Chapter 361

Chapter 361
Aurora

She was lying several feet away near the opposite wall, partially surrounded by fallen guards and broken pieces of armor.

I stared at her.

My mind refused to process what my eyes were seeing.

Blond hair.

A familiar face.

Features I had spent months imagining without ever knowing whether I would actually see them again.

The same woman who had stood beside me when I was learning to control my magic, who had corrected me when I lost my temper, who had argued with me when I was being reckless and stayed close whenever I needed someone I could trust.

I knew the sound of her voice, the way she looked at me when she was worried, the small changes in her expression whenever she was trying not to show that something had frightened her.

And now she was lying motionless on the floor of this fucking castle.

My breath caught painfully in my chest.

“No…”

The word left my mouth before I even realized I had spoken.

I took another step.

“Mom?”

My entire body had gone numb.

She couldn’t be here.

She wasn’t supposed to be here.

I had spent so long believing I might never see her again that seeing her lying in front of me felt impossible, almost like my mind had created her from everything I had wanted for so long.

I moved closer.

“Mom?”

There was no response.

My eyes moved desperately over her body, searching for the smallest sign of movement.

A breath.

A twitch.

Anything.

Nothing.

Blood stained her clothes, and her eyes remained closed as she lay completely still against the cold stone.

“No.”

My voice cracked.

I stumbled toward her and dropped to my knees so quickly that the impact sent pain through my legs.

“Mom, please.”

My hand hovered above her shoulder for a second before I finally touched her.

Her skin was cold.

Far too cold.

I shook her gently.

“Mom, wake up.”

Nothing happened.

I shook her again, harder this time.

“Please.”

My breathing became ragged as I pressed trembling fingers against the side of her neck, desperately searching for a pulse.

Nothing.

I moved my fingers again, convinced I must have placed them in the wrong spot.

Still nothing.

“No…”

My vision blurred.

I stared down at her face, tears gathering so quickly that I could barely see her anymore.

“How…”

My voice trembled as I brushed my fingers against her cheek.

“How are you here?”

The tears finally spilled over.

“Why are you here?”

Of course, there was no answer.

I already knew there wouldn’t be one.

My chest tightened until breathing became painful, and a broken sound escaped my throat as I leaned closer to her.

“Mom…”

I had barely managed to say the word when the grief finally overwhelmed whatever control I had left.

A scream tore out of me.

I didn’t care how loud it was.

I didn’t care who heard it.

I didn’t care whether someone was coming.

I had found her only to lose her again, and somehow that felt crueler than never finding her at all.

I pressed my trembling hand against her cheek, tears falling freely onto her face as I tried to convince myself that there had to be some mistake.

There had to be something I could do.

Some spell.

Some medicine.

Some piece of magic I hadn’t discovered yet.

Anything.

I reached for my magic instinctively.

Nothing happened.

I tried again.

Still nothing.

The energy that had surged through me only moments earlier remained buried beneath my skin, refusing to answer me when I needed it most.

“Please.”

My voice broke completely.

“Please, don’t be dead.”

I barely registered the footsteps approaching behind me.

They were distant at first, almost lost beneath the sound of my own breathing, but they grew louder with every passing second.

I didn’t turn around.

I couldn’t pull myself away from her.

Then two arms suddenly seized me.

I screamed and fought instantly, twisting violently in their grip as one man grabbed both of my arms while another wrapped an arm around my upper body and dragged me backward.

“Let me go!”

They pulled harder.

“No!”

I kicked wildly, trying to get my feet beneath me, but my weakened legs could barely support me.

“LET ME GO!”

I twisted again, desperate to get back to her.

My eyes remained fixed on my mother’s body as I fought against the men holding me.

“Mom!”

One of them tightened his grip.

I screamed again.

“Please!”

I reached for my magic.

Nothing.

I tried again, forcing every bit of strength I had toward that strange energy beneath my skin.

Something stirred.

But before I could gather enough of it, something sharp pressed against the side of my neck.

My body went rigid.

I felt the needle pierce my skin.

My eyes widened.

“No…”

The plunger moved.

Something cold spread through my bloodstream.

I immediately tried to pull away, but my strength began disappearing almost instantly, draining from my muscles so quickly that it felt as though someone had simply switched me off.

My legs stopped cooperating.

My arms became impossibly heavy.

The hallway began to blur.

“No…”

I tried to fight them again, but my movements had become weak and uncoordinated, and the men barely had to hold me anymore.

My eyes searched desperately for my mother.

I wanted to stay.

I wanted to crawl back to her.

I wanted to hold her hand, even if she could no longer feel it.

I wanted to know why she was here.

I wanted answers.

I wanted one chance to speak to her.

But my body was no longer listening to me.

My head fell against the man’s arm as my vision continued fading, and the last thing I saw was her lying motionless on the cold stone floor, her blonde hair spread around her face as the darkness slowly swallowed everything else.

Then the world disappeared.