Asher lay motionless on the bed. Then one finger moved. Then a second. His eyelids trembled, fluttered open, and he finally woke up.
He sat up with difficulty, a hand pressed to his temple. A terrible headache was drilling into his skull. He looked around, lost.
"Where… am I?"
His eyes swept the room. The furniture, the curtains, the canopy… everything was painfully familiar. Suddenly, the shock hit him full force.
"No… this isn't possible…"
He jumped up and raced down the stairs. Just as he turned to take the central staircase, he collided head-on with someone.
"Sor—"
He couldn't finish the word. The shock was too great.
"Kat… Katrina…?"
Katrina smiled gently at him.
"Hi… Asher. Fully awake?"
He stared at her, completely stunned.
"Am I dead?"
"No," she answered with an amused smile. "But… you did try."
"But… but how… are you…?"
"That's a long story. How about we walk in the garden and talk about it?"
Asher looked at her with suspicion.
"Alright… but… are you sure I'm not dead?"
Katrina rolled her eyes, exasperated. She raised her hand and sent a small shock spell at him. Asher jumped.
"Ouch! That hurts!"
"Now are you convinced you're among the living?" she asked in a satisfied tone.
Asher said nothing, contenting himself with rubbing his shoulder.
"Good. Let's go."
They headed toward the garden. Later, sitting on a stone bench, Katrina told him everything: Léana's sacrifice, the reincarnation spell, her own resurrection in a rejuvenated body.
When she finished, Asher remained silent for a moment.
"I'm glad Léana was able to make the right choice in the end… However… how did we end up here?"
"Well… the others told me that originally, you were preparing to move after the attack that caused my death."
"Yes, that's right. But I never wanted to bring you here. Looking back, we should have come… but I was hesitant."
Katrina looked at him.
"And why is that?"
Asher lowered his eyes.
"I think you noticed the portrait on the landing wall, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"So you know this is my house… and that of my former love. Who, moreover, is an almost perfect photocopy of Miria."
Katrina remained thoughtful.
"So… you're saying you didn't want us to come here because of that?"
"I know it's stupid," Asher admitted. "But I didn't want Miria to feel uncomfortable. After all… living in a house where there are pictures of the ex-girlfriend of the man you love, and that woman looks exactly like you… I didn't want her to think she was a replacement."
Katrina remained silent, clearly troubled.
"What?" Asher asked. "What's wrong?"
"Had you told Miria about this place?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Katrina… I may have lost my mind because of the control spell, but not my memory."
Katrina stared at him, even more troubled.
"But then… how is it that Miria told me it was you who told her about it?"
Asher jolted.
"What?"
"Yes. When I asked her how she knew this place, she answered that it was you who had told her about it."
"I swear I never told her about this place. I planned to take us somewhere else, to another city… but not here."
Katrina took a deep breath.
"You know… there's also something else."
"What is it?"
She then told him in detail about the depossession: how Miria had taken on the appearance of the first Miria, how she had recalled precise memories to him, and Asher's reaction.
Asher remained stunned.
"You… you mean Miria talked about the origin of the ring I gave her for protection… and that she even knows my parents' names?! But that's impossible! Only the former Miria would know that. I never told Miria… your daughter… about those things."
Katrina nodded, her face dark.
"Yes… that's what troubles me. I feel like I'm facing two different people. And I wonder… this Miria… is she my daughter… or your first love?"
Asher stood up from the bench, equally troubled.
"Well… I think what's left to do is confront her. I'm going to find her and ask her directly."
He was about to leave, but Katrina grabbed his hand.
"And if it really is your first love… won't it be dangerous to confront her?"
Asher frowned.
"Why?"
Katrina didn't answer.
"Listen," Asher resumed. "Miria isn't evil. Besides… why would she want to harm us? That makes no sense."
He gently withdrew his hand and walked away in search of Miria.