CHAPTER 96: HEREDITARY 1

FIA

The car slowed as we approached the estate. My stomach tightened. Shopping bags rustled behind us as the sentinel navigated the final turn toward the gates.

Something felt different. Movement near the entrance caught my eye. There were more people. Even more activity than usual.

"Is that..." I leaned forward in my seat.

A car sat parked near the main entrance. I hadn’t been in Skollrend long. But the catas has a theme to them. A look to them. So this one did not look like one of ours. The trunk stood open, and someone directed staff members who carried luggage toward the house.

"Looks like we have guests," Maren said.

The sentinel pulled up and stopped. He got out first and opened our door. I stepped onto the gravel and straightened. The late afternoon sun warmed my face. My muscles ached from walking in heels all day. My mind still replayed the confrontation with Hazel like a song I couldn’t turn off.

Maren climbed out beside me. Our shopping bags piled high in the trunk.

The woman near the entrance moved with purpose. She gestured sharply at a man struggling with a heavy suitcase. Her hair caught the light. Bleached copper. Dark eyebrows that made a stark contrast against the pale shade.

"Make it snappy," she called out. "I want to settle into my guest room before dinner."

Her voice carried authority. The kind that expected obedience without question.

I found myself staring. Something about her reminded me of my sister Hazel. It has to be that air of superiority that sat on their shoulders like expensive perfume.

She turned. Her eyes landed on me.

Her gaze traveled from my face down to my feet and back up again. Slow. Deliberate. Judging.

"Do you have a staring problem?"

The words hit like a slap. My face heated. I glanced around to make sure she was talking to me.

Maren rushed forward. She reached my side and bowed low. Lower than I had ever seen her bow.

"Luna Elara," Maren said quickly. "This is the current Luna of Skollrend. Alpha Cian’s bride. Fia."

The woman’s expression changed instantly. The hard edge smoothed into something softer. A smile spread across her face. It was warm but clearly practiced. Completely different from the look she had given me seconds before.

"Oh." She walked toward me. Her movements were fluid. Confident. "I apologize. I didn’t know."

She reached out for a hug. I stood frozen for half a second before accepting. She smelled like vanilla and something sharper underneath. Her arms wrapped around me briefly before she pulled back.

"I’m Elara," she said. "Cian’s favorite cousin."

I forced my voice to sound normal. "Hi. I’m Fia."

Her eyes flickered past me. I turned to follow her gaze. The sentinel had opened our trunk and pulled out the first of our shopping bags. The glossy paper gleamed. Ribbons hung from the handles.

Elara looked back at me. Her smile stayed in place but something shifted behind her eyes.

"Oh. You went shopping."

The words sounded innocent enough. But the tone underneath made my skin prickle. It reminded me again of Hazel. That same false sweetness that hid something sharper.

I nodded. "Yes."

"I’m a fashion girl myself." She crossed her arms. "And with that big wedding coming up, I’m sure you felt the need to show up looking your best." She paused. "But priorities, you know. My aunt is fighting for her life right now and you’re buying nice dresses?"

The criticism landed like a punch. My throat tightened. Guilt twisted in my chest even though I knew the shopping had been mostly Maren and Cian’s idea. I had still followed through with it and I had fun.

"But to each their own I guess," Elara added. Her smile never wavered.

I swallowed. Words stuck in my throat. What could I say that wouldn’t sound defensive?

"It was actually me who dragged her along," Maren said quickly. "I thought it would help take her mind off things after everything that’s happened."

Elara’s head turned toward Maren. The smile vanished.

"I don’t remember extending a conversation to you." Her voice dropped several degrees. "Get lost."

Maren bowed immediately and backed away. Her face had gone pale. She disappeared toward the side entrance without another word.

Heat rushed through my body. Anger mixed with shock.

"That was rude."

Elara turned back to me. Her eyebrows rose slightly. "No. Her chipping into a conversation you and I were having was weird." She tilted her head. "You really should fix yourself up and command more respect. You aren’t an Omega anymore."

