CHAPTER 103: WELCOME BACK MISS VALE

Celeste’s hand trembled, the bloody feather clutched tightly in her fingers as she stared at me crouched on the floor, both hands locked around my neck where warm blood seeped through my fingers.

"Are—are you okay?" she asked, her voice shaking badly.

I nodded weakly.

"Don’t worry... this is the only way," I whispered, forcing the words out even as my throat burned. "I need to die here... to return there..."

Her eyes filled instantly.

"You don’t mean that," she sobbed. "There has to be another way—there has to be—"

"I believe this is the best way," I said softly. "She managed to use our body because we are still alive... so if I die here, I’ll respawn there... and she will be out of my body..."

My voice wavered at the end.

Because deep down, I was only hoping my theory was right.

My fingers tightened weakly at my neck, the warmth slipping through my hand faster now.

Celeste shook her head, tears spilling freely. "What if you don’t come back?" she whispered. "What if you just... disappear?"

I swallowed hard.

"Then at least she won’t be wearing my body anymore," I said quietly.

The words hurt to say.

But they felt true.

Celeste choked on a sob and fell to her knees in front of me, gripping the feather like it was the last thing holding me to this world.

"What about me?" she cried. "What should I do? I’ll be alone again if you’re gone..."

My heart twisted painfully.

I leaned forward with what little strength I had left and wrapped my arms around her, ignoring the burning in my throat.

"You won’t be," I whispered into her hair, even as my voice shook. "Not this time."

She clung to me like she was afraid I’d vanish the second she let go.

"You’re not meant to stay here forever," I murmured. "If I succeed... I’ll make sure to bring you out of here."

Then my voice faltered, "And if I fail..." I swallowed hard, holding onto my breath, "I’m sure they will find you. And they’ll bring you out."

Celeste shook her head, pressing her forehead against mine as if she could keep me here by force alone.

"I really hope it works," she whispered.

My chest tightened painfully and blood spilled from my mouth.

Celeste cried out and grabbed me at once, her hands shaking as she tried to hold me upright.

"I’m sorry... I’m sorry..." she sobbed again and again, tears dripping onto my face.

"It’s okay," I breathed, even as my vision began to blur. "It’s okay... I asked you to do that..."

The world around us started to lose its shape. The white walls of the maze wavered, stretching and pulling like they were made of paper instead of stone.

I felt cold.

Then warm.

Then nothing at all.

My fingers slipped from her sleeve.

"Celeste..." I whispered faintly. "Don’t forget me..."

Her crying became distant.

So distant and then the maze went dark.

====

Pain exploded through my lungs.

I gasped violently and sucked in air like I had been drowning for years.

My body jerked forward and my head slammed against something solid beneath me, cold and hard.

The world rushed in all at once, the smell of paper, the faint trace of ink, the unfamiliar weight of a room I shouldn’t have been in.

I blinked.

Coughed.

And choked on another breath as burning air scraped my throat from the inside out.

I was under a table.

The same table.

The long clerk’s desk near Lucian’s office.

My fingers trembled as they pressed against the cold floor, my whole body shaking as memory crashed into reality all at once.

"Thank God..." My voice came out thin and uneven as my hands moved over my arms, my shoulders, my chest just to make sure I was real, that I was here. My breath hitched when I felt bare skin beneath my palms.

Naked.

Again.

The same way it happened the first time.

A strange laugh almost bubbled out of my throat but died halfway through, turning into a broken exhale instead. There was no time to think about it. No time to panic. I needed to move.

I pushed myself upright too fast and nearly lost my balance, clutching the edge of the clerk’s table to steady myself before instinct kicked in.

I dropped back down quickly and peeked out from beneath the desk.

Empty.

The office was silent. No footsteps. No voices. No sign of anyone nearby.

Relief washed through me so hard my chest ached.

Slowly, I crawled out from under the table, every nerve in my body still screaming like I had just been dragged back from the edge of something I wasn’t meant to return from.

Only when my bare feet touched the floor fully did it finally sink in.

I had really come back.

Pressing my lips into a thin line, I pushed myself to move, not allowing relief to slow me down. I rushed out into the corridor and straight toward Lucian’s office, my heart hammering louder than my footsteps as memories of the last time I stood here twisted painfully in my chest.

I didn’t bother knocking.

I slipped inside and headed straight for his wardrobe like I had done before, but the moment I snapped it open, I froze.

The whole wardrobe was now full of my clothes. Half was filled with his, and the other half was filled with mine, as if he had been preparing for the day this moment might come.

"Lucian..." I muttered softly, pouting my lips as I tried to hold back my emotions.

I picked one shirt at random, my fingers trembling as I pulled it against my chest. It still smelled faintly like him, cold and clean and painfully familiar. I changed in a hurry, my heart refusing to slow down no matter how much I told it to.

Once dressed, I stood there for a moment, staring at my reflection in the mirror, "Let’s go, Lucian must be waiting..."

I turned but then the same familiar sound chimed right next to me...

"Welcome back, Miss Vale..."