Chapter 261
The door clicked shut behind me, muffling the sounds of the garden and Arden’s soft goodbye. As I leaned against it, I exhaled deeply, trying to make sense of everything. My heart was still pounding, not from fear—at least not entirely—but from the weight of uncertainty. Arden had been kind, charming even, but I wasn’t ready to open any new doors. Not when so many others remained shut inside me.
I sat at the edge of the bed, staring at my reflection in the mirror. The moonlight caught the tips of my snow-white hair, and for a fleeting moment, I didn't recognize the girl staring back. Who was she becoming? What was she supposed to become?
The dream hadn’t left me. I could still hear the echo of their roars, feel the heat of their breath, their desperate calls. "Mother." The word chilled me to the bone.
Dragging myself under the covers, I wrapped the duvet around me tightly. I tried to sleep, but even with my eyes closed, all I saw was fire—brilliant, untamed, alive. And eyes. So many glowing eyes.
Somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, a whisper pulled me out of the fog.
“Aria…”
My eyes shot open. I sat up quickly, my breath catching. The voice was soft, female—ethereal. I glanced around. No one. The room was as still as before.
Maybe it was in my head. I was starting to crack.
But then I felt it—a strange warmth pulsing beneath my skin, humming like a distant song. It was coming from deep inside me, almost as if something was… stirring. I placed a hand over my chest and closed my eyes, trying to center myself.
“You are more than what they told you,” the voice came again, clearer this time, inside my mind like a thought not my own.
I scrambled out of bed, my breath shallow. Was I losing it? Was I finally breaking under the pressure?
I reached for my robe and wrapped it around me, pacing the room. No. No, Aria. Pull it together.
I pressed my palms against the cool stone wall, grounding myself. It helped. A little.
Minutes passed, or maybe hours. The moon had shifted, casting new shadows across the walls. I was about to crawl back into bed when something drew my attention to the window.
A soft blue glow pulsed in the distance—deep in the woods past the garden.
Curiosity tugged at me, stronger than fear. My mind screamed to stay put, but my feet moved before I could stop them. I pulled on a cloak, slipped on my slippers again, and quietly exited the room.
The halls were silent. Only the faint flicker of wall torches kept the shadows at bay. I made my way down the corridor, past the guards who didn’t even glance at me, and stepped once more into the moonlit night.
The garden was still beautiful, tranquil—but I didn’t stop to admire it this time. My eyes stayed fixed on the woods beyond, where that strange light continued to pulse like a heartbeat.
I followed the path carefully, the damp grass cool under my feet. Branches swayed as if dancing in slow motion, the air thick with magic—or maybe anticipation. I stepped over a fallen log, deeper into the trees, until I reached a clearing I hadn’t seen before.
The blue light was coming from the center, swirling in gentle spirals above a small pool of water. It wasn’t natural. It looked like... a portal, or a mirror, except it didn’t reflect the sky or the trees—it showed them.
My dragons.
All four of them.
Not in flames this time, but sleeping peacefully, curled around each other in a circle like sacred guardians. Their scales shimmered in that same celestial glow. I felt something tighten in my chest.
A longing.
A strange, maternal ache I couldn’t explain.
“They wait for you,” the voice whispered again, surrounding me now, soft as the wind.
I stepped closer to the pool, falling to my knees beside it. My fingers hovered over the water’s surface. “Where are they?” I asked aloud, not caring how mad I sounded. “Why do they call me mother? What do they want from me?”
No answer.
Just a sudden wave of warmth that spread from the pool into my fingertips, up my arms, until my whole body trembled with it.
My vision blurred.
The trees around me vanished.
And I saw them again—not just in the water this time, but all around me. Their bodies wrapped around ancient ruins, eyes closed in deep slumber. There was no fire, no chaos. Just peace. And yet… sadness. An unbearable, soul-deep sorrow.
“They’ve been waiting for you,” the voice said again. It was coming from everywhere. Now I could sense her—the speaker. She wasn’t a woman. She wasn’t even fully human. She felt… old. Wild. Elemental.
“You are the bridge. The bond. The Queen.”
The world spun.
I gasped as my hands slipped into the water. Instead of sinking, they floated atop it, supported by unseen energy. The pool glowed brighter.
And then one of the dragons opened its eyes.
Golden. Piercing. Familiar.
“You are awakening,” it said. “But you must choose.”
“What do you mean choose?” I whispered.
But the vision cracked like glass.
The image splintered, light exploded, and I was thrown backward from the pool. I landed hard on the forest floor, breathless. My heart pounded like thunder in my chest.
The pool was gone.
No blue glow. Just moonlight.
I lay there for a moment, trying to catch my breath, the scent of moss and wildflowers grounding me.
Eventually, I sat up, dazed and shaken. My fingertips still tingled. My skin felt hot, too warm for the night air. I pulled my cloak tighter around me and stood slowly, glancing back toward the path.
A part of me wanted to run—to pretend none of this had happened. But another part, deeper, fiercer, knew that would be foolish. I had seen too much. Felt too much.
They were real.
And they needed me.
I made my way back toward the palace slowly, every sound amplified now—the rustle of leaves, the whisper of the wind, even the soft hoot of an owl. The world felt more alive somehow. Or maybe I was just finally starting to see it for what it truly was.
When I returned to the room, the first rays of dawn were beginning to touch the sky. I shut the door gently behind me and leaned against it, unsure what to even think.
I crossed to the mirror again and stared at my reflection. My cheeks were flushed, my eyes a little brighter than before. And my hair—it shimmered faintly, as though touched by starlight.
I was changing.
Whether I wanted to or not.
And I had a choice to make.
Whatever that meant… I had a feeling the time to choose was coming sooner than I thought.
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