(Aurelia's POV)
When I opened my eyes, darkness swallowed everything. There was no light, no familiar shapes, nothing to anchor me. My body felt heavy, stiff, as if I'd been bound in one position for hours. Panic clawed at my chest. I couldn't remember anything from last night — how I got here, how I ended up… wherever this was.
I felt utterly alone. Alaric's presence, normally so strong, so reassuring, was gone. I reached into my mind for Arrie, hoping for her comforting voice, but she was silent too. Dormant. Cut off. I wasn't sure if it was deliberate or if some unknown force had silenced her. For the first time, I was truly, terrifyingly alone.
It took a long, panicked moment before I realized the bag over my head was real, heavy and coarse against my skin, and that my hands were tied tightly behind my back. My muscles screamed from the strain, but I dared not move too much — exhaustion weighed on me, threatening to pull me under. Still, fear kept me from letting myself rest.
What if I never opened my eyes again? Or if I did, I wouldn't recognize anything? I swallowed hard, bitter fear lodging in my throat. I tried to breathe slowly, counting each inhale, each exhale, just to keep control of my spiraling thoughts. The air was stale and suffocating, thick and unyielding against my lungs. I was trapped in a space without life or air.
And then, slowly, a realization pierced the haze: the vibrations beneath me shifted. We were moving. I was in a vehicle — a car, maybe the back of a truck — and the metal beneath me rumbled with each turn. My stomach twisted at the unknown.
Before I could make sense of anything, the vehicle stopped. The doors opened with a sharp, metallic creak. I froze, every nerve screaming. Strong hands lifted me effortlessly, pressing me against someone's chest. My body tensed instinctively. I didn't dare speak. I didn't even dare breathe too loudly.
I was set down carefully — or at least, as carefully as someone handling me seemed to know. My knees hit a rug. It was rough, cheap, nothing like the soft textures I was used to. I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the ache in my limbs and the growing fear knotting my stomach.
Then the doors opened again, squeaking on worn hinges. Heavy footsteps approached, each step resonating through the floor and into my bones. I stiffened further. The weight and cadence made it unmistakable: it was a man, and he was confident, trained. Dangerous.
I strained to hear, the blindfold muffling my sight but not my ears.
"Boss," one voice said, rough and low. "We brought the girl. Just like you asked. We'll be leaving now, making sure we cover our tracks perfectly. Her scent's masked — the Prince won't find her. And the King… he's dead. Just like you said."
My breath hitched. My mind reeled. They'd killed the King — Alaric's father — to distract him. To get me. My heart pounded violently. But why? Why target me? I hadn't angered anyone, hadn't made enemies. Or had I? Had I been too naïve to notice danger lurking in shadows I hadn't seen?
"Good. Make sure no one knows she's here," a second voice replied, smooth, controlled, almost unnervingly calm. I didn't recognize either of them. The certainty in their words, the way they spoke as if I were already their possession, made bile rise in my throat.
The doors clicked shut. One man had left. The other stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. He reached up and undid the blindfold, tilting my chin so I had no choice but to meet his gaze.
The first thing I noticed were his eyes — sharp, calculating, a predator's eyes. Then the scar. It was long, cruel, running from above his left eye, slicing across the bridge of his nose, and ending on his right cheek. A twisted mark, etched deep into his flesh, like a warning to anyone who dared oppose him.
I tried to shrink back instinctively, but my hands were bound. My body tensed, coiled like a spring.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, princess," he said, his voice silk over steel. "I'm Cole… Alaric's twin."
The words hit me like a thunderclap. Alaric had a twin? A shadow I had never known existed? And he'd just revealed it while I was trapped, defenseless, in his hands. My heart pounded faster, a mix of fear, disbelief, and rising dread that this nightmare had only just begun.