Broken Bonds: The Rogue's Redemption-Chapter 13: The Stolen Face

Lyanna’s POV

My heart stopped.

The woman wearing my old body smiled at me. Not a nice smile. A hungry one.

"Hello, copy," she said in my voice. MY voice coming from MY face. "I want my life back."

I stumbled backward, bumping into Cassian. His hand steadied me, but I could feel him shaking too. We’d just beaten Seraphine. I’d just accepted living in her body forever. And now this?

"Who are you?" I asked, even though part of me already knew. Already feared.

The woman in my original body stepped closer. She moved wrong—too stiff, like someone learning to walk again. "I’m Lyanna Thorne. The REAL Lyanna Thorne. And you’re just a cheap rebirth wearing my soul like a hand-me-down dress."

Kieran moved between us, lightning crackling around his hands. "Back up. I don’t care what you claim to be."

"Oh, the storm boy." Original Lyanna laughed. It sounded wrong—bitter and old. "Still playing hero? That’s adorable."

"Explain yourself," Cassian growled. His dragon eyes glowed even in his human form. "Now."

Original Lyanna tilted her head—my head—studying us like ants. "Fine. I’ll make this simple for your tiny modern mind. Three thousand years ago, I died in the First Dragon War. My soul went to the spirit world to rest. But the magic you two idiots just used?" She pointed at me and Seraphine’s empty body on the ground. "That body-swap spell? It didn’t just switch you and the shadow princess. It cracked open the barrier between worlds. And I woke up."

My stomach twisted. "That’s impossible."

"Is it?" She spread her arms wide. "Look around. Magic is going crazy. The field is half destroyed. And I’m standing here in MY body, talking to the girl who stole my soul."

"I didn’t steal anything!" My voice came out too loud, too desperate. "I was born. I lived. I’m my own person!"

"Are you?" Original Lyanna’s eyes—my green eyes—went cold. "Or are you just a copy of me? A watered-down version living a life that was always meant to be mine?"

The words hit like punches. I’d spent my whole life feeling like I didn’t belong anywhere. Too human for dragons, too magical for people. And now someone was telling me I wasn’t even original? That I was just a copy?

"Stop it," Cassian said quietly. Dangerously. "You’re upsetting her."

"Good." Original Lyanna smiled again. "She should be upset. She’s been living in my world, loving my partner, carrying my daughter’s name. Everything she has belongs to me."

"What?" The word ripped from my throat. "What did you just say?"

Original Lyanna’s smile got wider. Crueler. "Oh, didn’t you know? Cassian and I were lovers three thousand years ago. We had a girl together. Named Ember. Sound familiar?"

The ground felt like it was falling away beneath me. I looked at Cassian. "Is she telling the truth?"

His face had gone white. "I... I don’t remember. I’ve been reborn many times. I don’t remember past lives."

"But I do," Original Lyanna whispered. "I remember everything. Every kiss. Every promise. Every night we spent together before the war tore us apart." She turned to Cassian. "You swore you’d find me again. You swore we’d be together forever. And here I am. Awake. Alive. Ready to take what’s mine."

My chest felt tight. I couldn’t move. "You’re lying."

"Am I?" She took a step toward Cassian. He didn’t move away. "Ask your dragon half, Cassian. Deep down, doesn’t some part of you know me? Doesn’t some ancient sense remember?"

Cassian’s jaw clenched. He didn’t answer. That quiet hurt worse than words.

Kieran grabbed my hand. His touch was warm, real, grounding. "Don’t listen to her. Past lives don’t matter. You’re the woman I love. The one standing here now."

"How sweet." Original Lyanna’s voice dripped with mockery. "The backup plan trying to comfort the copy. Tell me, storm boy, does that soul mark on your wrist still burn for her? Or can you feel it weakening now that the original is here?"

Kieran’s hand twitched in mine. Just a tiny movement. But I felt it.

"What’s happening to the bond?" I whispered.

"Nothing," Kieran said firmly. But his eyes showed doubt.

