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The words taste bitter as they leave my mouth. The fear of the unknown, of losing who I am, claws at me. What if the person Ren kissed tonight—the person I am in this moment—is not the real me?

What if I was someone who would not even be in love with Ren?I don’t voice this last fear aloud because it’s too painful to even consider.

“Rapunzel.” Aurora squeezes my fingers again, her voice soft but steady. “I think you’re asking the wrong question.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“You keep wonderingwhat ifyou were in love with Prince Theron before. But maybe the better question is: who are you in love with now?”

My breath catches.

Aurora continues. “You could spend your whole life chasing a memory that might never return. And even if it does, it might not feel the same once it’s here. You’ve changed. Time changes people. And you’ve been through so much in the past three years.

“You were betrayed by someone who claimed to love you and care for you. When all along, Drusilla was actually holding you captive. She was the one who’d stolen your memories. And Ren saved you and he has been there for you through the pain of that betrayal. And in the midst of all of this, you found love.”

I shake my head. “But if I belong to someone else—”

“You don’t belong toanyone,” Aurora says. “Not Prince Theron. Not even Ren. You belong toyourself.And that meansyou get to choose. Not based on the past, but based on who you are now.”

Her words sink in, quiet and true.

She shakes her head. “You don’t have to wait for the person you were. You can choose to live as the person you are. Right here. Right now. And I’veseenthe way you look at Ren. The way he looks at you. That’s not something you find every day.”

Tears burn behind my eyes.

“And if you keep waiting until everything makes perfect sense, you might miss something beautiful that’s already blooming. Life doesn’t pause just because the past is unclear. It keeps moving forward. And sometimes, we have to be brave enough to move with it.”

Aurora’s eyes meet mine evenly. “You don’t need permission to follow your heart, Rapunzel. It’s already yours.”

A quiet breath escapes me as her words touch something deep within. She’s right. I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know if I’ll remember my past or discover some long-lost truth that changes everything. But in this moment, I do know this: I’m in love with Ren now, and I want to choosehim.

CHAPTER 34

RAPUNZEL

The morning air is crisp and the sky is blanketed with clouds, threatening rain as we say our goodbyes.

“Stay safe,” Aurora says, pulling me into a tight embrace. “Perhaps you can come visit again someday?”

I’ve never had a friend, as far as I can remember, and it was lovely to have someone else to talk to. We only just met, but I already know that I will miss her terribly. “I’d love that.”

Thalric stands beside her, his wings folded tight against his back, his tail curled around her ankle. He clasps Ren’s forearm, and Ren does the same in return. “Safe travels, my friend,” Thalric says. “And may the gods favor you both.”

I smile at him. “Thank you.”

Aurora gives me one last hug before we leave, promising me that we’ll see each other again in the future. I hope she’s right.

It’s a fairly short walk from Aurora’s home to the main part of the village. Oakvale’s streets are bustling with early morning activity—merchants setting up their stalls, the scent of freshbread wafting from a nearby bakery, voices rising and falling in barter.

Ren walks beside me, my arm looped through his as we make our way to the village center to find the blacksmith Thalric told us about.

It doesn’t take long to find it as we stop before a two-story stone building with a heavy iron sign swinging above the door, stamped with the image of a hammer and anvil. Black smoke curls from the chimney, the tang of molten metal thick in the air.

The door creaks as we step inside, the heat from the forge wrapping around us like a thick cloak. Tools hang in neat rows on the walls, and weapons glint from their displays—swords, axes, and knives.

Ren rings the bell on the counter, and a massive Orc emerges from the back. He looks us up and down as he wipes the soot from his hands onto his leather apron. “Greetings,” he says with a friendly smile. “My name is Brakkus. What can I do for you today?”

He is at least half a head taller than Ren and heavily muscled. He has vivid blue eyes, green skin, and his thick, dark hair tied back in a short tail. With his sharp tusks peeking from his lower lip, he appears rather intimidating and I find myself moving a bit closer to Ren.