The air in the cottage crackled like lightning after a storm.
Aria stood in the silence, silver sparks dancing along her fingertips, the glowing mark on her arm pulsing slowly like a heartbeat.
Kael took a step toward her.
"Don't," she said sharply, her voice colder than he'd ever heard it.
He froze.
"I know I hurt you," he said. "But you don't understand why I—"
"You made me feel worthless," she cut in. "You made me doubt every part of myself. And now? Now you come back because I'm something rare? Something powerful?"
Kael's expression twisted with pain. "No. I came back because I never stopped feeling you. Because I was wrong."
Ronan stepped beside her, eyes locked on Kael. "She doesn't need your regret. She needs the truth."
The witch cleared her throat, her tone firm. "Enough. The bond, broken or not, has already caused enough damage."
She walked to a high shelf and retrieved a crystal vial filled with shimmering silver liquid.
"Drink this," she said, offering it to Aria. "It'll show you your true lineage. And… what's coming."
Aria took it without hesitation. Her hands trembled — not from fear, but from the weight of knowing that everything in her life had led to this moment.
She drank.
Instantly, her eyes went white.
---
Inside the vision…
Aria stood on a battlefield under a red moon. Wolves with glowing eyes clashed violently — and at the center stood a woman who looked just like her, wearing a silver crown, wielding light like a weapon.
A voice echoed around her.
> "She will return through blood, through betrayal, through flame…
And the moon will rise anew in her."
Lightning struck the ground, revealing a cloaked figure with red eyes — the same one who attacked the cottage.
But beside him stood a second shape — Kael.
Only this Kael wore a crown. His eyes were… empty.
---
Aria gasped, stumbling back into reality.
The witch caught her. "What did you see?"
Aria shook her head, sweat glistening on her brow. "War. Fire. And Kael…"
Kael stepped forward. "What about me?"
Her voice trembled. "You were standing beside him. The one hunting me."
Ronan stiffened. "Future?"
The witch's face turned grim. "Or possible future."
Aria turned to Kael, heart racing.
"Tell me the truth," she said. "Why did you really reject me?"
Kael's jaw clenched. Then…
"Because the elders told me the prophecy," he said. "They said the moon-born would destroy everything — including me."
Aria's blood turned cold.
"So you threw me away… to save yourself?"
Kael's voice broke. "No. To save you."
But it was too late.
Because Aria didn't
know which version of Kael would appear in the end — the protector… or the traitor.