“Every time, Savera was always the one to kiss him first.”
I stared at Mrs. Marjani.
Then Elvar.
Then back at Mrs. Marjani.
“No.”
My voice came out too quickly.
Taresa turned.
Jaresta raised one delicate eyebrow.
I immediately felt stupid.
“I wasn’t saying—”
“No one’s accusing you,” Jaresta said.
“Your looks are accusing me.”
“I don’t see anything,” Taresa said quickly.
I pointed at Elvar.
“And he better not get a big head.”
Elvar didn’t even smile.
Usually, he would’ve said something.
Probably something short.
Annoying.
But this time, his face only grew paler.
That instantly made the embarrassment I’d felt disappear.
I looked at Mrs. Marjani again.
“What’s the second door?”
“It isn’t a real door.”
“Of course it isn’t.”
“The four doors are four bonds preventing Darven from fully getting out.”
“The first opened because I chose Elvar?”
“Yes.”
I rubbed my face.
“I was just stopping him from killing his brother.”
“To the room, the reason doesn’t matter.”
“Then what does?”
Mrs. Marjani looked at me.
“Choice.”
I fell silent.
“Darven can’t create feelings from nothing,” she continued. “But he can use feelings that are already there.”
“I don’t have any feelings.”
Elvar turned to me.
I immediately looked at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Good.”
Mrs. Marjani let out a small sigh.
“Denial doesn’t change the rules.”
I started getting annoyed.
“Then explain the rules clearly.”
Mrs. Marjani walked over to Jaresta’s table.
She picked up a blank book and a pen.
Then she drew four vertical lines.
Above the first line, she wrote:
CHOICE
The second line:
DESIRE
The third line:
MEMORY
The fourth line:
REPLACEMENT
I read them all.
“The first door is choice.”
“Yes.”
“The second is desire.”
Mrs. Marjani looked at Elvar.
“The kiss opened the second door not because of the kiss.”
“Then why?”
“Because one of you had to truly want it.”
Taresa whispered,
“This is getting more uncomfortable.”
I agreed.
“And if it’s only pretend?”
“Nothing will happen.”
“What if it’s forced?”
“No.”
“What if Elvar kisses me without my consent?”
Elvar immediately said,
“I wouldn’t.”
I ignored him.
Mrs. Marjani answered,
“The door won’t open.”
I felt a little relieved.
Then she said,
“But throughout the previous eleven cycles, force was never necessary.”
I froze.
“Cycles?”
“The eleven Savera’s before you.”
I stared at the four words in the book.
Choice.
Desire.
Memory.
Replacement.
“What happens if all four open?”
Mrs. Marjani didn’t answer immediately.
“Darven can get out?”
“Worse.”
I gave a small laugh.
“That line keeps coming up.”
“Darven can take on a permanent form.”
“My body?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Whose?”
Mrs. Marjani looked at Elvar.
“Elvar’s.”
Silence.
Elvar himself looked as if he already knew.
I turned to him immediately.
“Darven wants your body?”
“He’s my twin.”
“So?”
“My body would be the easiest for him to maintain himself in.”
Jaresta leaned her back against the wall.
“If Darven takes Elvar’s body, where does Elvar go?”
No one answered.
I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Elvar?”
He looked at me.
“Gone.”
One word.
My chest suddenly tightened.
I hated him.
I was supposed to hate him.
He’d hidden too many things from me.
He’d killed me once—or a version of me.
He might be the reason I kept coming back.
But when he said gone, something inside me immediately resisted.
Hard.
Without permission.
I turned my face away.
Darven was seriously annoying.
He was making me question my own feelings.
“Is there a way to close the first door again?”
Mrs. Marjani shook her head.
“Once it’s open, no.”
“Of course.”
“But the other doors can still be prevented.”
I pointed at the word DESIRE.
“This one’s easy.”
Taresa gave a small cough.
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You clearly want to say something.”
“I just...”
She glanced at Elvar.
Then at me.
“Nothing.”
I pointed at her.
“Good.”
Jaresta said flatly,
“You two have chemistry.”
I turned sharply.
“You almost died earlier.”
“That’s why I don’t have the energy to lie.”
I was about to retort when Elvar said,
“Stop.”
His tone made everyone fall silent.
He looked at Mrs. Marjani.
“The third door.”
Mrs. Marjani nodded.
“Memory.”
“What triggers it?”
“You both have to remember the first night in its entirety.”
