Aria's POV
We fought all night.
Now the sun is rising over a city covered in blood and ash. Bodies of the twisted creatures lie everywhere hundreds of them, maybe thousands. We won, but barely.
I'm exhausted. My magic is almost completely drained. My hands shake as I heal another injured soldier, green light flickering weakly from my palms.
That's enough, Kassian says, pulling me away gently. You'll burn yourself out.
There are more wounded, I protest weakly.
And Elder Mira and the other healers will help them. You've done enough. He looks at me seriously. Aria, you saved hundreds of lives tonight. Maybe thousands. Without your magic, those creatures would have destroyed the entire city.
It's true. My Old magic was the only thing that could destroy the Duke's blood magic constructs. I burned them, trapped them with vines, turned the earth itself into weapons. I fought until I could barely stand.
But it doesn't feel like victory. It feels like we barely survived.
The Duke sent them, I say quietly. All those creatures. He wanted to keep us busy while he
While he did something else, Kassian finishes grimly. I know. Theron is investigating now.
We walk through the palace gates. Soldiers salute Kassian as we pass. Some of them look at me with new respect I'm not just the Warlord's servant bride anymore. I'm the sorceress who saved their city.
It should feel good. Instead, I just feel tired and scared.
We reach our chambers new ones again, since the last were destroyed. Kassian insisted on rooms with reinforced doors and extra guards after the poison attack.
Sleep, he orders. I'll have food sent up when you wake.
But I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see those glowing red eyes. I hear people screaming. I smell blood and smoke.
I sit on the bed, hugging my knees, trying not to cry.
Kassian notices. Of course he does the marriage bond means he can feel my emotions now.
Aria. He sits beside me. What's wrong?
I killed so many of them, I whisper. Those creatures. I burned them, crushed them. And I know they weren't really alive, just magical constructs, but it felt like killing. It felt horrible.
That's because you have a kind heart, Kassian says quietly. Which is good. Warriors who enjoy killing become monsters.
You kill people, I point out. All the time. How do you... how do you live with it?
Kassian is quiet for a long moment. Then: I don't sleep well. You've probably noticed. Nightmares. Memories of everyone I've killed, everyone I couldn't save. He looks at his hands. Being a warrior isn't glorious, Aria. It's necessary sometimes. But it leaves scars.
Like the ones on your face?
Those are the easy scars. The ones you can see. He touches the scar through his eyebrow. The hard ones are inside. The memories that don't fade.
I understand what he means. I have those scars too twenty-three years of beatings and cruelty and fear.
Kassian, I say hesitantly. Can I ask you something?
Anything.
Why did you really accept me? At the wedding, when the Duke offered me. You could have refused. You should have refused. But you didn't. Why?
He's quiet for so long I think he won't answer. Then:
Because I saw myself in you. When you walked into that throne room, terrified but trying to be brave, it reminded me of when I was sixteen. When my family was murdered and I had to become Warlord overnight. I was scared then too. But I had to pretend to be strong or I wouldn't survive.
He looks at me with those ice-blue eyes. You've been pretending to be weak your whole life to survive. I've been pretending to be strong. Maybe we both needed someone who understands what it's like to hide who you really are.
My chest feels tight. I'm not hiding anymore.
Neither am I, he says softly. Not with you.
We sit in comfortable silence for a while. Then Kassian says, You should try to sleep. You fought all night. You need rest.
I had a nightmare before, I admit. About... about before. When I was a servant.
Tell me about it.
So I do. I tell him about the dream about Princess Celeste blaming me for breaking her jewelry, about the guards dragging me to the courtyard, about the whip cutting into my back while nobles watched and laughed.
It wasn't a dream, I whisper. It was a memory. It really happened. When I was twelve.
Kassian's hands curl into fists. Show me.
Show you what?
Your scars. The ones from the beatings.
My face burns. Kassian, I can't
You're my wife, he says firmly. And I'm your husband. We're connected by magic and marriage. There should be no shame between us. He stands and walks to me. Show me what they did to you. Please.
Slowly, nervously, I turn around. I pull down the back of my nightgown just enough to show my shoulders and upper back.
The scars are everywhere. Thin white lines from whips. Rough, jagged marks from switches. A few round burn marks from when a guard pressed a hot iron to my skin for talking back.
I hear Kassian make a sound something between a gasp and a growl. It sounds like pain.
His fingers touch my back so gently it barely feels like touching at all. He traces one long scar across my shoulder blade.
How old were you when this happened? His voice is rough.
Twelve. I dropped Princess Celeste's hairbrush.
And this one? He touches another scar.
Fourteen. I served soup that was too cold.
This one?
Sixteen. I looked at a noble wrong.
For each scar I explain, Kassian's breathing gets harder, angrier. When I finish, he's silent for a long time.
Then he says, very quietly, Get dressed. We're going somewhere.
Where?
Just trust me.
An hour later, a Northern woman arrives at our chambers. She's older, maybe fifty, with kind eyes and gentle hands. She carries a bag of medical supplies.
This is Sula, Kassian says. She's the best healer in my kingdom. Sula, this is my wife, Aria.
Sula bows respectfully. My lady. Your husband asked me to look at some old injuries. May I?
I glance at Kassian. He nods encouragingly.
So I turn around and show Sula my scarred back.
The healer is quiet for a moment. Then she says, very gently, Child, these scars are old. Years old. I can't remove them completely.
My heart sinks.
But, Sula continues, I can fade them significantly. And I can take away the pain. Old scars like these often ache, especially in cold weather or when you're tired. I can fix that.
Really? Hope blooms in my chest.
Really. She opens her bag. It will take about an hour. The magic I use is gentle but thorough. Is that acceptable?
