The moon hung low and swollen over the Nightbloom estate, casting silver shadows across the vast, silent halls. Aurelia sat at her vanity, the letter still clutched in her trembling hands, Caelum's words repeating in her head like a curse she didn't know how to lift.
"You're not safe there. Come to me."
Her fingertips brushed over the ink, half hoping it would vanish like a dream, half terrified it wouldn't. The feather attached to it shimmered faintly in the candlelight, almost as if it pulsed with life.
She hadn't slept. Not even closed her eyes.
The mirror across from her reflected something she hadn't dared to voice—those glowing eyes, flickering with crimson and silver. Not wolf. Not human. Not even fae.
Something else.
Her door creaked open. Tessa entered quietly, her sharp eyes immediately catching the disarray. "You didn't sleep."
Aurelia didn't respond. Just held out the letter.
Tessa read it. Her expression didn't change, but her hands tightened ever so slightly. "He wasn't supposed to find you. Not yet."
Aurelia turned, voice trembling. "What am I, Tessa?"
Tessa walked forward and sat beside her, brushing a hand through Aurelia's hair. "You are a girl born under two bloodlines that should have never crossed. Fire and Moon. Night and Flame. You are both Nightbloom and something far older."
Aurelia blinked. "Caelum knew that."
"Of course he did."
Aurelia's heart beat faster. "Is that why he called me Aura? What does it mean?"
Tessa hesitated. "Aura isn't just a nickname. It's a title. A word from the old tongue. It means 'the light that ignites the end.'"
A shiver ran down Aurelia's spine.
The candle on the vanity flared, and Tessa looked up sharply. "You need to be careful. If the Duke finds out what's awakening in you…"
Aurelia frowned. "He already knows. That's why he hates Caelum."
Tessa stood. "No, dear heart. He doesn't hate Caelum. He fears him."
Elsewhere, in the shadows of the eastern wing, Ren and Aero stood outside the Duke's study.
"She's changing," Aero murmured. "She's glowing. Ren, she's not the same."
Ren crossed his arms. "She's still our sister. We protect her."
"Even from Father?"
A pause.
"Yes. Even from him."
The door opened suddenly, and the Duke stepped out, eyes bloodshot, rage simmering beneath the surface. "Where is she?"
Neither of the brothers answered. The Duke didn't need them to. He was already storming down the corridor.
Aurelia had just risen from the vanity when her door burst open.
"WHAT DID HE TELL YOU?" the Duke bellowed.
Tessa tried to intercept him, but he shoved her aside like a doll. "WHAT. DID. HE. SAY?!"
Aurelia stepped back, but there was no fear in her eyes now. Only fire.
"He told me the truth. Something you have never done."
The Duke stopped.
For the first time, he looked at her not as a daughter… but as a threat.
Tessa stepped between them. "My Lord, enough."
He growled. "You should've never brought her back here. That boy should've never found her. I buried her mother to prevent this."
Aurelia's blood ran cold. "My mother?"
The Duke froze.
Tessa's voice was deadly calm. "You said you'd never speak of her."
But it was too late. The fire was already lit.
That night, Aurelia stood alone at the edge of the estate gardens, looking toward the woods. Toward the moon.
Something was calling her. Not with words.
But with heat.
With fury.
With truth.
She opened the letter again and pressed it to her heart.
"I'm coming," she whispered.
Far beyond the trees, Caelum Vire sat beneath a blackened sky, his eyes glowing silver.
And he smiled.
End of Chapter 20.