Elder Morgana pushed through the crowd that had formed. Her face was grave. "Child, where exactly did you come from?"

Original Lyanna turned to her. "You should know, old woman. You were there when I died. You held my hand as I bled out on the battlefield. You promised to protect my daughter’s soul."

Morgana went pale. "That’s... that’s impossible. Lyanna Thorne died three millennia ago. Her soul should have moved on to the circle of rebirth."

"I was SUPPOSED to move on." Original Lyanna’s voice rose, cracking with emotion. "But something went wrong. I got stuck between worlds. Stuck in the spirit world, watching life go on without me. Watching my daughter grow old and die. Watching Cassian reincarnate over and over, forgetting me each time. And then watching HER—" she pointed at me, "—being born with MY soul, living MY life, stealing MY fate!"

Tears ran down her face. My face. And despite everything, I felt a stab of pity. Three thousand years alone? Watching everyone move on?

"I just want to live again," Original Lyanna sobbed. "Is that so wrong? I died saving the lands. I gave everything. Don’t I deserve a second chance?"

The crowd mumbled. Some people nodded.

"You can’t have my life," I said, but my voice shook.

"Why not?" Original Lyanna wiped her eyes. "You’ll get a new one soon. Reincarnation, remember? But this is my only chance. If I don’t recover my body and soul now, I’ll fade back into nothing. Gone forever."

"There has to be another way," Cassian said.

"There isn’t." Morgana’s voice was heavy. "I’ve studied the ancient books. When a soul splits like this—one part reincarnated, one part trapped—they cannot both live in the physical world. One must give way. One must... cease to be."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

Original Lyanna fixed. "Then the answer is simple. The copy gives up, and the original reclaims her life."

"No." Kieran stepped fully in front of me. "That’s not happening."

"It’s not your choice," Original Lyanna said softly. Then her eyes rolled back in her head. She swayed.

Cassian caught her before she hit the ground. "What’s wrong with her?"

Morgana knelt beside them, pressing fingers to Original Lyanna’s neck. Her face went grim. "Her soul is too old, too broken. The real world is rejecting her. She’s dying."

"How long does she have?" I asked. I should have felt relief. I should have been glad. But I just felt sick.

"Hours. Maybe less." Morgana looked up at me. "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless she fully merges with you. Two souls, one body. It’s dangerous, possibly deadly. But it’s the only way she lives."

Original Lyanna’s eyes flickered open. She looked directly at me, and for the first time, I saw real fear in those familiar green depths. "Please," she whispered. "I don’t want to die again. Not like this. Not knowing I was so close..."

Her hand reached toward me. Shaking. Desperate.

And then her body went limp in Cassian’s arms.

"She’s fading!" Morgana shouted. "We have minutes to decide. Do we let her die, or do we try the merge?"

Everyone looked at me. Waiting.

The woman who claimed to be the original me was dying. And only I could save her by letting her into my mind, my soul, my very life.

What if she was telling the truth? What if she really was the original, and I was just a copy?

What if I let her die, and I was really committing murder?

"Lyanna," Cassian said quickly. "Whatever you choose, we’ll back you. But you need to choose NOW."

Original Lyanna’s body convulsed. Her breathing stopped.

I opened my mouth to answer— And that’s when Ember started yelling. My four-year-old daughter, standing at the edge of the crowd, was pointing at Original Lyanna’s body. Her eyes were glowing that eerie gold-and-red mix.

"Mama, no!" Ember shrieked. "She’s lying! She’s LYING! That’s not the old you! That’s something else wearing your face! I can see it! I can see the monster hiding inside!"

Original Lyanna’s eyes snapped open. They weren’t green anymore.

They were pitch black. Empty. Endless.

And when she smiled, her teeth were too sharp.

"Oh well," she said in a voice that didn’t sound human at all. "I tried to do this the nice way."

She lunged at me with inhuman speed, her hands going for my throat, and I finally understood.

This wasn’t the real Lyanna at all.

This was something far, far worse.