Diana's pov

I gasp awake, lungs burning as though I've been drowning. My hands fly up to my chest, my heart hammering too loud, too fast. I'm not in Sanctum. Not in the woods. Not even in my own body, maybe.

The room around me is grey, familiar in a way that makes my throat ache. My room when I lived on the ark. Echoes of voices drift through the walls- Madi's laughter, Bellamy's voice calling my name, the others murmuring like ghost.

My eyes fall on the walls. Every inch is covered in drawings. My drawings. The ones I used to scratch into old scraps of paper when I was just a kid on the ark, on earth.

I reached out and trace one with trembling fingers- Bellamy's face, the way I remembered it before the ground, before the blood. The memory crashes into me so vividly I can hear him:

—"I love you, sky boy" —
—"I love you, grounder girl" —

My breath shudders as I move to another drawing. Madi's little hands clasped in mine, her smile brighter than the sun.

—"If I was with them, I would have never met you" I had told her once, her head resting on my lap. —

I blink back tears.
"What is this place?" I mutter

The door creaks. I push it open and step through.

The ark walls melt away, replaced by sunlight. I'm home again- shadow valley. The small place Madi and I had made for ourselves. My hair is braided the way it was then, my clothes shifting on my skin as if the memory itself has dressed me.

And standing in the corner, waiting for me, is him.

"Lincoln?" My voice breaks as he turns, and his familiar smile nearly destroys me. I stumble forward and throw myself into his arms.

"Hello, Diana." He said, his voice soft.

Tears blurred my vision.
"How is this possible? How are we here?" I ask

He doesn't answer right away. Instead, he pulls back, searching my face.
"What's the last thing you remember?" He asks

The answer slices through me.
"I died." I whisper

He guides me to sit, his hand warm on mine.
"Now you rest, just for a while." He says

I shake my head. Not believing it.
"It's over. I've been fighting for so long." I breath out

"I know, you have." He said

I look up at him.
"I never thought I'd see you again.... I didn't get to say goodbye. To Bellamy, Madi. To anyone." I said

A low rumble shakes the room. Rain begins to fall outside, a sudden storm breaking against windows. I stand to my feet.

"What the hell?" I whisper

I turn to Lincoln.
"It started when I got upset." I say

"Diana, listen. What do you hear?" He asks, voice calm.

"Rain?" I mutter

He slightly laughs.
"I'm serious. Focus. Between the raindrops. What else do you hear?" He asks again

I close my eyes, forcing myself to block out the storm. And then I hear it- faint, steady, buried beneath everything else.

A heartbeat.

My eyes snap open.
"A heartbeat. I'm still alive. No, no, I saw it. He killed me." I shake my head

"He didn't." Lincoln says simply

I step back, panic rising.
"You're not real. You're just in my head. I loved being here with Madi. And I love you, so here you are." I mutter

He pulls me into a hug, his voice low against my ear.
"Maybe. Maybe not. But listen to me, Diana- This place isn't the end. It's your mind, snd it's keeping you alive. Go figure it out. I'll be here if you need me. Go on. Keep fighting" He says

The doors opens again behind me, and I know it's time. With one last look at him, I step through.

The world shifts.

Now I'm standing in a vast, empty hall. It looks like the ark, but not quite- the corridors stretch in too many different directions, a maze of half- remembered places.

At the far end, one door stands out. Red. Glowing faintly as though it's alive.

I freeze. I've never seen this before.

"What the hell is going on?" I whisper. Voices echo behind the door, strange voices I don't recognize.

But before I can move closer, another door creaks open behind me. I spin around- and suddenly my clothes and hair change again. The black clothes of the commander weigh on my shoulders, the symbol heavy against my forehead.

A woman stands waiting. Dark hair. Calm eyes.

"Becca" I breathe

She turns with a smile.
"Hello, Diana." She said

I stumble forward, desperate for answers.
"Becca, I don't understand. How am I here? How are you here? The flame- it should be destroyed. " I say

Her gaze softens.
"The flame hid itself when they tried to kill you. That's why you're still here. But if they discover it, if they realize it's inside you still, they'll finish what they started." She told me

I stare at her, unable to breathe.
"The flame saved me" I mumble

She nods. Then she presses her hand to the wall. The surface ripples, the memory spills out- my own memory, the moment the flame was first implanted into me. It solidifies in her hand as a chip, glowing faintly.

"If I were you- and in a way, I am- id keep this memory safe." She presses it into my palm.

I tuck it away, my hands shaking.
"Thank you." I nod

Becca tilts her head, studying me.
"The mind is a strange thing. Your painful memories, the ones you can't face? They're locked away, deep in the corners you refuse to touch. But they're still here, waiting. You haven't let them go" She says

Her words sink like stones in my chest. But something about that stood out to me.

"Wait. These are my memories, my mind. But there's something over never seen before." I say

I step closer to the door. My pulse raised. My mind racing.

The red door slams open with a violent crash. I stumble back as shadows spill out, curling across the floor like smoke.

And then she steps through.

"Diana Gray. It's nice to meet you. I've heard so many things, most of them murdery but you know. No judgment." She said

My blood runs cold.
"Josephine?" I mutter

"In the flesh. But you shouldn't have opened that door. This body is not big enough for the both of us." She said, taking steps closer. A smile on her face.