Kael’s POV
Rebecca’s voice still echoed in my ears.
Shrill. Desperate. Pathetic.
"You’re making the biggest mistake of your life, Kael!"
Those were her last words before she stord back to her car. Tires screeching. Engine roaring. Disappearing into the night like the nightmare she was.
Good riddance.
I stood alone on the empty street. The cold air bit at my skin. My breath fogged in front of my face.
The thought of touching Rebecca made my skin crawl now. Everything about her felt wrong. Her scent. Her voice. The calculating look in her eyes.
I’d frozen because part of was still trying to figure out what the hell I was doing.
Standing outside Aria’s building. In the middle of the night. Like so lovesick idiot.
I looked up at her window again. Still dark. Still silent.
Was she sleeping? Was she okay? Had she eaten anything since leaving the hospital?
The questions gnawed at . Relentless. Maddening.
I needed to know she was alright. Needed to see her face. Hear her voice.
Even if she hated .
Even if she slamd the door in my face.
I just needed to know.
My feet started moving before my brain could catch up.
Across the street. Up the cracked sidewalk. Toward the entrance of her building.
The building was old. Decrepit. Paint peeling from the walls. The front door hung slightly crooked on its hinges.
This was where she lived. This dump. This hellhole.
I climbed the stairs. Each step creaked beneath my weight. The hallway slled like mold and sothing else I didn’t want to identify.
Third floor. Second door from the left.
I stopped.
My hand rose. Hovered in front of the wood.
What was I going to say?
"Hi, I know I treated you like garbage, but I think I might be in love with you?"
"Sorry for paying you like a whore. Want to grab coffee?"
"I stood outside your building for an hour like a stalker because I couldn’t stop thinking about you?"
All terrible options.
But I was here now. No point in turning back.
I knocked.
The sound was too loud in the quiet hallway. It echoed off the walls. Bounced back at like an accusation.
Seconds passed. Then more seconds.
Nothing.
I knocked again. Harder this ti.
"Aria?" My voice ca out rough. "Aria, it’s . Please. I just want to talk."
Still nothing.
Maybe she was ignoring . Maybe she’d looked through the peephole, seen my face, and decided I wasn’t worth opening the door for.
I couldn’t bla her.
I raised my fist to knock a third ti.
The door swung open.
Not Aria.
A woman stood in the doorway. Young. Maybe early twenties. Her hair was a ss. Her makeup was sared. Her dress was so short it barely covered anything.
She looked familiar.
Then it clicked.
Serena. Aria’s sister.
She stared at . Her mouth fell open. Her eyes went wide.
For a mont, neither of us moved.
Then she scread.
"OH MY GOD!"
The sound was piercing. Ear-splitting. Like soone had stepped on a cat.
"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!"
I winced. "Could you maybeâ€""
"KAEL BLOOD CROWN!" She clutched her chest like she was having a heart attack. "THE KAEL BLOOD CROWN! AT MY DOOR! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!"
"Keep your voice downâ€""
"MOM! LYRA! CO LOOK! YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO BELIEVE WHO’S HERE!"
So much for subtlety.
Behind her, I could see the apartnt. My stomach turned.
It was a disaster.
Empty bottles everywhere. Clothes scattered across the floor. Stains on the carpet that I didn’t want to examine too closely. The sll of cheap alcohol and cheaper perfu hung in the air like a toxic cloud.
And sowhere in the back, I could hear other sounds. Rhythmic. Unmistakable.
Soone was having sex.
In the middle of all this chaos.
While I stood at the door looking for their daughter.
This was Aria’s family. This was what she’d grown up in. What she’d tried so hard to escape.
No wonder she never wanted to talk about them.
Serena finally stopped screaming. She was fanning herself now. Her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes sparkled with sothing predatory.
"I can’t believe it." She leaned against the doorfra. Pushed out her chest. "I just can’t believe it. The Alpha heir. Here. At our humble little ho."
"I’m looking for Aria." I kept my voice flat. Distant. "Is she here?"
Serena’s expression flickered. Annoyance crossed her features before she masked it with a flirtatious smile.
"Aria? Why would you want to see her?" She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "She’s so boring. So plain. I’m much more... entertaining."
I ignored the obvious invitation.
"Is she here or not?"
Serena pouted. "You’re no fun."
"Answer the question."
"Fine, fine." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she ca back a little while ago. Looked like a ghost. Didn’t say a word to anyone. Just went straight to her room like always."
Relief washed over .
She was here. She was safe.
"Go get her."
Serena blinked. "Excuse ?"
"I said go get her." I t her eyes directly. Let her see I wasn’t playing around. "Tell her I need to speak with her. Now."
For a mont, Serena looked like she might argue. Her mouth opened. Closed.
Then she shrugged.
"Whatever. Your funeral." She turned and headed toward the stairs. "Don’t go anywhere, handso. I’ll be right back."
She disappeared up the staircase. Her hips swayed dramatically with each step.
I waited.
The sounds from the back room continued. I tried not to think about it. Tried not to imagine Aria growing up in this environnt. Hearing these things every night. Living in this chaos.
How had she turned out so different?
How had she beco this gentle, fierce, beautiful woman while surrounded by... this?
The minutes stretched.
I shifted my weight. Checked my phone. Looked at the cracked ceiling.
What was taking so long?
Footsteps on the stairs.
Serena reappeared. But sothing was different. Her confident swagger was gone. Her face was scrunched up in confusion.
"Well?" I asked. "Where is she?"
Serena stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Scratched her head.
"That’s weird."
My blood chilled. "What’s weird?"
"She’s not there." Serena shrugged. "Her room is empty. Like, totally empty."
"What do you an empty?"
"I an empty." She said it slowly. Like I was stupid. "Her clothes are gone. Her bag is gone. All her stuff is just... poof. Disappeared."
The world tilted.
Serena looked genuinely puzzled. "Maybe she went out to play or sothing? She’s weird like that. Always running off without telling anyone."
"Hey." Serena’s voice pulled back. She was leaning against the doorfra again. That predatory gleam back in her eyes. "Since she’s not here... do you want to co in? I can make you a drink. Keep you company while you wait."
She reached out. Her fingers brushed my arm.
I pulled away.
"Don’t touch ."
I turned away. Started walking.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Serena’s voice followed down the hall. "Don’t you want to stay? I’m way better company than her! Everyone says so!"
I didn’t look back.
Where would she go? Where could she go?
My chest constricted. Pain radiated through my ribcage. Sharp. Suffocating.
Every step felt heavy. Wrong. Like I was moving through water.
The bad feeling in my gut grew stronger. Darker. More insistent.
Sothing was very, very wrong.
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