*~Aurora’s POV~*
Realization had finally dawned on —heavy, suffocating, undeniably sweet. I was pregnant. Really....Pregnant. The word itself felt too big for my chest, like it could barely fit inside my body. And yet it was inside , forming, growing, demanding that I acknowledge it.
And now Rebecca knew.
Rebecca.
The last person on earth—or in hell—who should ever know sothing this delicate.
Fear curled around my spine, cold and tight, but I inhaled and forced myself to straighten. I am Aurora. I scale through things others would crumble under. I bend, I break, I burn, but I always rise. I always do.
I sat up properly on the bed, brushing strands of the white wig away from my face. Serah, who had been hovering over for the past ten minutes, gently nudged the spoon toward my lips again like I was so stubborn child refusing to eat.
"My lady, please," she begged softly. "Just one bite. You need strength."
I sighed and took the smallest bite humanly possible. Serah’s face lit up like she had completed a holy mission.
"There. See? Eating isn’t so bad," she teased gently swiping the sweat off my head.
I scoffed but swallowed. "You sound like you’ve been practicing that line."
She laughed and sat beside . Her voice softened—too soft—and her eyes shimred with sothing like excitent.
"My lady... motherhood is not as bad as you think."
My heart stopped. Motherhood. The word sliced through my mind like a shard of glass, sharp and delicate all at once. I laid a hand on my abdon, barely touching it, like the smallest pressure could shatter sothing inside .
Motherhood. —carrying a child..My own child. My own little versions of Heather or Christain.
I felt an unexpected warmth rise in my chest, sothing fragile, sothing hopeful, sothing terrifying all at once. A small, involuntary smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I imagined tiny fingers gripping mine. Soft breathing. A heartbeat beneath my hand. A life depending on .
A life that belonged to .
For the first ti since discovering this truth, sothing inside fluttered—sothing other than fear.
But then reality crashed in.
Darius...Rebecca....The demons...This palace. This cursed place where nothing is ever as it seems.
My smile faded. My thoughts scattered like birds fleeing danger. I snapped out of my daze just in ti—the door swung open with force, and Darius stepped in.
Serah imdiately stiffened. I straightened so fast it felt like my spine cracked into place. My hands folded on my lap, hiding the slightest tremble beneath them.
Darius’s eyes scanned the room— first, then the tray of half-touched food, then Serah—and sothing unreadable flickered in those cold, controlled eyes.
"My lady," he said, voice low.
Serah bowed quickly and moved away from , almost instinctively placing herself out of the line of fire. And I... I lifted my chin, masking the storm inside .
Because whatever happens next—whatever darius suspects because Rebecca will definitely tell him..
I am Aurora. And now, I am not fighting for myself alone.
I placed a hand over my stomach, very carefully as he sat beside
"Good afternoon, Lord Darius," I said, finding my voice just in ti as he approached.
Serah imdiately rushed out of the room the mont he entered—as if Darius’s presence alone could burn her skin. The door hadn’t even finished closing when Darius crossed the room and sat beside on the bed.
"Good afternoon, milady." Without warning, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek.
I shivered.. Not the good or romantic kind. The kind where your stomach clenches and every nerve in your body screams danger.
He pulled back, his brows knitting together as he studied .
"Why did you react like that?"
My mouth parted. No sound ca out at first. My mind imdiately went to Rebecca—her viper tongue, her smirk, the way she whispered lies as if they were truths.
What if she already told him? What if he knew I was pregnant? What if he was only here to corner with a smile?
I forced a shaky breath, forcing my body to tremble a little more—faking weakness, playing it off as nerves.
"I... I’m just a little cold," I lied, voice small.
But he kept staring at like he was peeling back my skin one layer at a ti.
Then...unexpectedly..his expression softened.
"You look good in the wig," he said quietly.
I blinked. That was not the direction I expected him to go in.
"You do," he continued, lifting a strand of the white hair between his fingers. "It suits you better than that short red hair you insist on keeping. This"—he lifted the curl gently—"makes you look refined. Softer."
