What did Adrian assume himself to be?
Adrian?
Avirin?
Or Lex?
If he were honest with himself, the answer was neither simple nor clean.
He felt like Adrian.
Not entirely, but enough that the name responded when spoken, enough that his instincts, bonds, and choices aligned with it. Lex was there too, embedded in him like an echo that refused to fade. Memories, habits, fragments of thought that surfaced without warning. As for Avirin… that identity still felt incomplete, like a garment he had inherited but never tailored to fit.
He hadn't truly become Avirin. Not fully.
If that was the case, then why had he never told Ariana or anyone else?
The answer surfaced before he could avoid it.
Because Ariana would never be able to accept that the man she loved carried the soul of someone else.
Cousin. Lover. Anchor.
