Chapter Text
Reyna’s POV
I was running so fast my lungs felt like they might collapse. The air around me was thick and heavy, every breath clawing its way in like it didn't want to be there. Glass shimmered on every side-walls of mirrors, all reflecting distorted versions of me, of Jackie, of everything. My boots slapped against the polished floor, my voice echoing back at me over and over.
“Jackie!”
Nothing.
“Jackie, answer me!”
Her voice had been here. I heard her. I swear I heard her. But it kept shifting-bouncing from one side of the room to the next, never staying in one place long enough to follow. Left. Right. Behind me. Ahead. Each time I turned, it slipped away again, like mist through fingers.
"Reyna..." the voice came again-so soft this time, I spun too fast, slipping slightly on the floor.
Where was she?
Where was I?
I turned a corner and skidded to a halt. My heart plummeted.
A dead end.
“No, no, no…” My palms hit the mirror in front of me, cold and smooth. It gave nothing back. Just my own reflection staring back at me-wide-eyed, flushed, desperate. I could see fear creeping in behind my pupils like fog seeping into a valley.
Summer was right.
This place was twisted. This whole thing-whatever it was-was never just a trial. It was a trap.
A punishment.
And maybe Jackie was already gone. Maybe Summer needed me and I had left her behind. The panic began to bloom in my chest like wildfire.
I turned to run back-back to Summer, back to anywhere-but then-
“Reyna…”
Her voice again. Softer. But clear.
I spun.
And that’s when I saw it.
One mirror-just one-rippling, like water struck by a stone.
My breath hitched.
I didn’t think. I didn’t plan. I didn’t doubt.
I just ran.
“Please be real,” I whispered, eyes squeezing shut, arms bracing.
I hit the mirror-
And fell through.
I landed hard.
The ground beneath me was stone-cracked, cold, unforgiving. The air shifted. Heavy. Still. The kind of quiet that hummed in your ears.
I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the dim light.
It was a square room. No windows. The walls were rough concrete, dark and pitted with age. Shadows moved with the flicker of the only light-candles. Dozens of them, lining the walls, their flames dancing like they knew something I didn’t.
It smelled like dust and wax and time.
It felt like a dungeon. Like the kind of place I used to dream about when I was a kid-reading fantasy novels with sword-wielding heroes and ancient trials.
I let out a sharp, breathy laugh. “Wow. Super cool. Look at me. Totally the main character now.”
But the smile died before it could settle.
Because I saw them.
All of them.
Tied together on the cold stone floor.
Still.
Silent.
My breath caught in my throat. For one long moment, I couldn’t even move.
They were all here-Summer, Flora, Penny, Raya, Talia, Jackie-but they didn’t look right. Their eyes were open, but blank. Glazed over. Their skin pale, almost waxy. Still breathing, but barely.
They looked like those wax figures you see in museums. The ones that pretend to be alive. The ones that always gave me chills as a kid.
“Jackie?” I whispered. “Talia?”
No response.
Panic crawled into my chest again, wrapping around my ribs like vines.
I dropped to my knees, reaching for Flora first. Her head lolled when I touched her shoulder.
“Guys, please… it’s me. It’s Reyna.”
No reaction. They didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t even seem to see me.
Then-suddenly-a desk appeared. Just materialized in front of me. Heavy, dark wood. Old and imposing.
On it: a single scroll, glowing with a soft, golden light.
I didn’t move.
I didn’t care about the scroll.
I just wanted them to wake up.
I crawled to Jackie’s side. Her head was slumped against Penny’s shoulder. Her hand limp. I touched her wrist. Still warm. Still there.
“Please wake up,” I whispered. “I’m here. I made it. I’m here.”
But nothing changed.
And then-
“Welcome to the second trial, Reyna.”
The voice echoed across the room like thunder wrapped in silk.
I went still. My blood went cold.
Daybreaker.
They were watching.
“You’ve done well to get this far,” the voice continued. “But let’s be honest, Reyna. You’re tired, aren’t you?”
I clenched my jaw.
“Tired of giving. Tired of hurting. Tired of being the one left behind.”
“Shut up,” I muttered.
“They only came for you because they needed Jackie back.”
“No-”
“Who did they run to first?”
The words sliced through me. I didn’t want them to. But they did.
They had run to Jackie first. The moment we got out of the cell.
But they didn’t see me. I know they didn’t see me. I was invisible. That’s why.
Right?
My hands were shaking now. My breath uneven. My own brain was turning on me, whispering things I didn’t want to hear.
“They don’t love you the way you love them,” Daybreaker said softly. “You were always just... there. Useful. Loyal. But not needed.”
“STOP IT!”
My scream echoed off the walls. My fists slammed against the stone floor.
“Just tell me what I need to do to save them!”
A low, taunting laugh.
“So eager. So noble.”
The voice softened again.
“Read the scroll.”
I stood up slowly, backing away from my friends. My legs were weak. My whole body felt like it was made of glass.
I approached the scroll.
It pulsed with warm light. Tempting.
I reached out.
And the world vanished.
I was in a city. Not just any city. My city.
Skyline views. A sleek apartment. Warm sunlight through tall windows.
A couch. A messy-haired Jackie wrapped in a blanket, smiling at me like she never forgot me. Like we had always been here. Together.
“Come back to bed, sugar,” she says, reaching for my hand.
I was the star of my favorite sport. Crowds cheering. My name echoing through arenas.
It was perfect.
Too perfect.
And I didn’t want to leave.
But I did.
I woke up again, gasping.
Back in the dungeon. Back in the dark.
The candles flickered.
Daybreaker was waiting.
“You can have it,” she said. “All of it. Just you and Jackie. Leave the others behind. Or…”
I already knew.
“Or… sacrifice yourself,” she purred. “Trade your future. Your memories. They’ll all be free. But none of them will remember you. It will be like Reyna never existed.”
I stared at the scroll.
I couldn’t move.
Couldn’t speak.
No matter what I chose… I lost.
I dropped to the floor again.
“No,” I whispered. “No. Please…”
“Choose,” Daybreaker said.
I looked at my friends. Still unmoving. Still silent.
And I remembered.
Talia’s scream when Jackie was stabbed-the kind of scream that came from someone who loved us.
Flora’s gentle voice, always knowing what we needed even when we didn’t.
Summer’s hands shaking when she told me how scared she was of becoming that person again-and how hard she fought not to.
Penny’s laughter in the face of chaos, the jokes she cracked just to see us smile.
Raya’s brilliant, hopeful mind-the kind that could save the world if we just gave her time.
And Jackie.
Even when she forgot me, even when everything was stripped away-she still reached for me.
Because her heart still knew mine.
Because love doesn’t vanish. Not really.
And even if none of them remember me…
I’ll remember them.
And that’s enough.
It has to be.
I stood up.
Walked to the scroll.
And signed my name.
I looked at them one last time.
“I love you,” I whispered.
Then I closed my eyes, knelt on the floor-
And let go.
Arms wrapped around me.
Warm. Real. Alive.
My eyes flew open.
Talia was crying. Flora was sobbing. Penny was laughing and hugging too tightly. Raya was babbling something I couldn’t hear through the ringing in my ears.
They were all awake.
They were all okay.
They remembered me.
I couldn’t speak.
Tears slipped down my cheeks, quiet, unnoticed. I just let them fall.
Let myself feel it.
Let myself breathe again.
Then I saw her.
Jackie.
She stood a little apart from the others.
But she was smiling.
My heart ached.
She still didn’t remember.
But she was here.
Safe.
And maybe… that was enough too.
I smiled back.
Because I would choose them every time.
Even if they never chose me.