I nod, not trusting my voice.
For the next hour, Sula works on my back. Her magic feels different from mine warm and soothing, like a hot bath. She hums softly as she works, and slowly, the constant ache I've lived with for years begins to fade.
Kassian stays the whole time, standing nearby, watching. His presence makes me feel safe.
When Sula finishes, she gives me a mirror. Look.
I twist to see my back in the reflection. The scars are still there, but faded to almost nothing. And the pain the deep, constant ache is gone.
Tears fill my eyes. Thank you.
Thank your husband, Sula says kindly. He's the one who sent for me. He said, 'My wife has suffered enough. Fix it.' She packs up her supplies. You're a lucky woman, my lady. Not many men care about old scars.
After she leaves, I turn to Kassian. You didn't have to do this.
Yes, I did. He steps closer. Aria, I need you to hear this: No one touches you again. Ever. You're under my protection now. Anyone who hurts you answers to me. Do you understand?
But what about the Duke? And Celeste? They're still out there, planning
Let them plan, Kassian says coldly. When they come for you, they'll face me. And they'll learn that taking what's mine is the last mistake they'll ever make.
What's mine. The words send a shiver through me.
I'm not property, I say quietly. I'm not something to be owned.
You're right, Kassian says immediately. Bad choice of words. What I meant was you're under my protection. You're my partner. My equal. And I protect what I care about.
Before I can respond, someone pounds on the door.
Theron bursts in, his face pale. My lord, we found something. You need to see this now.
We follow him through the palace to a small study. On the desk is a map with red marks all over it.
What am I looking at? Kassian asks.
The creature attack last night wasn't random, Theron says grimly. They followed a specific pattern. Look they avoided the eastern district completely. And they concentrated their attacks on the western and southern gates.
So? I ask.
So the eastern district is where we store our emergency supplies food, weapons, medicine. Everything we'd need to survive a siege. Theron points to marks on the map. While we were fighting the creatures, someone broke into the storage buildings and stole everything. Our entire emergency supply is gone.
Kassian's jaw clenches. The Duke.
Has to be. It was planned perfectly distract us with a massive attack while his people rob us blind. Theron looks at Kassian seriously. My lord, without those supplies, if we're attacked again or if there's a siege, we can't hold out more than a few days. Maybe a week.
Then we get the supplies back, Kassian says.
We don't know where they are. The thieves covered their tracks. Theron hesitates. But we did find something else. A message, left at one of the storage buildings.
He hands Kassian a piece of paper.
I read it over his shoulder:
*Lord Volkov, Thank you for the supplies. They'll be quite useful for the blood moon ritual in eight days. I'm sure you're wondering where I am. Here's a hint: I'm somewhere your soldiers can't reach. Somewhere old and forgotten. Somewhere that belongs to the Old Ones.
And when the blood moon rises, I'll perform my ritual. I'll take Aria's power and become immortal. Your little sorceress wife will die screaming, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.
Unless, of course, she comes to me willingly. Surrenders herself to save all those innocent people whose supplies I just stole. After all, what's one servant girl's life compared to thousands of civilians?
Think about it. Eight days, Aria. Then everyone dies. Duke Malachai*
The paper falls from my numb fingers.
Eight days. The blood moon is in eight days.
And the Duke just gave me an impossible choice: surrender myself and die, or let thousands of innocent people starve.
We'll find him, Kassian says, but his voice is tight. We'll get the supplies back and stop the ritual. I promise.
But as I look at the map, at the red marks showing where the creatures attacked, I see something else. A pattern. The marks form a shape if you look at them right an arrow, pointing northeast.
Toward the old ruins. The Forbidden Zone where the Old Ones used to live before they were slaughtered.
I know where he is, I whisper.
Everyone turns to stare at me.
The ruins, I say, pointing to the pattern. The creature attacks were a message. He's telling me where to find him. He wants me to come.
It's a trap, Theron says immediately.
Of course it's a trap, I agree. But he has our supplies. He has Lyra. And in eight days, he'll kill thousands of people if I don't stop him.
Kassian grabs my shoulders. You're not going alone.
I wasn't planning to. I look up at him. But we have to go. We have to stop him before the blood moon.
Eight days, Kassian says grimly. That's not enough time to prepare, to train you properly
A massive explosion rocks the palace. The floor shakes. Windows shatter.
We run to look outside and see black smoke rising from the city's northern district. Then another explosion. Then another.
He's attacking again! a guard shouts. Fire bombs in the residential areas!
He's not giving us eight days, Theron realizes. He's forcing our hand now.
Another explosion. More screams. The city is burning.
And through the marriage bond, I feel something new: the Duke's blood magic, pulling at me, calling to me. Like a hook in my chest, reeling me in.
He's using the bond the marriage bond that connects me to Kassian to track me. To hurt me.
To control me.
Aria? Kassian's voice sounds far away. What's wrong? Your eyes
I look down and see green light leaking from my hands. But not my usual soft green. This is brighter, wilder, mixed with streaks of dark red.
The Duke's blood magic is infecting my Old magic through the bond.
He's turning me into a weapon against my will.
Kassian, I gasp as pain explodes through my chest. I think he's summoning me. The magic it's pulling me toward the ruins whether I want to go or not.
And then the worst thing happens: my body moves on its own, walking toward the door.
Aria! Kassian grabs me, but I push him away with magic I can't control.
I'm sorry, I cry as my feet keep moving, keep walking. I can't stop it. He 'she's controlling me
The last thing I see before the Duke's magic takes over completely is Kassian's face, terrified and desperate, as I walk out of the palace toward the ruins.
Toward the Duke.
Toward my death.