She was right, though it hadn’t occurred to me until now. Why hadn’t I noticed? “That’s true, there are lots of people like that in the novel.”

  “Everyone in the novel is just like them.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far…”

  “Do I look like XXXXXXX, Helian?”

  What the fuck? “No!”

  “Do I sound like XXXXXXX, Helian?”

  “Hold on, you’re misunderstanding things, it’s-”

  “The dragon told me, you know. I don’t understand why you never told me.”

  “Told you what?”

  “I’ve been from somewhere else this whole time. I thought I was no one because you said I was no one and that was okay because we could be together. Everything was going to be fine, so I forgave you even though you could have saved Papa. I knew you didn’t want him to die. I saw how much you cried when you thought I wasn’t watching.”

  “What do you mean you’re from somewhere else? Where are you from?”

  “I thought I was going crazy. Those things had never happened, but I remembered them, and they didn’t make sense. You looked wrong but you looked right somehow and you were still beautiful even if your eyes were sad, and you were looking at me but you weren’t looking at me.”

  “Frost, slow down. You didn’t answer my question. Where are you from?”

  Her heart was racing even faster than mine, and she embraced me tightly. “Please don’t leave me. I know it’s all my fault. I won’t ask you to forgive me even though it’s all my fault. Please don’t leave me.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Frost, why would I leave you? I don’t understand! Slow down, okay? Everything’s going to be fine!”

  “It’s all my fault! I did all this to you and I don’t even know why. I can’t remember. I promise if I could remember I would tell you, but I can’t remember. I wish the dragon hadn’t told me so I could pretend it wasn’t true and then we could be happy together. But we can’t be happy together, because I’m not me, and-”

  It felt like everything was going to fall apart. “Frost, slow down! It’s going to be fine, just explain it to me slowly so I can understand, and we’ll take care of it. It’s all going to be okay. I’m not angry with you.”

  “It was never the sword, Helian.”

  “What does the sword have to do with this, Frost? You’re not making any sense.”

  “The sword wasn’t the problem. It was good that you broke it but the sword was never the problem, it couldn’t climb inside me because someone else was already inside-”

  It occurred to me only then that breaking Pretense shouldn’t have done anything. I was desperate at the time, and it was the only thing I could think of, so I did it – and it worked! But it shouldn’t have, not if she was anything like the other suitors. Not if she was possessed by a Seeker.

  “What are you saying, Frost? Something is inside you?”

  She was hyperventilating. “Someone else has been inside me from the beginning. Maybe I was never inside and I’m not me and I’m them because I was always no one, and-”

  “Breathe, Frost. Calm down. It’s fine, I’m here. Explain it slowly, I still don’t understand.”

  “I remember your birthday cake, there were 19 candles. Your apartment didn’t have a bedroom and when it rained the sliding door would leak. I remember the koalas at the zoo. What are koalas, Helian?”

  I needed to distract her. I had to make her stop talking. “They’re like little bears that live in trees. They’re not actually bears, though, they’re more like big rats? But not in a bad way. They raise their young in pouches-”

  “I remember they didn’t go to your recital even though you practiced a lot. You were really good. But then even at the end they weren’t there and you stood outside with an umbrella waiting for them until my mother drove you home.”

  She had to stop talking. Before she said something she couldn’t take back. “Frost, please stop. You’re confused. Just stop for a minute and listen to me, okay? Everything’s going to be alright.”

  She held me tightly and whispered, in a manic voice so soft I could barely hear it. “I’ve always been someone else. I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me. It’s all my fault. Please forgive me. I’ll do anything, please don’t leave.”