Chapter 26 26

Chapter 26 26
ARIA

I did not need anyone to tell me that something had changed because I felt it in the quiet spaces where Jaxon used to be, in the pauses between messages that never came, in the way his side of the bed stayed cold longer every morning.

I sat at the small table in the café staring at my phone like it had personally betrayed me.

“He has not replied again,” I said.

Across from me, Selene stirred her drink slowly. “How long has it been this time.”

“Two days,” I replied. “Three if you count the one word answers.”

“That is not like him,” Selene said carefully.

“I know,” I snapped, then immediately sighed. “Sorry. I am not mad at you.”

She lifted a brow. “You are mad at someone though.”

I laughed, but it sounded wrong even to my own ears. “Mad is not the word.”

“What is the word,” she asked.

I leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling. “Humiliated. Threatened. Very close to losing my mind.”

Selene reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “Talk to me.”

I hesitated, then said it out loud, finally letting the thought take shape. “He has been spending time with Lyra.”

Selene went still. “How do you know.”

“Because he is not spending time with me,” I said flatly. “Because every time I ask where he is, he says training or walking or clearing his head. Because I saw them together yesterday by the lake.”

Selene swore under her breath. “How close.”

“Close enough,” I said. “Close enough that I felt it.”

“Felt what,” she asked.

I swallowed. “The spell thinning.”

Selene’s eyes sharpened. “You are sure.”

“I am not stupid,” I said. “I know what it feels like when influence slips. When control loosens.”

She leaned back slowly. “That is bad.”

“It is worse than bad,” I replied. “It means Lyra is undoing it without even trying.”

“Or by trying very hard,” Selene said.

Anger flared in my chest, hot and sharp. “She is not allowed to win.”

Selene studied me. “This is not a competition.”

“Everything is a competition,” I said quietly. “Especially when there is something worth losing.”

We sat in silence for a moment before Selene spoke again.

“You need support,” she said. “You cannot do this alone.”

“I do not want pity,” I replied.

“This is not pity,” she said. “This is strategy.”

That word settled in my chest and stayed there.

Later that night, I found myself in Selene’s room with two other girls, Cassia and Nyx, sitting on the floor surrounded by candles that were not lit but ready.

Cassia looked at me with open concern. “You look exhausted.”

“I am fine,” I said automatically.

Nyx snorted. “No you are not.”

Selene shot her a look, then turned back to me. “We just want to help.”

I hugged my knees to my chest. “He is slipping away.”

Cassia leaned forward. “Because of her.”

“Yes,” I said. “Because of Lyra.”

Nyx crossed her arms. “I told you sirens never stop pulling.”

My head snapped up. “You knew.”

Nyx shrugged. “Everyone knows. Some of us just pretend not to.”

Rage bubbled up so fast it made my vision blur. “And no one thought to warn me.”

Selene spoke quickly. “We did not think it would get this far.”

“Well it has,” I said. “And now the spell is failing.”

Cassia frowned. “You should not have used something that strong in the first place.”

I laughed, sharp and humorless. “Do not act moral now. You all benefit when I am stable.”

That shut them up.

The truth spilled out of me after that, messy and desperate.

“I did everything right,” I said. “I supported him. I loved him. I protected him from her influence. And now he looks at me like I am the one holding him back.”

Selene moved closer and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You are breaking.”

“I am aware,” I whispered.

The room felt too small. My thoughts raced, overlapping and ugly.

“The spell was never meant to last forever,” Nyx said quietly. “You knew that.”

“I thought I had more time,” I said. “I thought he would settle into it. That the feeling would become real.”

Cassia shook her head gently. “You cannot force real.”

I snapped my gaze to her. “Watch me.”

Silence fell heavy and uncomfortable.

Selene cleared her throat. “If the spell is weakening, you need leverage.”

I looked at her slowly. “What kind.”

“External pressure,” she said. “Something that makes Lyra disappear from the board.”

My heart skipped. “You mean kill her.”

“No,” Selene said quickly. “I mean distract her. Remove her. Scare her enough to run.”

Nyx let out a low laugh. “Or let someone else do it.”

I frowned. “What do you mean.”

Nyx hesitated, then said, “There are people asking questions.”

The room seemed to tilt. “What people.”

“Hollow Creek,” Nyx said. “Word travels. A siren performing openly. Losing control. Someone noticed.”

My pulse pounded in my ears. “Hunters.”

Nyx nodded once. “Not amateurs either.”

Cassia stood abruptly. “That is crossing a line.”

“They crossed it first by existing,” Nyx shot back.

Selene looked between us, then turned to me. “This is dangerous information.”

“It is useful information,” I said slowly.

“You cannot be thinking what I think you are thinking,” Cassia said.

I stood up, my legs trembling but my mind suddenly sharp and clear.

“I am thinking that Lyra brought this on herself,” I said. “I am thinking that if someone else removes her, my hands stay clean.”

Selene grabbed my wrist. “Aria. This is not a game.”

I met her eyes. “Neither is losing the man I love.”

Nyx tilted her head. “You want names.”

“Yes,” I said.

“Places,” Selene added softly. “Timelines.”

I nodded. “Everything.”

Cassia looked sick. “If you do this, you cannot undo it.”

“I am not undoing anything,” I said. “I am adapting.”

That night, alone in my room, I sat on the floor with my back against the bed, my hands shaking as the truth finally settled in.

The spell had failed.

I pressed my palms to my face and laughed until tears slipped through my fingers.

“You were never meant to be permanent,” I whispered to myself. “You were always meant to be a bridge.”

My phone buzzed.

Unknown Number: You are looking for answers.

I stared at the screen.

Aria: Who is this.

Unknown Number: Someone who solves problems.

My heart raced.

Aria: About what.

Unknown Number: The siren.

I closed my eyes.

Aria: Where.

Unknown Number: Warehouse district. Midnight. Come alone.

I should have been afraid.

Instead, relief washed over me like a warm tide.

At midnight, I pulled my hood up and stepped into the cold night air, my breath fogging as I walked toward the edge of campus, every step steady, deliberate.

“You are doing the right thing,” I told myself. “You are protecting what is yours.”

The warehouse loomed ahead, dark and quiet, a single light glowing near the entrance.

I paused only once, my heart thudding as doubt flickered.

Then I pushed the door open.

A man stepped out of the shadows, his eyes sharp and knowing.

“You must be Aria,” he said.

“And you must be looking for Lyra,” I replied.

He smiled slowly. “We are.”

I folded my arms and met his gaze. “Then we should talk.”