AURORA
Slowly, Sonya and Caspian let him go, stepping back as the heavy weight of reality settled over them once more. They spared me a final, unreadable glance before retreating to the corner of the room, their chains clinking softly as they took their places beside the armed guards.
My father's weak gaze drifted toward the rest of the room. "Come closer…" he wheezed, looking at the towering figures looming in the shadows. "…if you wish to."
The Scions obliged. For all their absolute power and lethal authority, they approached his bedside with a quiet, uncharacteristic hesitation.
"I apologize to you all," my father whispered, his voice cracking with the effort to speak. "For the part I played in your fate, and for your present reality. But I must be honest… watching you perpetuate the torture, always fearing that you would make Aurora a victim… it will haunt me to my final breath."
