Aurora’s POV
My head throbbed as consciousness crept back in, slow and cruel.
The first thing I felt was the cold stone beneath my palms. The second was silence. Not peaceful silence, but the kind that rang in my ears, thick and wrong. I pushed myself up with trembling arms, my breath shallow, my body still heavy from whatever they had done to .
"Sarah," I whispered.
No response.
My heart slamd painfully against my ribs as I turned my head. Sarah was sprawled on the floor beside the bed, her body twisted unnaturally, her chest rising just enough to tell she was alive. George lay a few feet away, face bruised, blood dried at the corner of his mouth.
"No, no, no," I muttered, crawling toward them.
I grabbed Sarah’s shoulders gently, shaking her. "Sarah, wake up. Please. Wake up." My voice cracked. I pressed my ear to her chest, listening, counting each weak breath like it was a lifeline.
She didn’t stir.
I crawled to George next, my hands shaking harder now. "George," I said, louder. "George, please."
Nothing.
Panic clawed up my throat, hot and suffocating. I sat back on my heels, pressing a hand to my mouth as tears blurred my vision.
This was my fault.
Every single bit of it.
I had dragged them into this hell with .
A sound behind made my spine stiffen.
Slow footsteps. Heavy. Deliberate.
I turned.
Demons stood at the edges of the room, half-hidden by shadow. Three of them. Four. Maybe more. Their eyes glinted faintly, watching the way hunters watched wounded prey. None of them spoke. None of them moved closer.
They were waiting.
For what, I didn’t know.
I scrambled to my feet, positioning myself in front of Sarah and George instinctively. My body scread in protest, my legs weak, but I stood anyway.
"Don’t touch them," I warned hoarsely. "This is between and Darius."
One of them tilted his head, almost curious.
They still didn’t move.
The silence stretched.
My chest burned as everything I had been holding back finally broke free. I sank to my knees again, this ti not from weakness, but from grief. Tears spilled down my cheeks, hot and unstoppable.
"I’m sorry," I whispered, not sure who I was apologizing to. "I didn’t an for this to happen. I swear I didn’t."
My hand drifted to my stomach without thinking. A sob tore out of as fear twisted with sothing sharper, more desperate.
I didn’t know if my child was safe.
I didn’t know if I was safe.
I cried until my throat hurt, until my body shook so badly I thought I might fall apart entirely. The demons let . They watched, unmoving, as if my pain was part of the ritual.
Then one of them stepped forward.
"Enough," he said flatly.
Strong hands grabbed my arms from behind before I could react. I gasped, instinctively fighting, but my strength was gone. My feet dragged uselessly against the floor as they pulled away from Sarah and George.
"No!" I cried, twisting to look back at them. "Please, don’t leave them here. Please!"
They didn’t answer.
They didn’t care.
They dragged through the corridors, my bare feet scraping against stone, my body too weak to resist. The castle felt endless, each turn taking farther from the last pieces of safety I had left.
The doors to the main hall lood ahead.
They opened with a heavy groan.
Darius sat on the throne at the far end of the hall, relaxed, one arm draped casually over the side, like a king enjoying a show. The firelight danced across his face, illuminating the sharp curve of his smile.
He looked... pleased.
The demons shoved forward, forcing to my knees in the center of the hall. My palms hit the floor hard, pain shooting up my arms.
Darius leaned forward slowly, eyes fixed on .
"There you are," he said calmly. "I was starting to think you wouldn’t wake up."
I lifted my head, eting his gaze through the haze of fear and fury burning in my chest.
Whatever he planned to do to next, I knew one thing with terrifying clarity.
He smiled before he spoke.
That slow, knowing smile that ant he had been waiting for this exact mont.
"Do you know what makes this so enjoyable?" Darius said, rising from his seat at last. His boots echoed as he descended the steps of the throne, each sound landing like a countdown in my chest. "You always think you’re the one sacrificing. You never realize how many people bleed for you."
My breath hitched. "What are you talking about?"
He stopped a few steps away from and crouched so we were eye level. "Your husband," he said casually. "Hazel. And her mother."
My heart shattered on impact.
"They’re sitting in my jail right now," he continued calmly. "Chains that burn magic. Poison still in their blood. Screaming when they think no one is listening." His eyes flickered with amusent. "They’re going through hell."
"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "You’re lying."
He tilted his head. "Am I?"
The image hit all at once. Hazel chained. Hazel powerless. Her mother hurt because of . My chest caved inward and a sob ripped out of my throat before I could stop it.
"Please," I cried, crawling toward him without thinking. "Please, Darius. I’ll do anything."
His eyes glead.
"Anything?" he asked softly.
"Yes," I said instantly. "Anything. I swear. Just let them go."
I grabbed his sleeve, tears soaking into the fabric. "I’ll kneel. I’ll obey. I’ll give you whatever you want."
He didn’t pull away.
I swallowed hard, my voice breaking completely. "I’ll even marry you."
The words tasted like poison in my mouth, but I said them anyway. I said them because Hazel was suffering. Because my family was paying the price for my existence.
"I’ll marry you," I repeated, louder this ti. "Just stop hurting them."
For a mont, he said nothing.
Then he laughed.
Not loud. Not cruel. Just satisfied.
"Oh, Aurora," Darius said gently, standing back up. "You really do understand ."
Hope flared weakly in my chest. "So you’ll—"
"Right now," he interrupted smoothly, "I don’t want promises."
My heart sank.
"I don’t want future vows or wedding nights or ceremonies," he continued. "I don’t want eventually."
He leaned down again, his face inches from mine. "I want you to choose . Right now."
My stomach twisted. "What does that an?"
"It ans," he said quietly, "that you stop fighting. You stop hoping soone will save you. You stop believing you belong to anyone else."
His hand reached out and brushed my cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb. I flinched but didn’t pull away.
"You will walk with willingly," he said. "You will stand by my side. And when I tell them to stop hurting your precious people... they will stop."
My hands trembled. "And if I don’t?"
His expression hardened instantly.
"Then Hazel screams again," he said flatly. "And her mother with her."
Sothing inside broke.
I bowed my head, my shoulders shaking. Every instinct in scread to resist, to fight, to run. But resistance ant blood. Resistance ant pain for people who didn’t deserve it.
"I’ll do it," I whispered.
Silence filled the hall.
Darius straightened slowly, satisfied. "Good."
He snapped his fingers.
"Bring her up," he ordered.
Rough hands yanked to my feet. My legs barely held , but I stood anyway, my face numb, my heart hollow.
Darius turned back toward his throne, already bored of . "Prepare the chamber," he said. "And make sure our guests in the jail understand this."
He glanced over his shoulder at one last ti.
"Every choice has a cost, Aurora," he said softly. "Tonight, you finally paid yours."
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