Chapter 16
545words
The cold stone corridors were empty except for the guards, who bowed as I passed. In a few hours, Ethan would be escorted to the border. The Mark of Exile had already been burned into his forehead—a silver scar that would never fade.
The dungeon door creaked open. Ethan sat slumped against the wall, staring at nothing. Three days of imprisonment had aged him years.
He looked up as I entered. No surprise in his eyes.
"Come to gloat?" he said, leaning back against the stone wall.
"Come to give you a gift," I replied.
I dismissed the guards with a gesture. They retreated, leaving us alone in the flickering torchlight.
"What gift could you possibly give me now?"
I settled onto the stone bench across from his cell.
"You know, we had a child, Ethan."
The words hit him like a physical blow.
"The one I was carrying when you executed me on that blood moon night."
His face went white.
"Three months pregnant. I was going to surprise you with the news."
Ethan's breathing became shallow.
"Do you remember what I was holding when you found me that night? When you dragged me to the execution stone?"
His hands began to tremble.
"A tiny pair of silver baby shoes," I said softly. "I'd been embroidering them for weeks. Little crescents and stars. For our little moon child."
"No," he whispered. "You never... I never saw..."
"Because you ripped them from my hands and threw them into the fire. You couldn't wait to watch me suffer."
The memory hit him like lightning. His face crumpled.
"They were a gift, Ethan. For our child."
"No," he whispered, the memory flooding back. "This can't be..."
"I was trying to tell you about our baby. But you wouldn't listen."
Ethan's face crumpled completely.
"Do you know what our child's first word would have been? I used to imagine it every night in that cell. 'Papa.' They would have called you Papa."
"Stop, please..." his screams echoed through the dungeon.
"You killed your own wife and unborn child," I continued relentlessly. "You burned our baby's first gift. You destroyed a future where you could have been loved unconditionally."
"And the cruelest part?" I said, "I forgave you even as your claws tore through my throat. I forgave you for choosing her over me. I forgave you for believing lies over truth. I forgave you for destroying our family, our future, our child."
Tears streamed down his face.
"But here's what I realized when I was reborn," I said, standing up. "Forgiveness is a gift. And you never deserved it."
I walked to the door, then paused.
"Enjoy your exile. Every breath will remind you of what you destroyed. Every sunset will show you what you lost."
His broken sobs followed me into the darkness.
Two hours later, I watched from the palace walls as Ethan was escorted to the border. He looked back once, his eyes finding mine across the distance.
Then he turned and walked into the wilderness, alone.
The last shadow of my previous life disappeared forever.
Justice was complete.
The circle was closed.
And for the first time in two lifetimes, I was free.