I swallowed the frustration boiling in .
He continued showering with complints—my eyes, my skin, my posture, my voice—as if drowning in praise would blind to the chain tightening around my neck. I was so sick of him.
And then...
He dropped the bomb.
"About the wedding," he said suddenly, as if speaking about the weather.
My entire body paused as the air thinned and my heart lurched so violently I felt it in my throat.
"What... about the wedding?" I asked, my voice barely steady.
The wedding will not be public anymore." He said his face twisting irritatingly.
I stared at him. He leaned back casually, like this was a normal announcent.
"It will be private. Only you, , and a few trusted allies will attend. No crowd. No distractions." His eyes flickered to mine, sharp and invasive. "It will be more... intimate that way."
"In... intimate?" I stuttered... and then he smiled.
"Very intimate." He liked his lips and a shiver rolled through —this one I could not fake.
"You don’t look pleased," he said as his eyes was locked on mines
I forced a swallow, trying to steady the panic clawing up my throat.
I am pregnant..My powers are gone... Rebecca knows. Darius is watching like a hawk—like he knows sothing is off.
The cage was closing.
"No, I’m just... surprised," I said softly, lowering my gaze to hide the storm in my eyes.
He reached out and cupped my chin. I froze.
"You don’t have to be afraid, Aurora," he whispered. "Everything will be perfect. You will be safe with ."
Hope stirred inside like a tiny fla refusing to die out. My sisters were coming. Hazel, Caspian, Cayden, Leon... all of them. I could feel it—so strange, invisible thread pulling toward Hazel. I had connected myself to her earlier, even if faintly, and now that thread pulsed with life.
They were close.
They would co for .
They would burn this entire demon palace to ash if they had to.
I held onto that thought as I lay beside Darius, trying to keep my heartbeat steady. Sweat clung to my forehead despite the coolness of the room. His presence beside —warm, heavy, intoxicating in all the wrong ways—made suffocate.
I shut my eyes.
But instead of rest, a wave of darkness swept over .
Not soft darkness.
Not sleep.
A heavy, swallowing void.
My eyes flew open, but the room was gone. Darius was gone. The bed was gone. Everything dissolved into thick blackness stretching endlessly around .
I stood— or tried to. My legs felt like they were trapped in mud. My pulse hamred inside my skull.
"Where am I...?" My voice sounded distant, like it wasn’t mine.
Then—
A burst of light tore through the dark.
Blinding, white, sharp.
A silhouette stepped out of it.
A girl.
A blind girl.
My breath caught in my throat. I knew that face. I didn’t know how, but I knew her. She walked forward slowly, the light hugging her small fra as if it worshipped her.
She held a book—old, dusty, and humming with power. Without hesitation, she dropped it. The book shattered on the ground, bursting into shards like glass. I gasped as the pieces scattered across the darkness, glowing faintly before dissolving.
Her head tilted toward , her white eyes settling on my stomach.
"The baby is here," she whispered with a smile so eerie it made my skin crawl. "It has begun."
My vision spun. The darkness lted. My knees buckled. My mind collapsed under a wave of pain and sound.
Then—all at once—I jolted awake.
Air refused to enter my lungs. My chest tightened as if invisible hands were squeezing my ribcage. My vision doubled, then tripled. I clawed at the sheets, trying to steady myself.
I couldn’t breathe.
Darius shot upright beside , startled.
"Aurora!" His voice cracked with panic. "What happened?"
I couldn’t answer. I only gasped, gripping the mattress as the room tilted sideways. Sweat soaked my wig. My hands trembled violently.
He grabbed my shoulders, his eyes wide—fear replacing his usual cold composure.
"Aurora, look at . Look at !"
I tried, but everything blurred. His face swam like it was underwater.
"Aurora, speak to !"
My breath ca in shallow stabs.
"Darius..." I managed to whisper before another wave of dizziness knocked into , stealing the rest of my words.
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