The night sky outside the estate was painted in hues of deep indigo and shimring silver. Athena sat in the study, her fingers cold against the smooth surface of her optical tablet.
The ssage from her brother still hovered on the screen.
[Mother was caught in an explosion. She’s stable but shaken. A young woman saved her. The incident wasn’t random. Stay alert.]
Her heart raced. Her mother was strong, an unyielding woman who had survived wars and political intrigue, but an explosion?
Athena’s thoughts spiraled as dread knotted in her chest. The attack could only an one thing, the shadows of the past were stirring again.
Footsteps approached, slow and asured. She didn’t have to look to know who it was. Mors.
"You’re trembling," his voice ca softly from behind.
Athena clenched her fists and turned toward him.
The warm glow of the desk lamp cast shadows across his face, highlighting the sharp cut of his jaw and the glint of concern in his eyes.
"I received news from my brother," she said, forcing her voice to remain steady. "My mother was nearly killed today."
Mors’s gaze darkened, his shoulders going rigid. "I heard about it," he said. "The security channels were buzzing about the explosion. I’m… sorry you had to find out like this."
"Like this?" Athena stood, the chair scraping against the floor. "You knew about it?"
His lips pressed into a thin line. "Not the details. But I suspected sothing was coming."
"Why didn’t you tell ?" she demanded. "You’ve been keeping secrets from since the day we t again in this life. Who are you really, Mors?"
His jaw clenched, and for a long mont, silence stretched between them. The air grew heavier with every passing second. Finally, he extended his hand.
"Co with ," he said softly.
She hesitated, but curiosity and the desperate need for answers won out. Athena placed her hand in his, feeling the warmth of his palm against her cold fingers.
Mors led her through the hallway and into the farthest wing of the estate. The walls beca unfamiliar, adorned with swirling patterns she hadn’t noticed before.
They reached a plain door at the end of the corridor. Mors placed his hand on a small sensor, and the door slid open with a faint hiss.
Inside was a chamber, unlike any room in the estate. The walls shimred with runes that seed to pulse like veins beneath the skin.
At the center stood a crystalline pedestal. Mors guided her to stand in front of it.
"What is this place?" Athena whispered.
"The heart of who I am," Mors replied.
He stepped onto the glowing platform beside the pedestal. With a slow breath, he reached up and ran his fingers through his hair.
The strands shifted beneath his touch, the raven black lightening with each pass. His hair lengthened, cascading past his shoulders, shimring like molten gold.
Athena’s breath caught in her throat. His face remained the sa, but his presence shifted, stronger, more ethereal.
His eyes lightened to a brilliant aquamarine, like sunlight hitting the surface of the ocean. The transformation stole the words from her lips.
"I am Xavier Mors Angelus," he said at last. "The second prince of the Sinalta Empire. Heir to the Shadow Courts and wielder of the Saintess’s cursed power."
Athena staggered back, her heart thundering in her chest. "You’re… the second prince?"
He nodded, expression unreadable. "I’ve kept it hidden for your safety and mine. In our past life, this truth was our undoing. I thought if I concealed it this ti, I could protect you."
mories flooded her mind, the cold marble halls of the imperial palace, the whispers of the court about the cursed prince, the battle where she’d stood beside him as darkness consud his soul.
"You’re reborn, too," she realized.
"Partially," he said. "So mories returned early. Others surfaced the mont I saw you again. I rembered our war. Our loss. Your death."
His voice wavered. "I vowed not to lose you again."
Athena pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm the tremble of her heart. "But why didn’t you tell sooner?"
"Because knowledge cos with danger." His gaze softened.
"In our past, Severina, the demon goddess, used our bond against us. I couldn’t risk that happening again. Not when I knew the shadows were already stirring."
The weight of his words settled heavily over her. "The attack on my mother, it’s connected to this, isn’t it?"
"Yes," Mors confird.
"The factions vying for power know that the Derin and Jericho bloodlines united in the past and nearly tore their control apart. They’re watching us, Athena. Testing the waters before they strike."
The enormity of the situation left her breathless. "What do we do?"
Mors reached out and cupped her cheek. His touch was grounding, familiar yet unfamiliar with his new form.
"We prepare. The wedding, the public announcent, it’s not just a formality. It’s a declaration of alliance."
Her thoughts raced. She’d assud his sudden insistence on a formal wedding was personal. But it was a strategic move, one befitting a prince raised in political warfare.
"And what about the curse?" she asked. "The energy rampage? The darkness that wants to consu you?"
Mors’s expression turned somber. "It’s worsening," he admitted.
"The power from the Saintess’s sword didn’t die when I defeated Severina. It rooted itself in my soul, and now the darkness is awakening again."
Athena’s throat tightened. "Will it… kill you?"
"Not imdiately." He brushed his thumb along her jawline. "But if we don’t find a way to purify the energy before the next convergence, the darkness might take over."
mories of his last monts in their past life crashed over her, his agonized screams as the demonic power consud him from within. She swore she wouldn’t let history repeat itself.
"I’ll help you," she vowed. "We’ll figure it out together."
Mors’s eyes softened, and he bent down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I never doubted you would."
The pedestal behind them glowed brighter, casting their shadows on the walls. Athena stepped closer and saw faintly glowing inscriptions spiraling along the surface.
They were coordinates, coordinates leading to a remote planetary system she didn’t recognize.
"What’s there?" she asked.
Mors hesitated. "A temple. The one place where the Saintess’s sword was first forged. If answers exist, they’ll be there."
Athena reached for his hand and squeezed it. "Then that’s where we’ll go."
The future remained uncertain, but standing here, with the man she loved and the truth laid bare, Athena felt a flicker of hope.
The battle for survival had begun, but this ti, they would fight it together.
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