Maya's POV
Maya woke up drowning.
Not in water. In information. In memories that weren't hers. In experiences from lives she had never lived.
She saw herself dying across two hundred and forty-seven different ways. Saw herself winning battles. Losing kingdoms. Building things. Destroying things. All of it flooding into her mind at once.
She screamed.
Someone grabbed her. Held her down. She fought them until she realized it was Kaden.
"I'm here," he was saying. "I'm here. You're okay."
"I'm not," Maya gasped. "I'm drowning. There are too many versions of me. Too many—"
"Breathe," Kaden said. "Just breathe."
The memories started to organize themselves. Started to make sense. She wasn't drowning. She was integrating. All the fractured pieces of herself from every iteration were coming back together.
She stopped fighting and let it happen.
When it was done, Maya understood something terrible and beautiful.