I immediately remembered.
Rain.
Blood.
Darven.
The ritual.
A voice offering something.
Give me a love that can never be finished.
I shuddered.
“Both of us?”
“Yes.”
“What if I’m the only one who remembers?”
“Not enough.”
“Elvar?”
“Not yet.”
I looked at him.
He avoided my gaze.
“How much have you remembered?”
“Enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“More than before.”
Mrs. Marjani immediately looked worried.
“Elvar.”
“I can still hold it back.”
“No.”
“I can.”
“You always say that.”
Mrs. Marjani’s words made me stop.
Elvar looked at her.
There was history between them.
Obviously.
I immediately remembered the photograph.
Marjani—Fourth Guardian.
I held up the photo.
“Now it’s your turn, ma’am.”
Mrs. Marjani looked at it.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that photo.”
“Who’s the Fourth Guardian?”
“I am.”
“I know.”
I stepped closer.
“What I’m asking is, guardian of what?”
Mrs. Marjani fell silent.
I nearly laughed.
“Why is everyone in this place allergic to giving a straight answer?”
“Savera—”
“No.”
I raised the photograph.
“You’re in this picture from 1989. Your face is the same. It’s 2026 now.”
Taresa froze.
Jaresta turned sharply too.
I’d just realized that we hadn’t even discussed the strangest part.
Mrs. Marjani looked about sixty now.
In the 1989 photo, she looked maybe in her late twenties or early thirties.
Technically, that was still possible.
But—
her face.
It hadn’t changed nearly as much as it should have.
“How old are you?”
Mrs. Marjani gave a faint smile.
“That’s an impolite question.”
“I don’t have the energy to be polite right now.”
“Ninety-two.”
Taresa choked.
“What?”
I stared at Mrs. Marjani.
“That’s impossible.”
“Outside Darwanta, perhaps.”
I felt my stomach drop.
“What did this place do to you?”
“Delayed it.”
“Delayed what?”
“Death.”
Silence.
I looked at the necklace with the number four around her neck.
“Because you’re the guardian?”
“Because I made a deal.”
Elvar immediately tensed.
“Marjani.”
“It had to be discussed eventually.”
I stared at her.
“A deal with Darven?”
Mrs. Marjani nodded.
“Yes.”
The entire room seemed to grow colder.
“Why?”
“Because I was stupid.”
“The real reason.”
She smiled sadly.
“Because I loved someone.”
Of course.
Every disaster in this place seemed to start with someone loving the wrong person.
“Who?”
Mrs. Marjani looked at the photo.
Her finger touched one of the figures.
Not Darven.
Not Elvar.
Not Savera.
Meraya.
I froze.
“You loved my sister?”
“Not in the way you think.”
“What?”
“Meraya is my younger sister.”
The world stopped.
I was sure I’d heard wrong.
“What?”
Elvar lowered his head.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
I looked at him.
“You knew?”
Elvar didn’t answer.
I almost exploded.
“Mrs. Marjani.”
She looked at me.
“Meraya is my sister.”
“In your current life, yes.”
My fingertips went cold.
“What does that mean?”
“In 1989, Meraya wasn’t your sister.”
I took a step back.
No.
I didn’t like where this conversation was going.
“Then who was she?”
“My younger sister.”
I stared at the photo.
Meraya.
Savera.
Elvar.
Darven.
Marjani.
“If Meraya is your sister, why do I remember her as mine?”
“Because your memories were rearranged.”
I grabbed my head.
“Who did it?”
“Darven.”
“Why?”
“So you would be bound to Meraya.”
“I’m already bound to Elvar.”
“Darven needs more than one bond.”
I gave a short laugh.
“Fantastic.”
Taresa stepped a little closer.
“Savera...”
I raised a hand.
“I’m fine.”
Obviously a lie.
I looked at Mrs. Marjani.
“So I never had a sister?”
She was silent.
“Answer me.”
“You did.”
I froze.
“Who?”
Mrs. Marjani closed her eyes for a moment.
“Her name was Vayra.”
That name—
pierced me.
Not because I knew it.
Because my body did.
Suddenly, an image appeared.
A short-haired woman.
Carrying a red umbrella.
Laughing.
Her hand pulling me across the street.
Then a voice—
Savera, don’t tell Mom about Elvar.
I staggered.
Elvar moved.
I pointed at him immediately.
“Don’t touch me.”
