Broken Bonds: The Rogue's Redemption-Chapter 17: I Am Not a Copy

Lyanna’s POV (Modern)

The basement door slammed open before I could catch my breath from losing Ember.

A woman walked out.

She looked exactly like me.

Same black hair. Same green eyes. Same face. But something about her was wrong. Her eyes were too cold. Too old. Like looking into a mirror that showed my body.

"Hello, little echo," she said with my voice. "I’ve been waiting three thousand years to meet myself."

My legs almost gave out. This was the original Lyanna. The one whose soul I apparently carried.

"You’re not real," I whispered.

She laughed, and it sounded like breaking glass. "I’m more real than you’ll ever be. You’re just a copy. A pale shadow wearing my life like a stolen dress."

Rage burst in my chest. "I’ve lived twenty-five years! I have memories, thoughts, experiences—those are mine!"

"Are they?" She stepped closer, and I saw her eyes were slightly different. Darker. Meaner. "Or are they just echoes of what I felt first? Every choice you make, I already made. Every love you feel, I felt stronger. You’re a copy of the original book, girl. And everyone knows reprints are worthless."

"That’s not true!" I screamed. My hands shook with anger and fear. "I’m real! My kid is real! My life matters!"

"Your daughter?" Original Lyanna’s smile turned nasty. "You mean the child doomed because of my choices? The baby hurting because of a deal I made? Even your parenting is just cleaning up my mistakes."

Kieran moved between us, his face fierce. "Stop this. You’re hurting her."

Original Lyanna looked at him like he was a bug. "And who are you? Another man thinking he can save the helpless girl?" She circled him slowly. "Let me guess. You love her. You think she’s special. You believe your soul mark makes her yours."

"It does," Kieran said firmly. "She’s the woman I love. Not you. Her."

"How sweet." Original Lyanna’s words dripped poison. "But here’s the trouble, hero. Your soul mark links to the essence beneath the skin. And that essence? It’s mine. You’re loving my soul wearing her face."

The words hit like physical blows. I grabbed Kieran’s arm. "Don’t listen to her. I’m me. I’m—"

"You’re a fragment," Original Lyanna interrupted. "The piece of my soul that left. But pieces aren’t complete. They can’t live without the whole." She smiled wider. "Morgana said we need to join to save your daughter. Know what that means? You’ll disappear. I’ll swallow you. And Kieran here will wake up next to me, not you."

"No." My voice cracked. "There has to be another way."

"There isn’t." Original Lyanna moved closer to Kieran, watching him with interest. "Although I must say, you have good taste in men. Better than I expected from a piece."

Kieran backed away from her. "You’re nothing like Lyanna."

"I’m exactly like her. I’m just honest about the evil she pretends isn’t there." Original Lyanna turned back to me. "Tell me, little copy. Does he know about the rage you hide? The jealousy? The moments you imagine hurting Cassian for what he did? Those feelings aren’t yours—they’re mine, bleeding through."

"Stop it," I begged.

"Why? Because the truth hurts?" She laughed again. "You want to know the real truth? The thing that will break you completely?"

I didn’t want to know. But I couldn’t look away.

Original Lyanna’s smile became victorious. "Cassian. Your precious Dragon Prince who you think betrayed you?"

My heart stopped.

"He was my lover first. Three thousand years ago, when I was young and stupid and believed in fairy tales." Her eyes glowed with old pain and madness. "He promised me forever. He gave me gems and whispered sweet lies. Then he abandoned me for a political marriage—just like he did to you."

The world turned sideways.

"That’s impossible," Cassian’s voice came from behind me. He stood in the doorway, his face white as death. "I would remember—" "Would you?" Original Lyanna smiled at him like a monster. "Did you remember her face when you saw her in the archives? Did you feel that quick recognition? That burning need?"

Cassian’s silence was answer enough.

"It’s called rebirth, pretty prince. You’ve been falling for the same soul over and over. Chasing me through ages. Destroying me every time." Original Lyanna’s voice turned nasty. "And the best part? You don’t even know why. Your dragon recognizes what your human mind forgot."

"No," I breathed. "This can’t be real."

"It’s very real." Original Lyanna spread her arms wide. "We’re all stuck in a cycle. Me, you, him. The monster knew it. That’s why it possessed my daughter—our daughter—every lifetime. It’s been feeding on this disaster for three thousand years."

Morgana stumbled forward, her face ancient with fear. "The forecast. The one I couldn’t translate fully. It doesn’t say ’the dragon prince seeks his mate.’ It says ’the dragon prince seeks his first mate. Through endless lifetimes, through blood and fire, until the bill is paid.’"

"What debt?" Kieran demanded.

Original Lyanna’s smile became pure evil. "The one Cassian created when he killed me three thousand years ago to marry his political bride."

The dungeon went quiet.

Cassian’s legs gave out. He fell against the wall, shaking. "I... killed you?"

"Murdered me," Original Lyanna corrected kindly. "In cold blood. On our wedding night. Right after I told you I was pregnant."

My view went black at the edges.

"So you see," Original Lyanna continued, "this isn’t a love story. It’s a curse. Cassian is cursed to fall for me every lifetime. I’m cursed to be killed by him. And your daughter?" She looked at me with terrible pity. "She’s cursed to be possessed by the demon I summoned with my dying breath—the one I commanded to make him suffer forever."

"I didn’t summon—" I started.

"But you will." Original Lyanna’s smile was the most scary thing I’d ever seen. "Because we’re the same person. And when we join to save Ember, you’ll remember everything. Including how to finish the curse."

She stepped back into the dark.

"The Shadow King has your daughter. If you want her back, Cassian has to offer himself as payment. His life for hers. His death to break the circle." Original Lyanna’s words echoed from the darkness. "Make your choice, little piece. Save your daughter by sacrificing the man you love? Or save him and let our baby suffer forever?"

She vanished totally, her laughter lingering like smoke.

I turned to Cassian. His bright eyes met mine, and I saw the truth written there.

He was already reaching for his sword.

"No," I whispered.

But I knew—I knew—he was going to do it.

And somewhere in the darkness, the Shadow King laughed.