sure you'll make the right choice."
He left, whistling cheerfully like he hadn't just threatened to murder my father.
Mary rushed to my side. "My lady, are you alright? You're white as snow."
I couldn't answer. My mind was racing too fast.
Ronan remembered the loops. He knew I'd come back. And he'd kill Father if I didn't choose him.
But if I did choose him, I'd be right back where I started. Trapped. Doomed.
Unless...
The message on my wrist burned in my memory: *"Choose quickly, or die again."*
The Serpent King knew about the loops too. And unlike Ronan, he'd been trying to warn me. To help me.
Maybe he was the key to breaking this cycle.
"Mary," I said, my voice stronger now. "Help me get dressed. I need to look perfect today."
"Of course, my lady."
As Mary helped me into my mother's dark green dress, I made my decision.
Ronan thought he had me cornered. Thought I'd be too scared to defy him.
He was about to learn just how wrong he was.
---
The Crystalline Palace took my breath away, just like it had in my first life.
Hundreds of nobles filled the great hall, all dressed in their finest. Unbonded shifters lined the walls—magnificent creatures in human form, waiting to be chosen. Wolves with silver eyes. Bears with massive shoulders. Hawks with sharp, intelligent gazes. Foxes with gleaming fur.
And in the darkest corner, barely visible in the shadows, stood a figure in black.
The Serpent King.
I felt him before I saw him clearly. A pull in my chest, like an invisible thread connecting us. It hadn't been there in my first life—or maybe I'd been too distracted by Ronan to notice.
Now, it was all I could feel.
"Arwen, dear, stay close," Marguerite hissed, gripping my arm. "And remember what we discussed. Lord Ronan is—"
"The perfect choice," I finished, my voice flat. "I know."
Celeste walked beside us, her eyes scanning the crowd frantically. Looking for Ronan. She didn't know he'd been in my room. Didn't know he'd threatened me.
She thought she still had a chance with him.
Father trailed behind us, looking worse than ever. He could barely walk without help.
I had to save him. Had to save us all.
The High Priestess stood at the front of the hall, her silver robes shimmering. "Welcome, noble families and honored shifters! Today, we celebrate the ancient bond between human and beast. Today, our young ladies will choose their lifelong companions!"
The crowd cheered.
My hands were shaking. I clasped them together, trying to look calm.
Across the hall, Ronan stood with the other fox shifters. He was watching me with those golden eyes, a small smile on his lips. Confident. Certain.
He thought I'd obey. Thought I had no choice.
"Lady Arwen Blackthorn!" the High Priestess called. "Please step forward!"
This was it. The moment everything changed.
I walked to the center of the hall, feeling hundreds of eyes on me. My heart pounded so hard I thought everyone could hear it.
"Lady Arwen," the High Priestess said warmly. "Who do you choose as your bonded companion?"
In my first life, I'd looked straight at Ronan. Had blushed and smiled and sealed my own doom.
This time, I turned toward the shadows.
Toward the corner where the Serpent King stood.
Our eyes met across the distance, and the world seemed to stop.
His eyes were pure obsidian—black and bottomless and ancient. They looked at me like he could see straight through to my soul. Like he knew every secret, every fear, every desperate hope.
And in those eyes, I saw recognition.
He knew me. Knew what I was. What I'd been through.
*Choose me,* his eyes seemed to say. *Trust me.*
"I choose—" I started to say.
A scream cut through the hall.
Everyone spun around. Celeste stood in the middle of the crowd, her body convulsing. Feathers were sprouting from her arms—white swan feathers, bursting through her skin.
"No!" Marguerite shrieked. "Not here! Not now!"
But it was too late. Celeste's transformation had begun, triggered by emotion, by stress, by years of suppression.
She was shifting in front of everyone.
Chaos erupted. Nobles shouted. Shifters moved to help or defend, unsure which. The High Priestess called for order.
And in the confusion, I felt someone grab my arm.
Ronan.
"Time to go," he snarled in my ear. "You're coming with me."
He started dragging me toward the exit, using the chaos as cover.
I struggled, tried to scream, but his grip was iron-strong.
Then suddenly, he stopped.
The temperature in the hall dropped twenty degrees. Frost appeared on the windows. People's breath came out in white clouds.
"Release her," a voice said.
Cold. Ancient. Absolutely lethal.
The Serpent King stood behind us, and his eyes were glowing gold.
Ronan's hand fell away from my arm like I'd burned him.
"She's already made her choice," the Serpent King said softly. "And it wasn't you, fox."
"She hasn't announced it yet," Ronan challenged, but his voice shook. "The bond isn't official."
The Serpent King's lips curved into something that might have been a smile. "It became official the moment she looked at me. I've waited seventeen lifetimes for her to finally see me. Do you really think I'll let you take her now?"
Seventeen lifetimes.
He'd been in the loop the entire time. Watching. Waiting.
Waiting for me to choose him.
"Lady Arwen," the Serpent King said, extending his hand. "Say the words."
This was it. The point of no return.
If I chose him, Ronan would kill Father. But if I chose Ronan, I'd condemn myself to another cycle of betrayal and death.
I had to decide right now.
Trust the monster who'd been watching over me through seventeen loops...
Or surrender to the predator who'd killed me seventeen times.
I reached for the Serpent King's hand—
And the floor exploded beneath us.