*~Aurora’s POV~*
Finally, I managed to find sowhere to crash the carriage after we had been moving for what felt like hours. I climbed down, my hands shaking and sore from gripping the reins for so long. Gabrielle got down beside , and I imdiately reached for her.
She took a long, steadying breath and then turned to .
"I’m sorry, Aurora... but I have to leave now."
"What?" My voice cracked. "You can’t leave. Not now. I shouldn’t be here alone."
"I shouldn’t be here either," she said gently, "but we will et again. Trust . And when we do... it will be at the mont you need the most."
"But I need you now," I whispered. "I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to survive this."
"You will survive," she said firmly. "Trust . You are carrying a baby—a prophecy. And that prophecy will be fulfilled. You will survive."
"But how are you going to escape?" I asked desperately.
"Do not worry about ," she said. "Worry about keeping the prophecy alive."
"What prophecy?" I breathed out, confused. "What does that an?"
"You know the prophecy," Gabrielle said softly. "You are carrying it."
And with that, she whispered, "Goodbye," and ran into the woods.
I took a step after her, ready to call her back—but sothing inside held still. What prophecy? What did she an? My sister fighting Darius... Leon and Caspian possibly dead... kneeling on the ground ready to give up...
It felt like everything was over.
Then I heard voices.
I jerked upright and saw Rebecca and a group of demons approaching a few ters away.
"Aurora," Rebecca called, and I imdiately grabbed a broken branch, pointing it at her with shaking hands.
"Don’t co closer to ."
She lifted her hands slowly. "Where is Darius? We heard you all were attacked."
"Yes," I snapped. "And you all will die. Justice will finally prevail. You’re going to regret everything you’ve done to and my people. I’ve had enough."
"Your husband—" she started.
"He is not my husband!" I yelled, and she scoffed.
"You just got married. Not too long ago. So you will help us find him and the prisoners or you will—"
"The prisoners?" I cut in. "Hazel and the rest... they escaped?"
"Yes. And if we don’t catch them, I promise—you will suffer for it."
"Oh, I doubt that."
A sudden familiar presence appeared behind . Hazel.
Her hands were drenched in blood. Her clothes were torn. Her mouth looked like she had been chewing through flesh. She spat sothing out and flicked it into the woods.
A bone.
Damn it... when did Hazel get so feral?
"You’d better stay away from her," Hazel said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Unless you want to end up like that." She gestured at the bone she tossed.
Rebecca flinched. Her demons shifted, ready to attack.
Then Cayden and Lilith stepped out from the trees. They looked just like Hazel—blood on their lips, on their hands, on their clothes.
"Well, hello there, random demon," Caden hissed. "Are you ready to go down?"
Rebecca gestured sharply, and the demons leapt forward but in a single snap of Lilith’s fingers, they all collapsed to the ground, paralyzed. Blood dripped from Lilith’s nose as she strained.
"We don’t have much ti," she gasped. "Caden—now!"
Cayden moved like lightning. He tore off their heads one by one. Rebecca stumbled backward, horrified.
"You and your kind really thought you could overpower us by locking us in so damn prison?" Cayden growled. "We studied those prisons. Learned everything about your demon tricks. Turns out you’re nothing special—just witches tapping into dark magic with pale skin and white hair."
Lilith smirked. "And now... you’re going back to hell where you belong."
They were about to finish Rebecca when sothing inside scread.
"Wait!" I shouted.
"Please... don’t harm her, Hazel. Please," I begged.
All of them turned to like I had completely lost my mind.
"Do you even know what you’re saying?" Hazel snapped. "She’s one of them. She’s a demon."
"Don’t harm her," I repeated. "I know she’s terrible. I know she’s part of them. But please... don’t hurt her."
Rebecca’s eyes widened.
"Rebecca—run," I said.
She stared at , frozen. I could see the way she struggled to keep a straight face, but her eyes were filling with tears.
"Rebecca," I said more urgently, "run!"
Cayden growled and lunged toward her, but Rebecca shifted positions so fast she ended up trapped in the middle of all of us, surrounded with no path to escape.
