Chapter Three: The Mother Who Wasn't
Aria stared at the woman in the doorway, her mind reeling.
"Daughter," the woman repeated, her voice echoing strangely in the room, low and melodic — like a lullaby sung by a monster.
Aria backed up until her spine hit the pantry wall.
Kael stepped in front of her like a shield. "You don't belong here, Elana."
"And you do?" Elana's gaze flicked to him. "Still pretending you can protect her, even now. Haven't you failed enough?"
Kael's jaw tightened, but he didn't speak.
Aria's heart thudded. "You said she was… my mother?"
Elana smiled at her, cold and distant. "In your first life, yes. I carried you. Raised you. Trained you to rule." Her silver eyes narrowed. "And when the time came, I watched you choose a man over your crown."
Kael flinched, but Elana didn't break her gaze.
"You were supposed to be the savior of our realm, Aria," she continued. "But you fell in love. You trusted the wrong people. And look where that led us."
"I don't… remember any of that," Aria whispered.
"You will. The seal is cracking already."
Kael stepped forward. "What do you want?"
Elana's gaze snapped to him. "I want her back. The real her. Not this confused, human shell you've dragged through dirt and blood."
"She's not ready."
"She's running out of time."
A gust of wind slammed against the windows. The walls groaned.
"They're coming," Elana whispered. "And when they do, she needs to remember who she is — or she will die again."
Aria's head spun. "What are you talking about?"
Elana turned to her slowly. "You've been protected by the Rebirth Seal for twenty-one years. Hidden from those who swore to end your bloodline. But the seal is weakening. Your mark burns, doesn't it?"
Aria instinctively covered her wrist.
Elana stepped closer. "That pain? That's your magic waking up. It's trying to reach you. Your mind is rejecting it — but your body remembers. The wolves. The dreams. The voice in the flames. You know it's true."
Aria's voice cracked. "And you want me to… what? Become her again? Become this Moon Queen you all keep talking about?"
"You don't become her," Elana said softly. "You are her. You always were. You just forgot."
Kael stepped between them again. "Enough."
"She deserves to know the truth," Elana hissed.
"You lost the right to teach her the truth the moment you sided with the Council."
The words hit Aria like ice water.
"The Council?" she repeated. "The same ones who sent those wolves after me?"
Kael and Elana both fell silent.
"You're working with them?" Aria asked Elana. "You're helping the people trying to kill me?"
"I'm trying to keep you alive," Elana snapped. "Even if that means watching your powers go to someone else. Even if it means making… sacrifices."
A sick feeling twisted in Aria's gut. "What kind of sacrifices?"
Elana didn't answer.
Kael moved closer to Aria, his voice low and firm. "She traded your soul to the Council in exchange for peace."
Aria's knees buckled.
Elana's face hardened. "I saved what was left of our realm."
"You sold your daughter!" Kael roared.
"I protected my kingdom!"
Lightning cracked outside. The lights flickered.
Aria couldn't breathe.
The weight of the revelations crushed her — magic, curses, betrayals, realms. And now… a mother who once stood beside her, now willing to hand her over to monsters.
"Why now?" Aria whispered.
Elana looked at her, expression unreadable.
"Because the prophecy ends at the next blood moon. And if you haven't fully awakened by then… you'll die. And this time, there will be no coming back."
---
They sat in silence after Elana vanished as quickly as she came.
No sound. No wind. Just silence, thick as grief.
Aria sat on the floor, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the ruined doorway. Her mark still burned beneath her skin.
Kael knelt beside her. "I'm sorry."
She didn't look at him.
"I didn't want you to find out like this. Especially not from her."
"I don't know what to believe anymore," she said softly. "You say you loved me. She says I ruined everything. You say she betrayed me. She says you killed me."
"I did," he whispered. "But not because I wanted to. Because you asked me to."
Tears slid down her cheek. "Why would I ever ask that?"
He hesitated. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out something wrapped in velvet. Gently, he placed it in her hand.
A ring.
Silver. Twisted like vines around a glowing blue stone. It pulsed with heat the moment her skin touched it.
And something inside her broke open.
A vision — no, a memory — surged forward like a flood.
---
A castle under a moonless sky.
Fire raining from the heavens.
Aria — dressed in silver armor, her hands glowing with light — stood before an army of shadows.
Kael beside her, wounded and bleeding, whispering her name.
And Riven — tall, strong, broken — kneeling before her in chains.
"You betrayed me," she said.
"Not you," Riven whispered. "Them."
"You're lying."
"I'm trying to save you."
Then darkness.
Pain.
And Kael's voice, cracking with sorrow: "Forgive me."
Then the blade.
Then silence.
---
Aria gasped, flinging the ring across the room.
Kael didn't move.
She looked at him, trembling. "That was real?"
He nodded. "Your powers are starting to break through."
"Riven…" she whispered. "He was…"
"Your mate, in the eyes of the realm," Kael said, voice tight. "But he betrayed the crown. He aligned with the enemy. He wanted to take your powers for himself."
Her breath caught. "But I didn't kill him."
"No. I did."
She stared at him, heart hammering.
"Why would I forgive you?"
"Because in your last words, you told me: 'If I return… find me. And don't let me become her again.'"
---
The next morning came slowly.
The blood moon still hung in the sky, dimming but not gone.
Kael stood by the broken door, staring out.
Aria walked to him, silent for a moment.
"Tell me the truth," she said.
He glanced at her.
"Was I powerful?"
He nodded. "The most powerful queen we've ever had. Your bloodline was sacred. You could bend time, heal the dying, command the stars."
"And I gave it all up… for love?"
Kael turned away. "Yes."
"And now?"
His eyes met hers, silver and shadowed. "Now… you're going to have to fight to survive it."
A howl echoed through the trees again. Closer.
Kael stiffened. "They're back."
Aria didn't move.
"I'm not the girl I was before," she said softly.
"No," Kael said. "But the world remembers. And they want her dead."
She stepped outside onto the porch.
The wind howled. The trees bent. And in the distance, a shape stood at the edge of the woods — watching.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Cloaked in black.
His eyes glowed gold.
And when Aria saw his face, her knees buckled.
Because it wasn't a stranger.
It was Riven.