Chapter 19 – “The Girl on Fire”

The Nightbloom estate was no longer quiet.

It was thunder.

"WHO LET HIM NEAR HER?!"The Duke's voice cracked through the halls like a war horn, shaking the very walls.

Aurelia stood silently, eyes wide, as her father's shadow loomed like a beast unchained. Behind him, Tessa stood pale, but composed — like she'd expected this storm all along.

"She was alone in her chambers," Aero said, guilt gnawing his throat raw. "We were outside—"

"AND HE GOT IN?" the Duke snarled. "Through wards carved in blood? In bone?!"

Ren grabbed Aurelia's arm protectively, but the Duke's icy stare landed on her like daggers.

"Did he touch you?" he asked coldly. "Answer me."

Aurelia's lips parted, but no words came.Her skin still tingled where Caelum had touched her.Her heart still pounded like it was trying to escape her chest.

"He called me… Aura," she whispered.

Silence.

Dead. Still. Silence.

The Duke's pupils dilated.

Then, like a beast awakening from ancient slumber, his power surged. The chandelier above them rattled.

"You are not to speak to him again."

"You will not see him. You will not think of him. You will forget that cursed name!"

"Why?!" she cried, tears welling in her eyes. "What aren't you telling me?!"

He turned his back.

"Because I buried that past once, and I will not let him unearth it."

That Night

Aurelia lay in bed, trembling beneath velvet sheets. The room was dark, but her thoughts burned.

Aura.My Aura.You're not safe there.Come to me.

Her fingers itched to write. To speak. To run.But her body stayed still.

Until—

tap… tap… tap…

Her window.

A single black feather drifted to the floor.Attached to it?

A letter.

"I wasn't ready to tell you what you are… but soon you'll feel it yourself. The burning. The pull. The truth.

And when you do… run.

Run to me."

– C. V.

Her breath caught.

In the flickering candlelight, she saw her reflection in the mirror — but something was… off.

Her eyes.

They were glowing.

Not wolf-gold.

Not human.

But something ancient. Something divine. Something…

Burning.

END OF CHAPTER 19