He stopped.
I grabbed the table.
“Vayra.”
Mrs. Marjani nodded.
“Your real biological sister.”
“Where is she?”
There was no answer.
I already knew.
“Erased?”
Mrs. Marjani looked at me.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
Strange.
I’d only just remembered one fragment about someone named Vayra.
But the sense of loss already felt like a massive hole.
Maybe the body really could grieve faster than the brain.
“Darven?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the first Savera was close to finding a way to destroy him.”
I opened my eyes.
“He took Vayra to stop me?”
“To destroy you emotionally.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Did it work?”
“No.”
There was something in the way Mrs. Marjani answered.
Pride.
Sadness.
Both.
“The first Savera only came closer to finding the way.”
“Then what?”
“She died.”
I looked at Elvar.
He immediately said,
“It wasn’t me.”
“Not this time?”
Pain appeared on his face.
I regretted saying it.
A little.
But not enough to apologize.
Mrs. Marjani continued,
“The first Savera was killed by Darven.”
“How?”
“By making Elvar believe she was no longer Savera.”
I looked at Elvar.
He looked as if he already knew what came next.
“Did Darven make a copy?”
“No.”
Mrs. Marjani looked at me.
“He switched their memories.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“For one night, Elvar remembered Darven as Savera.”
I felt sick.
“And Savera?”
“She remembered Elvar as Darven.”
Silence.
I looked at them.
Tried to imagine it.
Two people in love with each other.
Both seeing a monster when they looked at the other.
“Then what?”
Elvar answered this time.
“She attacked me.”
I stared at him.
“I defended myself.”
His voice cracked.
“And when her memories came back...”
He stopped.
I didn’t want to know.
But I had to.
“She was already badly wounded.”
Elvar looked at me.
“I held her until she died.”
I turned my face away.
No.
Not me.
The first version.
Not me.
But the pain in my chest didn’t care.
Mrs. Marjani said,
“That was the first death.”
I immediately turned back.
“What?”
Elvar stiffened.
“You said there were three.”
Mrs. Marjani nodded.
“This was the first.”
I stared at Elvar.
“You said one of my deaths was because of you.”
“What I told you before was another cycle.”
I rubbed my face.
“So I’ve died more than three times.”
Silence.
No one looked at me.
I understood immediately.
“How many?”
Elvar said softly,
“Eleven.”
I couldn’t speak.
Taresa swore.
Jaresta stared at the floor.
Mrs. Marjani didn’t move.
I laughed.
At first, it was quiet.
Then louder.
It wasn’t funny.
But if I didn’t laugh, I might scream.
“Eleven.”
Elvar took one step closer.
“Savera.”
I backed away.
“Don’t.”
“I—”
“Eleven times?”
He lowered his head.
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“And you always remember?”
“Not all of them at once.”
“But you knew there were eleven.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“Why did you say three earlier?”
“Because three are the ones I remember clearly.”
“Great.”
I nodded.
“So there are eight deaths of mine that even my own mysterious killer doesn’t remember.”
“Savera.”
“Don’t say my name.”
He fell silent.
I turned away.
I needed air.
Space.
Anything that wasn’t Room 401.
My hand reached for the doorknob.
Mrs. Marjani said,
“Don’t go out.”
I stopped.
“Why?”
“What time is it?”
I took out my phone.
3:43 a.m.
My body immediately went cold.
Rule one.
Don’t be in the hallway between 3:44 and 4:04 a.m.
The numbers changed.
3:44.
At that exact moment—
all the lights in the hallway went out.
A child’s laughter came from behind the door.
Taresa whispered,
“Oh, no.”
I let go of the doorknob.
Mrs. Marjani locked the door.
“Everyone be quiet.”
“What’s passing by?”
“Not something you want to meet.”
“Darven?”
Mrs. Marjani shook her head.
“Older.”
I stared at her.
“Older than Darven?”
“404 wasn’t the first thing to go wrong in this land.”
Great.
Of course.
Why not.
Small footsteps sounded in the hallway.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then a little girl’s voice began to sing.
Softly.
A familiar song.
I froze.
It was the song I always heard in one of my childhood memories.
The one that—
I was told my mother used to sing.
I looked at Mrs. Marjani.
She was pale too.
“Why?”
She raised one finger to her lips.
The footsteps stopped right outside the door.
Silence.
Then—
A small voice.
“Big Sis Savera?”
I stopped breathing.
