Elian’s sword was still pointed at Lyra.
The tip of the sword trembled. Not because Elian was afraid, but because his hand was trying to remember something.
“Don’t move,” he said.
Lyra stood at the bow of the boat. The river water, which had stopped moments ago, began flowing again. But the current carried them closer and closer to the black-eyed young man.
The young man smiled.
“See? He doesn’t recognize you anymore. Now, come with me.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Lyra said.
“Why should I listen to you?” Elian shot back. “You admitted that you killed me.”
Lyra stared at his face. The face that had always smiled whenever he saw her. The face that had once promised to return. Now it looked at her as though she were an enemy.
“I took the Black Petal from your chest,” Lyra said softly. “I didn’t kill you.”
“Then why did you ask someone else to kill me?”
Lyra couldn’t answer right away.
The black-eyed young man gave a quiet laugh. “Because she knows the truth. The prince you love must die for the kingdom to survive.”
Elian turned to him. “What truth?”
“Your memories are inside the Black Petal. But they aren’t the only memories stored there.”
The young man raised his hand. Fragments of the Black Petal scattered across the boat’s floor rose into the air and transformed into an image.
In the image, Olyndra’s palace was burning. The king and queen stood on a balcony. Below them, countless people knelt with terrified faces.
Then the image changed.
Elian saw himself in the palace’s underground chamber. His hands were covered in blood. Dozens of boxes of memory flowers sat before him.
Inside every box was a black petal.
Elian took a step back.
“I never did that.”
“Memories never make mistakes,” the black-eyed young man said.
“Memories can be forged,” Lyra replied. “You’re the one who said so.”
The young man immediately fixed a sharp stare on her. The river around the boat rose like a wall.
Lyra gripped the one white petal still left in her bag. She knew the young man was stronger than they were. But she had also noticed something strange.
Every time the Black Petal conjured an image, the young man appeared weaker.
“If you’re truly a part of Elian,” Lyra said, “why are you afraid of the petal?”
His smile vanished.
Elian looked at Lyra. “What do you mean?”
“He doesn’t want you to remember everything. He only wants you to believe the parts that make you hate me.”
The black-eyed young man raised his hand. The river water turned into spears and shot toward Lyra.
Elian moved faster.
He stood in front of Lyra and slashed at the water spears. His sword shattered, but the attack also broke apart into a fine rain.
Lyra stared in shock. “You protected me.”
Elian looked at his own hand. “I don’t know why my body moved.”
“Because your heart still remembers me,” Lyra said.
“I don’t remember your name.”
“That’s okay. For now, just remember that I don’t want to kill you.”
The black-eyed young man glared at them in fury.
“Then I’ll erase the rest of your feelings.”
He clapped his hands together. Black mist poured from his body and enveloped the boat.
Lyra immediately pulled Elian down into a crouch. The mist made strange voices echo from every direction.
“You failed to save him.”
“Lyra betrayed you.”
“Everyone is afraid of you.”
Elian covered his ears. His breathing quickened.
“Don’t listen,” Lyra said, gripping his shoulder.
“I’m seeing something!”
“What?”
“Another Elian is standing in front of the palace. He’s carrying a sword. Everyone is kneeling before him.”
“Not that.”
“Then I saw you.”
Lyra fell silent.
“You were standing beside me,” Elian continued. “You were holding my hand. You said, ‘If you become king, never store the people’s memories inside flowers.’”
Lyra held her breath.
“That’s true,” she said. “You once promised to stop the kingdom from using memory flowers to control its people.”
The black-eyed young man screamed. The mist around them trembled.
“Silence!”
The scream made the surface of the river crack like glass.
Lyra took out the white petal and pressed it against Elian’s chest.
A soft light spread from the petal. The black mist slowly faded.
A black line appeared on Elian’s body, stretching from his neck to his chest. It moved like a root.
Lyra went pale.
“The Black Petal is still inside your body.”
Elian looked at his chest. “You said you took it out.”
“I only took out the outer part.”
The black-eyed young man smiled again, but this time his smile looked weary.
“Now you understand. I’m not your brother. I’m a disease that grew from your memories.”
“Then how do we stop you?” Elian asked.
“Kill Lyra.”
Elian pointed his broken sword at Lyra.
Lyra didn’t step back. She only met Elian’s eyes.
“If you believe him, do it.”
Elian raised his sword.
But before he could strike, the sound of bells rang out in the distance. Seven times. The same sound Lyra had heard when she found the Black Petal.
The black-eyed young man suddenly screamed. His body cracked into countless dark lines.
“What’s happening?” Elian asked.
Lyra looked toward the river. Beyond the mist, Olyndra’s palace appeared far away, but the peak of its tower glowed red.
“The royal memory gate is open,” she said.
The young man looked at Lyra in fear.
“The queen has awakened.”
“What do you mean?”
He pointed at Elian.
“Go to the palace before your mother erases the entire world.”
His body then shattered into black fragments and fell into the river.
Elian looked at Lyra.
“My mother is still alive?”
Lyra nodded slowly.
“And she’s the queen of Olyndra.”
Elian stared at the palace glowing in the distance. For the first time since losing his memories, he didn’t look afraid.
He reached out his hand to Lyra.
“I don’t remember you yet,” he said. “But I trust you.”
Lyra clasped his hand.
Inside Elian’s chest, the black line crept closer and closer to his heart.
Deep within the palace, a woman opened her eyes.
“My son has found the girl,” she whispered.
Then she smiled.
“Now, let her bring Lyra home.”