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I struggled to remember that night, which seemed like a lifetime ago. He pleaded with me to stay so he would take my place or find another way to keep me, but I refused, and after, he had become so odd…so cold. His abrupt kiss that ignited an actual spark of pain that stung my lips before I saw startling amber eyes glowing in the dark.

I choked back the image, unwilling to believe it was true. I tried to steady myself, struggling with my ragged, hoarse breaths. My hands shook uncontrollably as my mind spiraled.

My mind flashed back to Calum towering over me outside Jesri's library, where I felt, for the first time, he wanted to hurtme after I found the book of the Leonardian Trials anddismissedthe footman as if they were working together.

I closed my eyes, still hearing Calum screaming at Jesri in his study, begging me to stay, to his deep hug pleading my forgiveness as I left for Levon's estate. To his odd smile after I woke up from my coma.

It was a coincidence. He wanted to keep me safe, to help mestaysafe.

I shook my head, disbelieving it all.

"You're lying," I seethed, wanting to get off this wretched horse and run far, far away from him.

He huffed out in annoyance. "Believe what you want. But you can't deny that you're part of something bigger than all this. Levon wasn't lying—"

"Stop with the cryptic nonsense!" I snapped, my voice echoing through the swaying pines. I turned away, shaking my head. "For all I know,youcould be taking me straight toward the Spellcasters!You could be the one behind all of this!" Fear spiked through my tired soul, and I hoped it wasn't true. I hoped none of this was true, and I'd wake up from this nightmare. "Why should I trustanythingyou say?"I fumed.

"Becauseyour motherentrusted me to protect you!" he yelled, his voice cracking with the weight of the confession.

My heart stopped as more confusion overtook me. I struggled to breathe and think above the roaring disbelief.

"My...my mother?" I whispered, the statement hitting me like a tidal wave.

Kaizen took a deep breath that rumbled in my ear. His posture straightened, but his voice softened. "We knew you wouldn't believe us," he scolded. "This is exactly why we didn't tell you anything."

"You knew my mother?" I asked again, feeling absolutely absurd I was having this conversationwith him!

He abruptly stopped the horse, pulling on its reins and tightening his legs around its body and my hips. I arched my head to look at him, his jaw flexed as if hesitating to continue. "Your mother," he paused through gritted teeth, "was the last reigning Queen of the Seraphs before the Cosmos plunged into the Cataclysm. Levon, me…your mother, and several more Seraphs were thrust here in the collapse. AndIam bound to the oath to protectmy queenat all costs in this light-forsaken world we were never meant to be brought to," he muttered. "So don't trust me, hate me—I don't care. But you have a destiny to fulfill, and I'm going to make sure you achieve it and restore order," Kaizen declared, his eyes blazing with resolution.

I could only stare at him, dumbfounded, my mouth wide open. Confusion swirled in my mind, clashing with a torrent of conflicting thoughts. My brain struggled to process what I was hearing, leaving me at a complete loss for words.

How could this be happening? Nothing made sense, and the more I tried to grasp the situation, the more bewildered I became.

"When we reach the haven, I'll explain everything," he added, his voice rough with exhaustion and punctuated by a rasping cough that shook his body. He clicked his tongue, urging the mare forward at a faster pace.

I turned my gaze away, struggling against the smoke that still clung stubbornly to my lungs as a paralyzing shock coursed through me.

How could this be real? These were the things of fables and stories,not my life.

Amidst the tumult of my swirling thoughts, something deep within me stirred—a warm, almost nostalgic feeling that seemed to flare in response, calling me home like the twinkling stars that had always brought me comfort.

As we rode deeper into the forest, shadows lengthened, and a coldness gnawed at my skin as the sun bled across the sky. The air grew crisp, filled with a quiet power that hummed with my every heartbeat as if the world itself held its own breath at the truth.

I felt the weight of their lies and schemes slipping away, unraveling like the strings they’d once used to control me. And as the truth settled within me—brighter than any sunset and more alive with colors I’d never dared to claim—something new and unstoppable awoke, filling the hollow spaces carved in my heart.

I was no longer the obedient pet of a haughty lord. I no longer had to play the submissive puppet to obtain freedom, or to be trapped in a future not of my choosing. I was no longer an unwanted orphan to parents I’d only known through Jesri's lies, and had always believed were as arrogant and selfish as him.

But instead, if what they said were true, I was the daughter of a Seraphqueen,with apowerthat could reshape everything. And for the first time, I felt whole, unbound, and endless—ready to claim the life that was always meant to be mine and I would stop at nothing until I had the freedom I deserved, and the life I was ready to seize.

As the night grew thick, that nostalgic warm feeling settled in me again, deeper this time, helping me to realize that this was only the beginning.