CHAPTER 219: _THE MOON BLESSED

Aurora’s POV

*****

When Seraphyne sat her down briefly, explaining how she joined the Dark Hand to uncover the mystery behind her dead mate, Aurora didn’t know how to take it.

Obviously, it was sad to know that someone had to go through all that to seek closure.

But when the Princess actually had to face the cruel reality of this crooked organisation through her father’s death? It was just too much for her heart to bear.

Yes, Arian sponsored the Dark Hand. Yes, her father didn’t seem like the most emotionally intelligent man out there.

But he was still her father.

She still looked up to him all these years.

And now he was gone. Just like that.

"I don’t think I can afford coming out of this room till the cold months." She scoffed to herself when she stepped into her room, barely registering Seraphyne following behind her.

Her body was sore, her face still twisted with all the crying she’s done tonight.

The bedroom was dark, mirroring the darkness swirling in her mind.

"Thanks so much for everything, Sera..." Aurora managed to turn around, smiling warmly at the intriguing girl from the industrial district. "You tried your best to warn us but yet... But yet they—"

Grief tightened her chest, constricting her throat until she found it hard to breathe. Her eyes quickly turned to her bed at the other side of the room which she soon walked to.

"... Yet they still killed him. A celestial sovereign... Just like that?" Aurora chuckled dryly, trying hard not to tear up again. "If he could be gotten rid of so easily then what—"

"You’re not going to die, princess." Seraphyne moved to her side like a blur, sitting beside her.

Aurora let out a small gasp when she placed her hand on her shoulder, her fingers grounding her through the grief.

"What... What makes you so sure?" Aurora’s lips curled into a bitter smile. "They did tell me I was trespassing. They sent my dead ex after me."

"Technically that was someone else possessing your ex’s body..." Seraphyne tried correcting but Aurora whipped her head away from her with a scoff.

"That’s not the point, Sera." The princess sniffled, hugging herself. "The Dark Hand is... Untouchable. And so hidden at the same time. But then they can easily come for the most powerful ruler on the continent without consequences."

She brought her eyes back to Seraphyne, who shrank, speechless.

"I think this is my sign to give up on anything involving them." Aurora finally sighed, pulling her legs into the bed and resting her head on the pillow.

She turned to the other wall away from Sera, closing her eyes briefly. "I’ll leave the fight to people who’re actually capable."

An awkward silence stretched between them after she let all that out.

The only sounds she could pick up were her own breathing, an annoying cricket somewhere in her room, and Sera’s heartbeats as well.

Weirdly enough, her heart seemed to beat in sync with Sera’s.

Or was she imagining things?

Aurora opened her eyes, slowly turning around only to spot Sera staring at her. The latter’s hazel eyes gleamed under the dim lighting coming from the new moon outside.

"That’s a flawed mindset... You know, right?" Seraphyne finally whispered, adjusting her sitting position and turning away from Aurora.

"What is?"

"The idea that you can’t bring change as a princess," Sera said plainly. "The Rogue King is your cousin. The next Alpha king is your brother. You’re surrounded by some of the most powerful people on the continent, Aurora."

Aurora’s eyes wavered, her grip tightening on her pillow.

Meanwhile, Seraphyne didn’t say anything else, getting on her feet and swatting imaginary dust from her clothes.

"Wait..." Aurora’s voice cracked, desperation sipping out. "Are you... Are you blaming me for not doing enough? Really, Sera?"

Silence once again.

Seraphyne’s fists clenched beside her but she didn’t glance back at Aurora for several seconds too many.

Until—

"I’ll never do that, Aurora." Seraphyne finally glanced over her shoulder, her voice soft. "But you need to look at the big picture and realise how flawed the system is for people like us."

She paused for a beat, letting her words sink in. "In the short time I’ve been here I’ve discovered your father sponsored a mysterious organisation haunting the empire from the shadows. I also found out Lord Kyren is your cousin and that his father is possibly still out there."

Aurora listened silently.

She was curious to see where she was going with this.

"Anyone could use all this information to blackmail your family. To crumble them." Seraphyne turned to her again, her silhouette daunting and her eyes cold. "If it gets people like my dead mate justice, I would."

Aurora’s fists clenched, her blood boiling with a protective instinct for her family that easily overwhelmed the grief burning her heart.

Seraphyne seemed to notice this, smiling wryly. "But I won’t. Because that isn’t the big picture."

Those words sent the princess’s confusion spiraling deeper.

What the heck was she driving at with all these words?

"You’re speaking in riddles, Sera," Aurora muttered, her eyes fleeting away. "If you know something why don’t you just say it?"

