No one moved.
The golden eyes remained open at the bottom of the staircase.
Watching.
Waiting.
Elara couldn’t look away.
“What is that?”
The stranger didn’t answer.
Elias stepped in front of everyone.
“Stay behind me.”
The golden eyes blinked.
Once.
The entire staircase shook.
Thump.
The heartbeat came again.
Stronger.
Elara felt it inside her chest.
It wasn’t just a sound anymore.
It was a pull.
Something was calling her.
“Elara.”
Noah grabbed her arm.
“Don’t go.”
She looked at him.
“I think it wants me.”
“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t go.”
The stranger turned toward them.
“He isn’t wrong.”
Noah frowned.
“You agree with me?”
“I do.”
“That’s new.”
The stranger almost smiled.
Then his expression became serious again.
“The First Heart doesn’t call people.”
“It calls what belongs to it.”
Elara stared at him.
“What belongs to it?”
His eyes met hers.
“You.”
Silence.
Evelyn stepped forward.
“No.”
The stranger looked at her.
“You knew this day would come.”
“I hoped it wouldn’t.”
“You always hoped.”
Evelyn’s voice shook.
“Because I knew what it would cost her.”
Elara looked between them.
“What would it cost me?”
Evelyn didn’t answer.
Elara’s voice became quieter.
“Mum.”
Still nothing.
“Mum, please.”
Evelyn finally looked at her.
“The Heartwood doesn’t choose without a reason.”
“I know.”
“But sometimes…”
She swallowed.
“…the reason is a sacrifice.”
Elara looked toward the golden eyes.
“Then I’ll find another way.”
Noah nodded.
“Exactly.”
The stranger looked at them both. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“That’s what Lyra said.”
Elias suddenly turned.
“Don’t say her name.”
The stranger’s expression hardened.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t know what happened after she disappeared.”
“I know exactly what happened.”
“No.”
Elias stepped closer.
“You only know what you remember.”
The stranger stared at him.
For several seconds…
Neither spoke.
Then the First Heart pulsed again.
THUMP.
A wave of golden light rushed up the staircase.
Everyone shielded their eyes.
When the light disappeared…
A door had appeared at the bottom.
It was covered in roots.
And carved into its center was the same crown symbol.
Elara slowly walked toward it.
The stranger followed.
“What happens if I open it?”
“You’ll remember.”
“Everything?”
“Not everything.”
He paused.
“Only what the forest thinks you’re ready to know.”
Elara placed her hand on the door.
It was warm.
Almost like skin.
The moment she touched it…
A voice whispered inside her mind.
Elara.
She froze.
It was her own voice.
But older.
Tired.
Afraid.
Don’t open the door.
Elara pulled her hand away.
“What was that?”
Noah stepped closer.
“What happened?”
“I heard myself.”
The stranger’s expression changed.
“What did she say?”
Elara looked at him.
“She told me not to open it.”
For the first time…
He looked worried.
“Then we have a problem.”
“Why?”
“Because the forest never warns you about something…”
He looked at the door.
“…unless it has already happened.”
The roots around the door began moving.
Slowly.
They wrapped around the stone.
Then pulled apart.
The door opened.
Elara took one step forward.
Then stopped.
Inside the chamber stood a single tree.
It was small.
Nothing like the enormous Heartwood above them.
Its trunk was silver.
Its leaves were completely white.
And beneath it…
Was a little girl.
Elara’s breath caught.
The girl was sitting beneath the tree.
She looked about six years old.
She was holding a silver leaf pendant.
The same pendant Elara had seen before.
The girl looked up.
Her eyes widened.
Then she smiled.
“You’re finally here.”
Elara couldn’t speak.
She knew that face.
It was her.
Her own face.
But younger.
Much younger.
Noah whispered,
“Elara…”
The little girl stood.
She looked directly at Elara.
“You forgot me.”
Elara’s hands began trembling.
“Who are you?”
The little girl smiled sadly.
“I’m the part of you they left behind.”
The room went silent.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“No…”
Elara turned toward her.
“Mum?”
The little girl slowly walked toward Elara.
“You weren’t born in Ashwood.”
Elara’s heart stopped.
“What?”
“You were found.”
The stranger closed his eyes.
Elias looked away.
And Evelyn began to cry.
The little girl stopped in front of Elara.
Then whispered—
“You weren’t the first Chosen.”
Elara stared at her.
“Then who was?”
The girl pointed toward the silver tree.
And a name appeared across its trunk.
IRIS.
Elara’s blood ran cold.
The little girl smiled.
“Iris was the first.”
“And you…”
She reached for Elara’s hand.
“…were the second.”
The moment their fingers touched—
The entire chamber disappeared.
And Elara remembered everything.