A little girl’s voice.
“Big Sis?”
My hands trembled.
For some reason, tears immediately sprang to my eyes.
I knew that voice.
Not from my current life.
From somewhere else.
Deep inside.
Very far away.
“Vayra?”
Elvar immediately covered my mouth.
Too late.
I’d already answered.
Everyone froze.
Mrs. Marjani closed her eyes.
“Oh, God.”
The voice outside laughed.
Not like a little girl anymore.
Deeper.
Vibrating.
The door began to knock.
Knock.
Mrs. Marjani whispered,
“Don’t answer again.”
Knock.
I looked at Elvar.
His hand was still over my mouth.
Knock.
Taresa covered both her ears.
The fourth knock never came.
Instead, the child’s voice said,
“Big Sis Savera.”
Then—
“Why do you keep choosing him?”
I froze.
The voice continued,
“He’ll kill you again.”
I didn’t answer.
“Just like before.”
Silence.
Then another voice appeared.
A man’s.
Darven.
“Open the door.”
Mrs. Marjani immediately said,
“Don’t.”
Darven laughed from outside.
“Marjani.”
Mrs. Marjani’s face hardened.
“Still protecting them?”
She didn’t answer.
“After everything I’ve done for your sister?”
Mrs. Marjani clenched her fists.
Darven continued,
“Meraya is still alive because of me.”
I looked at Mrs. Marjani.
She closed her eyes.
The Seventh Savera had been right.
Darven was the one keeping Meraya alive.
“How much does it cost?” I asked.
Mrs. Marjani immediately looked at me.
Darven laughed.
“You learn quickly.”
“Savera, don’t talk to him.”
I stared at the door.
“How much does it cost to keep Meraya alive?”
Silence.
Then Darven answered,
“One name every seven years.”
I froze.
Mrs. Marjani lowered her head.
Taresa whispered,
“What does one name mean?”
I looked at Mrs. Marjani.
“A victim?”
There was no answer.
“Ma’am.”
She opened her eyes.
Tears were there.
“Yes.”
I felt disgusted.
“You’ve been giving people to Darven all this time?”
“Not intentionally.”
“How can it not be intentional?”
“The deal chooses.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course. Always the room. Always the deal. Always nobody’s fault.”
“Savera.”
“How many?”
Mrs. Marjani was silent.
“How many?”
“Seven.”
The room felt smaller.
Seven people.
Erased.
So Meraya could remain.
I remembered Taresa.
Her reflection was gone.
I immediately looked at Mrs. Marjani.
“When was the last payment?”
Mrs. Marjani didn’t answer.
Taresa slowly began to understand.
Her face went pale.
“It’s not me, right?”
I looked at Mrs. Marjani.
“Ma’am.”
She cried.
“It shouldn’t be.”
Taresa backed away.
“What does ‘shouldn’t be’ mean?”
“The deal comes due tonight.”
Everyone froze.
I felt my anger rise impossibly fast.
“So Taresa was chosen?”
“I didn’t know until the first sign appeared.”
“Her reflection.”
Mrs. Marjani nodded.
Taresa covered her mouth.
I immediately stood in front of her.
“No.”
Darven laughed from behind the door.
“The second door will be easier now.”
I stared at the door.
“What does that have to do with it?”
“Because people are most honest when they’re about to lose someone.”
I tensed.
Elvar looked at me.
I immediately understood Darven’s game.
No.
I turned to Elvar.
“Don’t.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“Whatever happens, don’t.”
“Savera.”
“If he offers Taresa in exchange, don’t do it.”
Taresa whispered,
“Do what?”
Darven answered from outside.
“Kiss.”
I closed my eyes.
Damn it.
Darven laughed.
“One kiss.”
No one spoke.
“Taresa stays.”
I looked at Elvar.
He looked at me.
“One door opens.”
Darven continued.
“Fair.”
“No,” I said.
“Your choice.”
“No.”
“Taresa will disappear before four.”
I looked at the clock.
3:50 a.m.
Ten minutes.
Taresa looked at her hands.
Her fingertips looked faint.
Almost transparent.
“Savera.”
I immediately grabbed her hand.
It was cold.
“Taresa.”
“I’m starting to lose feeling in my fingers.”
“No.”
I looked at Mrs. Marjani.
“There has to be another way.”
She shook her head, her face broken.
“There has to be.”
“I don’t know.”
“Find one!”
