Chapter 1
*Aria*
My mother is still in the kitchen when I sneak in again. The fire is low, the air warm, and the smell of roasted meat makes my stomach growl even though she says dinner isn't ready. I reach for the tray anyway, and she swats my hand without even turning around.
"Aria."
"I didn't take anything."
"You were about to."
I grin and dart away, nearly colliding with my father as he walks in. He's still wearing his uniform, damp from the evening drizzle, but he smiles the moment he sees me. The cake box in his hands looks enormous, and my eyes light up instantly.
"Is that mine?"
He chuckles. "Who else? It's your birthday."
He sets it down carefully before lifting me into his arms. His armor is cold against my cheek, but his hug is warm and familiar, safe in a way I don't have words for yet.
My mother watches us from the kitchen entrance, pretending to be annoyed.
"You'll spoil her."
"She's my daughter. Besides she's already spoiled"
They both laugh, and I laugh too. But just when I thought this day would turn out like every other of my birthday, the door slams open.
Then the door slams open.
The sound is violent, loud enough to make my entire body jolt. My father's arms tighten around me, and my mother gasps sharply behind us. Before I can even ask what happened, boots thunder across the floor.
Men wearing armors just like my father's flood our courtyard. My father sets me down slowly, his brows furrowed in confusion as he walks out into the courtyard. My mother quickly pulls me into her embrace, turning my face away from the chaos.
"What is the meaning of this?" My father growls, his tone tense.
I hear the soft echo of boots, and then someone speaks. "You traitor, you've got some nerve asking such question after what you've done. Did you expect your evil deeds would remain hidden forever?"
"Traitor? What do you mean." My father asks, but the words had barely left his lips when I hear multiple whistling sounds of arrows. My body jerks involuntary from the sound.
"STOP!" my mother screams, running past me and into the courtyard. I turn around quickly, eager to understand what was happening.
My eyes widen in horror as I watch father collapses onto his knees, gasping, trembling. Blood spills from his mouth as he struggles to stay upright, his hands twitching uselessly at the arrows lodged in his body.
As he tries to lift his head, another arrow tears through his neck, blood spurting out as it logged deep. His body drops lifeless.
My mother reaches him just as a guard steps forward. The blade flashes, slicing across her throat with brutal force. I watch her hands fly to her neck, blood pouring between her fingers as her body trembles violently.
She collapses beside him.
Rain begins pouring down. It soaks everything, their bodies, the stone, the blood spreading beneath them. My chest tightens painfully, my small body frozen as my mind refuses to understand what my eyes are seeing.
They're not moving.
They're not getting up.
The smell of blood fills my nostrils.
My hands start shaking.
My vision blurs.
The sound of metal scraping against stone forces me to raise my head.
The Beta commander steps forward from behind the guards, his sword hangs loosely in his hand, the blade stained dark with fresh blood as rain slides down its edge.
His eyes lock onto me and his lips curl into a wicked smirk.
"Well…"
My heart slams against my ribs.
"Look what survived." he continues.
He walks toward me slowly, dragging the sword behind him. The scraping sound drills into my skull with every step, terror crashing over me so hard my legs refuse to move.
I try, but I could barely feel any of my limbs. I had gone completely numb.
Tears spill down my face, my chest tightening. Terror roots me to the ground as the man raised his sword slightly. Just when I thought he would strike me, someone came to my rescue.
"ENOUGH!" The voice thundered across the courtyard. It was my uncle, my mother's brother.
He moved quickly, stepping between us. His wolf energy crackled in the air, heavy and suffocating.
"She's just a child," he growled.
The commander scoffed. "A traitor's blood is still traitor's blood."
My uncle didn't budge.
For a moment, I thought they would fight. But the commander only clicked his tongue, lowering his blade.
"Take the bodies," he ordered.
The soldiers moved, reaching to lift my parents.
"NO." I finally chocked out in a trembling voice. "Give me mom and dad." I cried, running into the rain to hug my parents.
But my uncle quickly caught me, pulling me into his embrace and turning my face away from the bloody sight.
"Why...why aren't they moving?" I cried out, my voice trembling, rain soaking my clothes.
My uncle held me tightly, his arms like iron. The rain pounded against us, soaking through my clothes and hair, but I didn't feel it. All I felt was the emptiness swallowing my chest.
"They… they're gone, Aria," he said, his voice low but firm, shaking with a fury he refused to release. "I… I couldn't—"
"No!" I screamed, wrenching myself from his hold, desperate to see them again. My knees hit the wet stone as I crawled toward their bodies, but the cold realization hit me,my parents were gone.
"Aria, Aria." A familiar voice echoed, calling my name from a distance.
"ARIA!!"
I jolted awake, my eyes snapping open, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. I'd been having another nightmare, of that same scene from fifteen years ago. One that haunted me till today.
"You're finally awake. You were trembling so hard I thought you were having a convulsion." My cousin Lina says quietly.
I swallow hard, my throat tight. "It's… it's okay," I manage, though my voice shakes. "I… was just having a nightmare."
"The acceptance letter must have made you panick huh." She asked, brushing wet strands of hair off my forehead.
I shift uncomfortably, I've hated physical touch since after that day. It made my skin crawl, almost making me throw up. "What acceptance letter?" I asked, confused.
"Don't tell me you forgot you've been accepted at the Royal Guardian Academy.."
My heart skipped as realization dawned on me. Today was my first day, and damn it. I was late!