Chapter 33 Aurora
Aurora's POV
The world was spinning in slow, dizzy circles. Everything was a blur of emerald green silk and cold, white marble. I could hear the distant sounds of the pack cheering. Their happy shouts echoed through the long stone halls, a huge celebration for a ghost who had come back to life. Meanwhile, the living Queen—the one they had just crowned—was bleeding out on the floor of the Great Hall.
"Luna! Please, stay with me! Keep your eyes open!" Elio’s voice was shaking with fear. I felt her small, warm hands trying to wipe the gold-flecked blood from my chin. It was a losing battle. It was like trying to stop a waterfall with a tiny silk handkerchief.
"Kelvin... please... get me out of here," I wheezed. Each word felt like I was swallowing broken glass.
Suddenly, I felt strong, steady arms lift me up. Kelvin didn't wait for anyone to tell him what to do. He tucked my head against his chest, hiding my face so no prying eyes could see the state I was in. He moved quickly, carrying me through the dark service tunnels used by the staff. He knew the truth as well as I did: if the Elders saw me like this—dying while the King paraded his old flame—they wouldn't help. They would finish the job themselves to get me out of the way.
They brought me to a small, hidden room in the servant's wing. It was far away from the royal chambers where Deacon was likely hovering over Victoria.
"The bond," Kelvin growled. His voice was thick with anger as he laid me down on a simple, hard cot. "He’s redirected every single ounce of his spirit to her. He marked you, Aurora, but he’s not holding onto you. It’s like a rope with no anchor. You're drifting away."
I coughed, and more of that shimmering, gold-tinged blood spilled onto the plain white sheets. "It's more than that, Kelvin," I whispered. My voice was getting weaker. "Victoria... she’s my aunt. She is my mother’s sister."
Elio gasped loudly, her hands flying to cover her mouth. "Then... then you’re royalty? You are a true Lieu princess?"
"It doesn't matter now," I said. A sharp pain flared in my chest, making me wince. "Because Victoria is a liar. That boy... the son Deacon is so desperate to see... he isn't a King’s son. He’s the product of Thorne’s cruelty. A hybrid. I saw him once, years ago, in the pits before they moved the high-value prisoners."
"You have to tell him!" Elio pleaded, her eyes wide.
"And say what? 'My King, your miracle wife is a fraud and your son is actually your enemy's child'?" I tried to laugh, but it turned into a choked, wet sob. "He would kill me just for saying it. He wants a legacy, Elio. He doesn't want a broken girl from the stripper pits."
Suddenly, the deep, heavy sound of the palace bells began to ring. It was a slow, rhythmic tolling that meant a royal member had arrived at the gates.
"He's here," Kelvin whispered. He looked toward the small, narrow window. "The Prince has arrived."
I forced myself to sit up. My vision was blurry and dark at the edges. "Help me up. I have to see him with my own eyes."
"Luna, you can't even stand—"
"Help me!" I roared. For a second, the power of a marked Luna rippled through my voice, making them both jump.
They propped me up, wrapping a heavy, dark cloak over my blood-stained dress to hide the mess. We moved like ghosts to a small balcony that looked over the main courtyard. I leaned against the cold stone, trying to stay upright.
Below, the scene looked like a beautiful fairytale. Deacon stood in the center of the courtyard. He looked powerful and regal, his eyes bright with a light I had never seen before. Victoria was right at his side. She looked younger, her hand resting possessively on his arm.
A black carriage pulled into the center of the square. A young man stepped out. He was tall and strong, with dark hair and a sharp, handsome jawline. To anyone else, he looked exactly like a young version of Deacon. But I saw the truth. I saw the way his eyes shifted—not to the bright, pure gold of the Prussia Kings, but to the muddy, sickly yellow of Thorne’s bloodline.
"My son," Deacon’s voice boomed. He opened his arms wide.
The young man—Dante—smiled, but the smile didn't reach his cold eyes. He knelt down before Deacon. "Father. I have waited my whole life for this moment."
I watched as Deacon pulled him into a fierce, tight hug. My heart shattered into a million pieces. The bond between us hummed, a low, agonizing vibration in my soul. I could feel Deacon’s joy. I could feel his pride and his absolute certainty that his life was finally perfect. And through that same bond, I felt him push the thought of me into a dark corner of his mind. I was just a nuisance he would deal with later.
I leaned my forehead against the cold stone of the balcony. The pain in my chest was becoming a dull roar.
"He's a wolf in the fold," I whispered. I watched as Dante exchanged a secret, knowing look with Victoria over Deacon’s shoulder.
Victoria wasn't a victim. She was the one who planned this. She had come back to put a "cuckoo" in the nest, making sure that Thorne’s blood would eventually sit on the throne of Prussia.
"Luna, we have to go back inside. You're losing way too much blood," Elio whispered, her voice trembling.
I looked down at my hand. The gold blood was now dripping steadily from my fingernails, staining the stone. I was the True Queen, marked and accepted by the Goddess herself, yet I was dying in the dark while a fraud was being cheered in the light.
"Let him have his moment," I said. My voice was fading out. "Because when the truth finally comes out, the Hollow King will realize something. He didn't just lose his immortality. He lost the only person who actually loved him for the man, not the crown."
I felt my knees give out. As Kelvin caught me, the last thing I saw was Deacon lifting his son's hand high in the air, the pack howling in a frenzy of excitement.
I closed my eyes. The cold darkn
ess finally felt like a mercy.