"Stay behind me," Icarus said firmly, raising his hand protectively in front of Aria. They stood before an old, crumbling mansion—abandoned for years but infamous for the family that once owned it. The very family that ignited the war on the southern border.
Selene had ended that war with a sword in hand and fire in her heart, but mercy had its price. That day, she had spared one life: a five-year-old boy.
Aria was born in the chaos that followed. Kaelen had rushed to the battlefield, blood still fresh on his Armor, just to see his new-born daughter's face. But none of them could have predicted that the boy they left alive would return—twisted by vengeance and darkness.
"Veyra…" Icarus murmured, eyes narrowing as he watched the man writhe on the floor, clutching his chest. Despite his pain, Veyra laughed bitterly.
"Even if I failed this time… I'll make sure she suffers!" he spat, glaring at Aria. "You… You look just like her. Silver hair, blue eyes… Just like that cursed woman!"
"Bitch… I'll kill you," Veyra sneered, "He will help me return. He promised me eternity."
He collapsed before he could speak again.
Aria stood frozen, her heartbeat loud in her ears.
"So he wasn't acting alone…" she whispered. "There's someone else pulling the strings."
Author's Note: Of course there is. Why would I reveal the main villain this early in the story?
Icarus sealed Veyra with magic and handed him over to the Duchy, submitting a detailed report. But that night's events would ripple further than expected.
The Meeting
"So he truly was the last heir of the Veyra family," Caisson muttered, scanning the report.
"I should never have spared him," Kaelen said, voice low with regret.
Selene stood at the head of the room, her arms folded tightly. Her voice, when it came, was barely above a whisper. "I always knew… my past would come back to haunt my child."
A heavy silence fell. Everyone understood what she meant—but no one dared say it.
The doors burst open.
Aria stepped inside, her expression unreadable, her eyes locked on Selene.
Aria had spent her entire life chasing a shadow—a glimpse of affection from Selene, the woman who was supposed to be her mother. She had longed for even the smallest sign that Selene saw her. Not as a duty, not as a symbol of legacy, but simply as her daughter.
When she'd fallen sick as a child, she had clutched her blanket and waited, hoping Selene would come sit by her bedside. She never did. When Aria cried in the dark, thinking maybe this time her mother would check on her, the night always passed in silence. Selene had chosen to live on the northern edge of the duchy—miles away from Aria's room, her life, her world.
And now, hearing Selene say, "My past will hunt the family…"—it shattered something in Aria.
So it had never been about Aria. It wasn't that she wasn't enough—it was that Selene was afraid. And for the first time, Aria's sorrow exploded into something raw and fierce. A dam had broken. All those buried feelings, all the years she had spent blaming herself, came rushing out like a storm.
It was like real Aria talking to Selene.
"You knew," she said, her voice trembling. "That's why you've always been cold to me."
Selene remained silent; her gaze fixed forward.
Aria's breath hitched, but she took another step forward, fists clenched at her sides. "You weren't distant because of me… You weren't disappointed in me… You were just afraid?"
She laughed—bitter and broken.
"So, it wasn't anything I did. It wasn't because I wasn't good enough… It was because you were scared."
"Aria, it's not your fault," Kaelen said gently, stepping forward.
"No. It's not," Aria said, her voice cracking. "But all my life, I thought it was. I thought if I were better, smarter, stronger—you would finally look at me. You would finally love me."
Her voice rose, sharp and aching. "Do you have any idea how many nights I cried alone? How many times I wished you'd hold me when I was sick? When I was poisoned? When I was kidnapped?"
"I—" Selene opened her mouth, but no words came.
"You were supposed to be my mother," Aria said, tears streaming down her face. "You were a war hero, the savior of the South—but you failed at being a mother."
"Enough," Selene said, her voice low. "Everything I did was to protect you."
"Protect me?" Aria let out a shaky breath. "By abandoning me? By hiding from me in the northern wing of our own duchy?"
"I think you should calm down," Liam said carefully.
"Calm down?" Aria turned on him. "Why? So, I can be silent again? I can shrink myself to make everyone else comfortable?"
She turned back to Selene. "You tried to mould me into a perfect heir—but you never asked what I wanted."
Kaelen stepped forward again. "Aria, you can't. You're the only one we have—"
"Then make more," Aria said. "You and her are still young. Or adopt someone. I don't care."
Her voice broke into a whisper. "I never wanted this. I just wanted a mother."
Selene's voice was quiet now, desperate. "Aria, you're crossing the line—"
"Oh, forgive me, Your Grace," Aria said, voice icy. "I won't step out of line again. You won't have to worry about me anymore."
She turned to Kaelen and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Dad… For always being there. For loving me, even when she didn't."
"Aria, please just go back to duchy. We will talk" Selene stepped forward.
But Aria was already walking away.
"I'm not coming back," she said, pausing at the door. "I'm going to the North. With Uncle Theodore."