"Please, Cayden," I begged again. "Do not harm her."
Cayden turned to with disbelief.
"Aurora, are you insane? Did they do sothing to you? Or—" his eyes narrowed—"did she bond her life to yours?"
Rebecca flinched at his accusation.
"No," I said firmly. "She didn’t do any of that. But she deserves to live. Please—don’t hurt her."
Lilith stepped forward, wiping the blood from her mouth.
"I get what you’re feeling, Aurora. Your emotions are heightened. You’re pregnant."
"It’s not just pregnancy," I said, shaking my head. "It’s just... I don’t want her to die. All of you—stay away from her. If anything happens to her, I promise you, it will not end well."
Hazel raised a brow. "What exactly is going to happen?"
"Nothing," I blurted out. "Nothing. I just—"
Rebecca finally spoke, her voice small but steady.
"It’s fine, Aurora. It’s either you win or you lose... and I’m losing. At least I’ll die with the promise that I never bonded my life to a man."
"This is not funny, Rebecca! You need to leave. Now."
"There’s no way for to leave." She gestured around us. "Look. I’m surrounded. I’ve lost."
Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out sothing—
A stick. No... a dagger.
White, gleaming, ancient-looking.
My blood froze.
"Rebecca—no. You are not going to do that."
She smiled, soft and sad.
"It’s fine, Aurora. You made realize sothing."
Before I could move—
Before anyone could stop her—
She plunged the dagger into her own chest.
"NO!" I scread.
I threw myself at her, ripping the dagger out, but the damage was already done. She collapsed to her knees, leaning into , her breath shaking.
"Aurora..." she whispered, eyes clouding. "It’s a girl. You’re having a girl."
Tears stread down my face.
"No. No, Rebecca... please don’t—"
"And you better na her..." She coughed, blood spilling from her lips. "...Azazel."
"Rebecca, no. NO. You can’t die. Please. Please!"
Her grip loosened.
Her body slumped forward.
And the forest went silent.
"No!"
I held her body close, my hands trembling violently as the truth sank into my bones. My chest tightened until I could barely breathe. Her skin was already turning cold—cold in a way that made the world feel wrong, frozen, unfinished.
Hazel, Caden, and Lilith stared at , but I couldn’t look at them. All I could do was clutch Rebecca’s body harder, as if holding her tighter could force life back into her.
Lilith stepped forward carefully and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Aurora—"
I slapped her hand away instantly.
"No! She cannot die. She can’t—she can’t die like this!"
Hazel exhaled sharply, frustration mixing with raw exhaustion.
"Aurora, get your act together. Do you know the amount of damage these people have done? They don’t deserve your sympathy."
"She helped ," I whispered, voice cracking. "She didn’t have to—but she did."
Hazel’s eyes hardened.
"They were selling you off like cattle. They treated you like an object. And now you’re mourning one of them?"
"Yes," I choked out. "Because nobody deserves to die like this. Not even her."
Hazel clenched her jaw but said nothing.
Lilith knelt beside , wiping the blood from her own face. "Aurora... she ended her own battle. It’s not your fault. It’s not ours either."
I shook my head slowly, tears falling onto Rebecca’s lifeless cheek.
"I know. But I still— I still don’t want her gone."
Caden crossed his arms. "The only thing we can do for her now is give her a burial. A quick one. And I’ll warn you now—I’m not helping. I don’t think she deserves one."
Hazel glared at him, but Caden only shrugged.
"We don’t have ti," he added. "Darius is still out there. And soon the rest of the demons will join him. Leon and the others are in danger."
"I think we should call for backup," Lilith said quietly. "I can send a ssage to Cyrius and the New Orleans pack."
"Not yet," Hazel said firmly. "If Darius has backup coming, then calling ours too early will put us at a disadvantage. We move carefully."
Reluctantly, they stepped back.
I wiped my tears and slid my arms under Rebecca’s shoulders, lifting her gently with Hazel at my side. Together—slow, quiet, reverent—we carried her body beneath the trees.
We dug into the earth with trembling hands.
We laid her down softly.
We covered her carefully.
We gave her a burial.
A befitting one.
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