Seraphyne shook her head, turning her attention to the door. "I know only as much as you, Princess. But your father on the other hand—"

"Is dead." Aurora cut her off with gritted teeth. "And I really don’t appreciate you bringing him up repeatedly. Can we let him rest? At least for tonight?"

Seraphyne’s eyes flickered with surprise for a moment.

They both stared quietly at each other until the walls felt like they were closing in.

"Very well, princess." Seraphyne bowed slightly, the motion causing something to crack inside Aurora. "I’ll go find a guest room or something. I should be leaving first thing in the morning."

She moved, stepping toward the door without looking back. And all Aurora could do was watch, her lips pressing into a thin line.

The princess felt like calling her back.

She felt like asking if she’d been too harsh with her words. She... Why did she feel like telling her to sleep here instead?

Aurora’s mind reeled but she didn’t say anything even when Seraphyne got to the door.

"Good night." She gave a small smile at Aurora before opening the door.

When she stepped out and shut the door behind her, an encroaching feeling of loneliness fell on the princess.

How could someone make her feel all these emotions at once? Someone who wasn’t her mate.

Or... Was she?

"Gods above." Aurora rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes and sitting up. "What do I do?"

But no one answered her, forcing her to drift into sleep.

.

.

One moment, Aurora lay in the silence of her darkened room, her breathing finally even after hours of tears.

The next, the air thinned, and her body felt light—weightless—like she was sinking through her own mattress.

When she opened her eyes again, the world had changed.

Red sand stretched endlessly before her, glowing faintly beneath a bruised twilight sky. The air was searing hot.

She blinked several times, the dryness stinging her throat. "No..." she whispered, taking a shaky step forward. "Not here."

Wasn’t this the Dark Lands?

"Hello?" she called out, her voice bouncing through the emptiness. "Is anyone here?"

Silence.

The wind brushed against her cheeks, carrying a faint metallic tang. Aurora took another step and froze.

Something cracked beneath her boot, causing her gaze to drop.

Her breath stopped.

It was a hand. Pale, lifeless and half-buried in the crimson sand.

Her heart pounded violently as her eyes followed the hand to the arm... then to the body.

M-Magnus.

Her dead mate lay sprawled before her, his chest caved in, his once-black hair matted with dried blood.

Aurora stumbled backwards, her breath trembling. "No. No, not again—"

Rage flared through her grief, a storm ripping through her chest.

"Why can’t you just stay dead?" she shouted, her voice cracking into the desolate wind. "Why do you keep haunting me, Magnus?! Haven’t you done enough?"

Her words echoed for a long moment before the body twitched.

Aurora’s pulse stopped.

Magnus’s fingers jerked. His head turned slowly until his face—half-covered in dried blood—lifted toward her. His eyes, clouded and empty, locked on hers.

"Gods..." Aurora whispered, stepping back.

With a guttural snarl, he rose.

The movement was unnatural, as if invisible strings pulled him upward. The blood dripping from his temple glistened black beneath the red sky.

His lips parted, and when he spoke, his voice was layered—Magnus’s tone, yet something darker echoed beneath it.

"There’s something beneath the Dark Lands," he rasped. "Something that will change everything."

Aurora trembled, shaking her head. "You’re not him. You can’t be—"

"Watch for the moon-blessed," he growled. "He will decide the fate of Solara."

"Who are you?!" Aurora demanded, her voice breaking. "What are you?"

Magnus’s face twisted, bones shifting beneath his skin until it wasn’t Magnus at all. It was her father’s face—bloodied, ghostly pale, eyes glowing faintly red.

Aurora stumbled backwards, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Stop! Stop wearing his face!"

"Beneath the sands," he said again, voice calm now. "It sleeps."

His form shimmered, melting and reforming—this time into a tall female cloaked figure with red eyes burning beneath a hood. The air around her thickened, humming with pressure.

Aurora squinted, trying to see beneath the cloak. "Who are you?" she whispered again, her voice trembling.

The figure tilted its head slightly, as if it were studying her. "You’ll know soon enough..."

And then the world shattered.

The ground beneath Aurora’s feet cracked with a deafening sound, the red sand flickering like pixels—vanishing into nothingness.

"No... wait!" she screamed, reaching out as the desert dissolved.

Her body plummeted into an endless abyss of darkness, the wind roaring past her ears.

She screamed until her throat burned—

—then snapped awake.

Her eyes flew open, sweat slicking her forehead.

Her room came into view—the walls, the faint moonlight spilling through her window, the sound of her own frantic breathing.

Aurora sat up, clutching her sheets as her heart thundered.

It was just a dream.

Right?

But when she looked down, faint traces of red dust clung to her fingers.