"If you are going to be on my side, then why do I need to take sides?" Emira asked slowly even though every instinct in her wanted to run away and analyse everything that she had learnt. Suddenly, she felt overwheld with feelings.
Initially, she only wanted revenge from her father and to live happily with Lance, Zen and Kael. But now, things were different. Her loyalties were different. She was not just Emira but also Mira.
Emira took a deep breath and clenched her hands as she stared at the man in front of her, reminding herself that she needed to keep her emotions aside if she wanted to bring an end to this matter once and for all. Only then would they be able to live peacefully.
She stared at the man in front of her. His cold smile and warm gaze were a contradiction that she needed to find an answer to. The Aron from all those centuries ago may not have done anything wrong, but this one, standing in front of her now, carrying the weight of ti and power, was not so innocent.
She could not afford to blur the two together.
She needed to rember the Ruins. Yes. The Ruins. The word echoed in her mind like a warning. Hadn’t his followers sacrificed nine hundred and ninety-nine ogas to bring him back? Hadn’t the ground itself been soaked in blood for his return? And he had done nothing to stop them. Wasn’t it because he wanted to return? And if that ant a thousand innocents dying, then so be it?"
Slowly, staring at his face as she said the words, "The Ruins..."
But before she could ask more, he explained," You have to choose sides, Mira, because no one is on my side, Mira," he said. "All those years ago, just because of our dark blood, I was already at a disadvantage. I was judged as soone who would bring disaster without even being given a chance to explain or even understand the prophecy. It was also why we were sentenced on the basis of that prophecy."
"And now, hundreds of years later, so many horrors have been committed in my na that I don’t even know how to defend myself." He let out a breath then and sent her a look," So, I hope you will choose , Mira."
"As for your question about the Ruins..." Aron gave a bitter smile then and said, "I am not the one who asked for those sacrifices. Neither did I ask anyone to do it for . Of all the places to do a sacrifice, why would I choose that place!"
As he said the words, his voice rose in anger..."I have committed many sins. I do not deny that! But the Ruins? They are not my doing. Do you know why?"
With that, he waved a hand and an image soon floated in the air," This is the place that is the ruins, isn’t it? The place that echoes with pain and screams of those sacrificed souls. One of the most sinister places to exist."
Emira nodded her head. Yes. This was the Ruins... She’d grown up watching them. But sohow they felt different...
He waved his hand again. "Don’t you recognise this place, Mira?"
The image changed once again. The broken stone and darkness peeled away. In place of the ruins stood a magnificent stone building of the past. She could already imagine sitting on the upper floor, the windows thrown open, enjoying the sound of flowing river below.
Her breath caught. Her eyes widened.
The Ruins... were not always ruins.
This was where she had been buried alive by those who captured and trapped Aron. The place that should have been her marital ho. The place that was ant to hold a beginning, not an end. Hers. And Aron’s.
"This is what they have done to our ho, Mira. Our happy place has been turned into sothing sinister. It was why, I... I found a way to send your mother there to the Moonville Pack, close to our ho, so that you would soday be able to know the truth. But unfortunately, your mother trusted the wrong people to the end, and I had no way to protect you anymore."
Emira nodded slowly but then shook her head. " I need to go... They must be looking for ..."
"Emira...", he called out but this ti, Emira did not wait.
Emira stared at him. Her fingers curled slightly at her side. Just monts ago, she had been thinking of the sacrifices, and now he had spoken of them himself. The timing unsettled her.
Could he read her mind?
He smiled then. "No. I cannot read your mind, Mira." There was a trace of sothing tired in his eyes. "I’ve waited for my return all these years because I knew that once it was ti for to return, no one would be able to stop . In that ti, yes, I have committed so sins. I do not deny that. But the place you call the Ruins?" He paused. "That is not my doing."
He sighed and lifted his hand. The air around them shifted, growing heavy. Soon, an image floated in the air. "These are the ruins you are thinking about, right?" he asked quietly. "The place that is too sinister?"
Emira nodded.
He waved his hand again. "Don’t you recognise this place, Mira?"
As he moved his hand, the image changed. The broken stone and darkness peeled away. In place of the ruins stood a magnificent stone building, whole and untouched. She could already imagine sitting on the upper floor, the windows thrown open, enjoying the sound of flowing water below.
Her breath caught.
Her eyes widened.
The Ruins... were not always ruins.
This was where she had been buried alive. Not as punishnt—but as a bride. The place that should have been her marital ho. The place that was ant to hold a beginning, not an end.
Hers.
And Aron’s.
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