The Boy with His Father’s Eyes

The next day, Kael didn't show up for training again.

And that was a problem.

Because Aurelia had felt him last night—in her veins, in her dreams. His fear. His confusion. His bond.

She'd woken up gasping, magic flaring through her skin like wildfire, heart racing with emotion that wasn't hers.

Kael had felt something. Seen something.

And now, he was avoiding her.

The others in the training yard barely noticed. But Cassian did.

He watched her the entire time. Too quiet. Too still.

Aurelia sparred, bled, acted. But inside, her mind was burning. The mark over her heart had started to ache constantly. It pulsed in sync with someone else's heartbeat.

Kael's.

And then—

Late in the afternoon, Cassian dismissed the others, but not her.

"Stay," he said. "We need to talk."

Aurelia wiped sweat from her brow, pretending to be exhausted. "About what?"

He circled her slowly. "Where are you from, really?"

"I told you—"

"Spare me the orphan story," he snapped. "I've seen orphans. You're not one. You move like someone who's been hunted and trained."

She stayed silent.

"Your scent is wrong. You don't smell like any bloodline I know. But there's something in it… familiar."

He stepped closer. "You remind me of someone."

Aurelia kept her mask on. "Maybe I just have one of those faces."

"No," he said, and his voice dropped low. "You have her face."

Her blood turned cold.

Cassian's eyes glinted. "Aurelia. The dead Luna."

She stared at him. Blank. Still.

Then softly: "She's dead."

"Is she?" he asked. "They say she was burned. But no one ever found her bones. Only ash."

Aurelia took a slow step back. "Careful, Beta. You're chasing ghosts."

"Or maybe one came home."

Before he could press further, a horn blew from the east side of the compound.

A warning.

Cassian swore. "Stay here."

But she didn't.

She followed.

The Bloodfang wolves were gathering near the stone ridge behind the pack house. A training patrol had returned early—half-shifted, bloodied, shaken.

A rogue attack?

No. Worse.

Witch sign.

Etched into trees in glowing red: spirals, flames, runes from the First Tongue.

Aurelia's pulse raced. She knew that script. It was hers.

But she hadn't drawn them.

Someone was sending her a message.

As she moved closer, she caught Kael's scent.

Then she saw him.

Standing at the edge of the ridge, one hand pressed to his temple, the other clenched at his side. Pale. Breathing hard.

His eyes met hers across the crowd.

And he flinched.

Hard.

Like he'd been burned.

"Aurelia?" he said aloud.

The name fell from his lips before he could stop it.

Everyone turned to stare.

She froze.

He blinked rapidly, confused, shaking his head.

"I—I meant Ember."

But the damage was done.

Cassian's gaze whipped between them.

Kael pushed past the others, storming toward her.

"You were in my dream again," he hissed.

"You came to me in flames. And I… I saw my father. But I was him."

Her breath caught.

Kael stepped closer. "I watched you die. And I felt guilt like it was mine."

"I think I was him, Aurelia. I think I watched you burn."

Her mask shattered.

Just for a second.

Tears prickled in her eyes, unbidden.

Not from pain.

From how much he looked like his father in that moment. Haunted. Angry. Lost.

But Kael wasn't Ronan.

And yet… he was.

The Moon Goddess had tied them all in knots.

If he loves her, he dies. If she loves him, she falls.

"You don't understand," she whispered.

"Then help me," he begged. "Tell me who you are."

She shook her head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I already tried loving a Bloodfang Alpha," she snapped. "And it got me burned."

Silence.

His eyes widened.

His lips parted.

She turned and ran.

Later that night, Kael came to her room.

He didn't knock.

She didn't ask him to leave.

"I know it's you," he said. "I feel it. You're not Ember. You're not an orphan."

She stood by the fire, her hands clenched at her sides. "Then what do you think I am?"

"A ghost."

"Not quite."

Kael stepped closer. "I don't know how it's possible. But the more I look at you, the more I dream of you… I see his memories."

Her eyes burned. "Then maybe you understand what he did."

Kael's voice broke. "My father wasn't perfect, but—"

"He was a monster."

A pause.

Then softly, "And what am I, Aurelia?"

She looked at him—really looked at him.

He had his father's eyes.

But his mother's mouth.

And something else entirely in his soul.

"You're the boy with a dead man's sins in your blood," she said coldly.

Kael didn't move.

Didn't speak.

Then: "Are you here to kill me?"

The question hung in the air like smoke.

Aurelia took one step forward.

Placed her hand flat over his chest.

Felt the bond scream between them.

And whispered, "I don't know yet."