"Excuse me, but I have a major issue with the current hierarchy, okay? Everyone keeps calling me the deuteragonist, but let's be real—I should be the protagonist. I should be the leader.

Think about it: I was the very first person to be awakened by Moa as a chosen one. First. I paved the way. I was here before anyone else, including Dean. If you're the first one to step up, doesn't that make you the one in charge? It just makes sense.

I have the power to back it up, too. I'm a reincarnated Amazon warrior who controls fire. That makes me the strongest female warrior we have, and I've got the title to prove it: 'The Amazon of fiery beauty.'

Plus, I’m the whole package. I'm the prettiest girl in 7th grade, I’m the fastest runner, and I’m smart enough to ace math. I look better, I fight better, and I think I have a much better grasp on strategy than some people. Honestly, putting someone else in charge after I was the first one chosen just feels like a waste of talent.

I'm twelve, I'm fierce, and I'm ready to lead. Maybe if I’d been in charge from the beginning—say, right after I showed up in Chapter 1—we'd have already finished this whole war. Just saying."

Past

"It’s a strange thing, isn't it? To go from being the girl who was chased out of a village—worthless, terrified, almost killed by a boy’s cruel joke—to becoming the leader of the Amazons. The woman who lived by the strength of her own hand, who was taught by the best, who became the best. I remember the feel of that village dust beneath my bare feet as I ran, and the roar of the women cheering when I finally won my spear in the training pits. That life, the warrior's life, that was my salvation.

When the sea god took my tribe… that was a loss I still carry. A cold, endless weight. But it didn't break me. Even not amazon, it made the rest of us—Jill, and later Lexie, even Moa, who saw something more in us—a tighter knot. A bond forged in shared purpose, serving Princess Katrina’s kingdom. My family, they found their strength, too. To see my kin, my little sister Lexie with her fierce witch magic, standing beside me, protecting the kingdom… it almost healed the old wounds.

Death

I was saving them. The mothers, the children, the ones who reminded me so much of that terrified girl I once was. And then Leonard appeared. The boulder. The weight was crushing, the pain immediate and blinding, but it was the slowness of it that etched itself into my very soul. I could see them, the villagers, the fear in their eyes. I could hear their whispers.

And I died waiting. Waiting for a single person to try and shift that impossible stone, to risk their safety for mine, for the person who was dying for theirs. No one came.

Present

The girl I was before Moa, before the memories, she was an illusion. She smiled, she lived, but she was fundamentally broken. I couldn't look anyone in the eye and ask them to bear my burden. That's the wound that never heals—dying alone with that damned boulder crushing the life out of me, and the faces of people who chose to watch. My deepest programming is: Rely on no one.

That's also why I’m conflicted about men. I find myself caring for them—for Grant, especially—but there’s always a wall.

For Grant, he is my second chance at trust. I swore to protect him, and that oath is absolute. He will not be a casualty of my war or a victim of my past. I am done being the one who needs saving; I am now the one who saves him.

For Jill, Katrina and Veronica, these three are the threads of my continuity. Jill, my sister in arms, and Katrina, and Veronica, whose gentle spirit I failed to guard once before. My vow to them is simple: I will be there. No matter the threat, no matter the distance, they will never look for me and find an empty space.

Brandonlee, he didn't just hurt Veronica; he killed her. That is a crime that eclipses all others. Veronica's death under his hands is a raw, unforgivable offense. That rage isn't hot; it's ice. Brandonlee is a loose end from the past, and I intend to tie it—permanently. He will face the Amazon's justice.

The Sea God, is the ultimate enemy. He destroyed my home, he stole my sisters, and his cruelty led directly to my death. My reincarnation isn't a happy accident; it's a judgment delivered by fate. I was an Amazon leader, the best of the tribe. Now I am back, and I will use this life to erase him. He ended my first life; I will end his existence. The Sea God will drown.

I have my memories, I have my resolve, and I have my targets. The time for hesitation is over."