“Savera.”
I looked at Elvar.
He’d already made his decision.
I could tell from his face.
“No.”
“Savera.”
“Don’t.”
“If I’m the only one who wants it, the door won’t open.”
I froze.
He was right.
Mrs. Marjani had said there had to be genuine desire.
Elvar came closer.
“If you don’t want it, you’re safe.”
I backed away.
“Don’t exploit a loophole in the rules.”
“I just want to save Taresa.”
“And what if Darven’s lying?”
“What if he isn’t?”
Taresa spoke softly,
“Don’t.”
We turned toward her.
Tears fell from her eyes.
“Don’t do it because of me.”
I squeezed her hand.
“Be quiet.”
“Savera.”
“You’re not going to disappear.”
“If the choice is—”
“It’s not a choice.”
Darven laughed outside.
“3:52.”
I hated his voice.
I hated this place.
I hated Elvar for standing in front of me with a face that made everything harder.
I hated myself because some small part of me—
had already wondered what it would feel like to kiss him.
No.
Don’t.
I backed up until my spine touched the table.
Elvar saw the change in my expression.
“Savera.”
“Don’t look at me.”
“I’m not going to do anything.”
“Good.”
“If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop.”
I looked at him.
A simple sentence.
But something about the way he said it—
made another memory appear.
Darkness.
Room 404.
A younger Elvar.
I stood very close to him.
If I tell you to stop?
I’ll stop.
What if I don’t?
He smiled.
Then the memory broke off.
I pressed my fingers to my temples.
“Damn it.”
Elvar knew immediately.
“You remembered something?”
“No.”
A lie.
Darven laughed.
“She remembers.”
I wanted to kill him.
3:55 a.m.
Taresa dropped to her knees.
I immediately caught her.
Her legs were beginning to fade.
“Taresa!”
“I can’t feel my legs.”
Jaresta knelt on the other side.
“Hold her.”
“I am.”
Mrs. Marjani opened the necklace with the number four.
She pressed it to Taresa’s forehead.
Nothing happened.
“Damn it.”
I looked at her.
“Can it help?”
“It used to.”
“Now?”
“Darven is too strong.”
3:57 a.m.
Darven said,
“Not much time left.”
I closed my eyes.
No.
No.
No.
I wasn’t going to play his game.
But Taresa squeezed my hand.
Or tried to.
I could barely feel her fingers.
“Savera.”
I looked at her.
She smiled weakly.
“If I disappear...”
“Don’t.”
“Remember me.”
My chest immediately hurt.
“Be quiet.”
“I’m serious.”
“I said be quiet.”
“My full name is Taresa Mirah.”
Tears fell from my eyes.
“Damn it.”
“I’m twenty.”
“Taresa.”
“I like my coffee way too sweet. I hate geckos. I cheated on an eleventh-grade math exam once.”
I laughed through my tears.
“Why are those the things you want me to remember?”
“So you get the full picture.”
Her body was becoming increasingly transparent.
“And...”
She raised her camera.
“If I disappear, find the film.”
I looked at Elvar.
He didn’t say anything.
But his eyes asked me a question.
The decision was still mine.
That made it even worse.
3:58 a.m.
I stood.
Elvar did too.
“If Darven’s lying—”
“I know.”
“If the door opens—”
“I know.”
“If you change your mind—”
“I’m looking at you.”
“Be quiet for a second.”
Elvar fell silent.
I hated that he listened to me.
I stepped closer.
One step.
Two.
I could hear him breathing.
Taresa was crying behind me.
Mrs. Marjani didn’t say a word.
Darven waited.
I looked at Elvar.
“This isn’t because I like you.”
“I know.”
“It’s not because I want to.”
Elvar looked into my eyes.
“If you truly don’t want to, don’t do it.”
I froze.
Damn it.
Why did he have to say that?
Why couldn’t he make this easier?
Why didn’t he just pull me to him?
Why did he keep giving me a choice?
Because of the first door.
Choice.
The second door.
Desire.
Darven needed both.
I looked at Elvar’s lips.
For only a second.
But he saw it.
I immediately hated myself.
Elvar whispered,
“Savera.”
I closed my eyes.
Then I kissed him.
Only for a moment.
It should’ve been.
The instant our lips touched, the entire world disappeared.
There was no Room 401.
No Darven.
No Taresa.
Only a memory.
Rain in 1989.
I stood on the Fourth Floor balcony.
