Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
My heart jolted as my head snapped toward the door.
“Who’s there?” I asked, my voice still shaking.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then a voice answered.
Deep.
Calm.
Controlled.
“Lucien Draven.”
My breath caught.
That name
It sounded too familiar.
My fingers tightened slightly at my sides.
“Come in,” I said slowly.
The door opened.
And the moment he stepped inside, everything in me froze.
Lucien Draven.
He looked exactly like I remembered from my novel too real, too sharp, too dangerous to feel like imagination.
His presence alone made the air feel heavier, like the room had suddenly lost oxygen.
I instinctively stepped back.
My mind went blank for a second as I stared at him.
No.
No, this wasn’t possible.
“How-how is this real?” I whispered under my breath.
He took another step forward.
I stepped back again.
My breathing became uneven.
“How did I get into my novel?” I murmured.
“And this body…”
My hands trembled as realization slowly crashed into me.
“No, it can’t be.”
My voice broke.
“I’m in the body of Seraphina Ravencroft, the villainess.”
The moment I said it out loud, it felt worse, more real.
Like the world itself had confirmed it.
Without thinking, I turned and rushed past him.
Straight into the bathroom.
I slammed the door shut and leaned against it, trying to steady my breathing.
“H-how on earth is this possible?
” I whispered, my voice shaking.
Then suddenly,
“O-oh my God…”
A burst of laughter escaped me.
It wasn’t calm.
It wasn’t controlled.
It was excitement.
Pure, overwhelming, unbelievable excitement.
“I’m inside my novel…” I whispered, then louder, almost laughing again.
“I’m actually inside it!”
For a brief moment, my heart raced wildly.
This was insane.
This was impossible.
But it was also thrilling.
I pressed a hand against my chest, trying to calm myself, but my pulse wouldn’t slow down.
Then,
Reality snapped back into place.
Just like that.
The laughter died in my throat.
The weight of everything hit me all at once.
I wasn’t just inside my novel.
I was inside this novel.
The one I wrote.
The one I designed.
The one where Seraphina Ravencroft dies.
My hands went cold.
“No.”
My voice dropped into something hollow.
I stared at the mirror in front of me, slowly realizing it.
I had become her.
The villainess.
The one destined to die at the hands of the man waiting outside that door.
My throat tightened painfully.
“Why of all people,” I whispered.
“Why her?”
Anger bubbled inside me hot, sharp, unfair.
“Why did I have to become the villainess?”
My fingers clenched.
“I always liked Aurora more…”
My breath shook.
“Why couldn’t I be Aurora Bellrose?”
My voice cracked slightly.
“Why do I have to be Seraphina, the one who dies?”
Silence swallowed the room.
Then—
A knock again.
This time softer.
“Are you alright?” Lucien Draven’s voice came through the door.
I froze.
Right.
He was still there.
I quickly wiped my face and forced myself to breathe.
Get it together.
Get it together, Aria.
I opened the door.
Lucien stood there, watching me carefully.
His gaze was sharp but not unkind.
Observant.
Calculating.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly, lowering my voice.
It didn’t sound convincing at all.
He studied me for a second longer, then gave a small nod.
But he didn’t look convinced.
Still, he stepped aside.
I walked past him.
Out of the room.
And that’s when I saw them.
Four other men stood waiting outside.
All of them familiar.
All of them characters I knew too well.
My stomach dropped.
Because I suddenly realized
This wasn’t just Lucien Draven.
I was standing in the middle of all of them.
I walked out slowly, Lucien right behind me.
My mind was still spinning.
This wasn’t real.
It couldn’t be real.
But then I saw them properly.
Four men stood in the hallway.
All of them turned the moment I appeared.
And instantly,
My body went cold.
I knew them.
Even without thinking.
Because I had written them.
The Silent Knight.
The Cruel Mage.
The Crown’s Sword.
The Forbidden Seer.
All four of them were here.
Standing in front of me like my story had just come alive.
My breath caught.
No.
This wasn’t supposed to happen yet.
Not like this.
Not all together.
Kael Thornridge, the Silent Knight, tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was something unfamiliar.
“She looks different,” he said quietly.
My heart skipped.
Different?
What did he mean different?
Sylas Nightmere, the Cruel Mage, stepped forward slightly, his eyes narrowing.
“I don’t feel it,” he said coldly.
“Something is wrong.”
My fingers tightened.
Wrong?
What does that mean?
The Crown’s Sword glanced between them.
“Is this still Seraphina?”
Silence.
That name.
Seraphina Ravencroft.
It hit harder than it should have.
Because I was her now.
But I didn’t feel like her.
I swallowed hard and forced my voice to stay steady.
“What is going on?” I asked quietly.
The moment I spoke, Sylas’s eyes sharpened further.
“That tone,” he murmured.
“That’s not how she speaks.”
My stomach dropped.
Kael took one slow step forward.
Not threatening.
Just observant.
Like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
“You shouldn’t be alive,” he said softly.
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
He studied me longer.
Then said something that made my entire world stop.
“The Seraphina I know would never ask that question.”
My breath caught.
No.
No, no, no.
This wasn’t right.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
My mind started racing.
I have to get out of here.
I have to think.
I turned suddenly.
“I need space,” I said quickly.
And before anyone could stop me
I ran.
Down the corridor.
Past all of them.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears as I pushed forward, not stopping until I found a door and threw it open.
A library.
Tall shelves stretched endlessly into the shadows, swallowing light.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
I stepped inside, breathing hard.
Then,
A voice behind me.
Calm.
Low.
Right beside my ear.
“You really are not her.”
I froze.
Slowly turned.
Sylas Nightmere stood behind me.
Watching.
Smiling faintly.
But his eyes,
His eyes were not smiling at all.
And then he asked the question that shattered everything.
“So tell me,”
“Who are you?”
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