The words stung. I opened my mouth to respond but she continued by immediately putting a hand to her mouth. "Oh, was that offensive? I’m sorry." Her voice dripped with false apology. "I tend to be very potty mouthed and my father warns me but I swear I’m not doing it on purpose."

The contradiction made my head spin. She apologized while her eyes stayed cold. Every word felt calculated to wound while maintaining plausible deniability.

"In fact, I brought you a gift." She smiled again. "I’ll give it to you later perhaps after dinner."

My face felt hot. My hands clenched into fists at my sides. I forced them to relax.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Elara." The words came out stiff. "I can sense Cian is around. I’ll go check up on him. See you later I guess."

"I would not recommend that."

Something in her tone made me pause. I looked at her. "I’m sorry?"

"He didn’t get a cure for his mother." She spoke matter of factly. "From what I’ve heard from the talkative Omegas in this estate anyway. And I know how my cousin lashes out when he doesn’t get his way." She shrugged. "It’s a Donlon thing."

My heart cracked. The world tilted slightly. He didn’t get the cure to the alchemy poison. Would that grand Luna be in even dire danger now? I couldn’t bring myself to imagine what Cian would be feeling right now.

He would need someone by his side. Someone in his corner. I had to be there for him.

"All the more reason I should be at his side." I retorted right back at Elara.

I didn’t wait for her response. I turned and ran toward the house. My feet hit the stone steps. The front doors opened easily under my hands.

The entrance hall stretched before me. I didn’t slow down. The bond pulled in my chest like a string tied to my ribs. I followed it through corridors I had memorized by now. Up the stairs. Down the hallway.

Two Sentinels stood guard outside Cian’s door. They watched me approach but neither of them moved to stop me. I grabbed the handle and pushed.

The door swung open and I stepped into the familiar space. The lounge area sat empty. Afternoon light filtered through the windows. Everything looked exactly as it always did.

Voices drifted from the bedroom. Low, controlled. Both male. One of them belonged to Cian.

I crossed the lounge, each step swallowed by the thick carpet. At the doorway I noticed the bathroom door slightly open, a sliver of white light cutting across the darker room.

The warmth under my feet faded as I stepped from the carpet onto the cool marble. The shift made me inhale, as if the temperature itself warned me that something waited ahead.

Cian stood near the dresser. Another man held him, an older figure with dark hair threaded with gray at the temples. His arms were wrapped around Cian in a steady hold, not possessive, not casual, something in between. A lifeline.

Cian’s face was buried in the man’s shoulder. His body was wound tight, tension carved into him from the neck to the fists at his sides. He looked like someone trying to keep his entire world from breaking open.

I stepped back on instinct and my shoe scraped the marble. The sound cracked through the quiet.

Both men turned.

"I am sorry." The words slipped out before I could think. "I did not mean to intrude."

The older man released Cian with care. His hands lingered on Cian’s shoulders, giving one firm squeeze that felt like reassurance before he let go fully. Then he faced me head on.

His eyes were sharp, the kind that studied everything and missed nothing. The kind that learned you before you even spoke.

"Is this her?" he asked.

Cian nodded. He looked drained, shadows heavy beneath his eyes, his jaw rigid as if he was still holding back something that hurt too much to name.

The man’s expression shifted. His face opened into a warm smile that softened every hard line. It reached his eyes in a way that felt disarming.

"Well hello." He stepped toward me with practiced ease, as if he had spent his whole life moving through rooms people watched. "You must be Fia."

I nodded because anything more felt impossible.

He offered his hand. "I am Aldric. Cian’s uncle." His grip was firm when I took it, strong in a way that felt grounding rather than intimidating. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

My throat felt tight. I glanced past him to Cian. The pain was still there in the set of his shoulders, in the tremble he tried to hide, in the way he stood as if one wrong movement could break him apart.

My heart cracked again.