Elvar stood in front of me.
His hands were on my waist.
I laughed.
“If we can’t live normal lives, let’s run away.”
Elvar smiled.
“Where?”
“Anywhere.”
“Savera.”
“Hmm?”
“What if I forget you someday?”
I kissed him.
“I’ll make you fall in love with me again.”
The memory changed.
Another cycle.
I was crying in Room 404.
Elvar kissed my forehead.
“Don’t do this again.”
“I have to.”
“I’m tired of losing you.”
“Me too.”
Another memory.
I kissed him first.
Again.
And again.
Eleven lives.
Eleven kisses.
Eleven versions of me.
All of them chose the same person.
I jolted back.
But I still hadn’t pulled away.
Elvar’s hands were on my waist.
I didn’t know since when.
And the worst part—
I didn’t want to stop.
That realization hit harder than anything else.
I immediately shoved him away.
Both of us were breathing heavily.
Elvar stared at me.
Shocked.
Not because of the kiss.
Because he’d felt the memories too.
“I remember,” he whispered.
No.
Mrs. Marjani screamed,
“NO!”
Too late.
The walls of Room 401 cracked.
The sound of locks opening echoed throughout the entire building.
Click.
Darven laughed.
The second door.
Open.
I immediately turned toward Taresa.
Her body had returned.
Fully.
She stared at her hands.
“I...”
I ran over and hugged her.
“You’re here.”
Taresa cried.
“I’m here.”
For a few seconds, I was genuinely relieved.
Then Elvar said,
“Savera.”
I turned.
His face was pale.
“What?”
He held his head.
“I remember the first night.”
My heart stopped.
No.
Mrs. Marjani stepped back.
“How much?”
Elvar looked at me.
His eyes were filled with fear.
“All of it.”
Click.
The sound of a second lock.
No.
The third.
The walls shook harder.
Mrs. Marjani whispered,
“The third door.”
I looked at Elvar.
“No.”
Darven laughed.
The door to Room 401 opened by itself.
The hallway outside no longer looked like Darwanta Guesthouse.
Only darkness remained.
Darven stood in the middle of it.
His body was much clearer now.
Almost completely human.
He smiled.
“Three.”
I froze.
Mrs. Marjani said,
“No.”
Darven raised a hand.
“Only one left.”
I looked at the writing in the book.
REPLACEMENT.
“How does the last door open?” I asked.
Mrs. Marjani didn’t answer.
Darven did.
“Simple.”
He looked at Elvar.
Then at me.
“One of you has to willingly lose your name so the other can stay alive.”
I swallowed.
Darven smiled.
“And this time...”
He glanced at Taresa.
“...you already know how easy it is to choose the person you love.”
I clenched my fists.
“I don’t love him.”
Darven laughed.
Elvar didn’t.
That was worse.
Darven looked at me like someone who knew the answer even before I did.
“Then the fourth door shouldn’t be a problem.”
He backed into the darkness.
Before disappearing, he said,
“Ask Elvar what happened to the Eleventh Savera.”
I immediately looked at Elvar.
His expression changed.
Darven smiled.
“Oh.”
“He hasn’t told you?”
“Elvar.”
He closed his eyes.
“What happened?”
There was no answer.
“Elvar.”
Mrs. Marjani lowered her head.
Jaresta turned away.
Even Taresa looked afraid.
I knew.
Everyone in the room knew except me.
“What happened to the Eleventh Savera?”
Elvar finally opened his eyes.
Tears pooled there.
“She didn’t die.”
I froze.
“Then what?”
Elvar looked at me.
“She managed to replace me.”
Silence.
I didn’t understand.
Or didn’t want to.
“What does that mean?”
Elvar said very softly,
“The Eleventh Savera is still alive.”
My chest stopped.
“Where?”
Elvar looked toward Room 404, which was slowly appearing at the end of the dark hallway.
Its door was open.
A woman stood inside.
My face.
Paler.
Thinner.
Wearing a long black dress.
There was a ring on her finger.
She smiled at me.
Then looked at Elvar.
Not with longing.
With hatred.
“Long time no see.”
I couldn’t move.
The woman stepped out of Room 404.
Elvar whispered,
“The Eleventh Savera.”
She smiled.
“No.”
Her gaze shifted to me.
“I’m the Savera who managed to survive.”
Then she pointed at Elvar.
“And I’m here to make sure he’s the one who dies this time.”