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‘Rymedur!’ Areanel looked around the room, gaze flitting towards the open doorway into their shared bedroom. ‘Don’t say such treasonous things!’

Both his hands came to cradle her head, dwarfing her face in their gentle grasp. ‘What are you afraid of, love? It’s the dead of night, and we are the only ones in our room.’

‘You still don’t understand. The very walls of this castle have ears. Be careful of what you say.’

No words were exchanged after that.

With a soft, loving kiss to her temple, Areanel allowed Rymedur to clean her. The steady feeling of the washcloth moving against her skin, removing blood stains, and the delicate way he washed the dirt and grime from her hair eased her anxieties. Not long after, Areanel gradually returned to herself. She finally let her feelings flow back in, and when she did, she sobbed. Her hands covered her face, muffling her cries.

Uncontrollable monster. The words clanged through her mind. Final. Absolute. She didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve his kindness. The gentleness with which he held her. Wild beast. She didn’t deserve to be a mother. Ruthless hound. Didn’t deserve all the good things in her life.

Areanel clung to the way Rymedur held her against him in a warm and comforting embrace, and his arms encircled her waist—sturdy and consoling. She was pulled closer until her back was flush against his chest, and his chin was resting on her head. There, she reminisced on the many times he had done this, and knew that—for her—he would do it many times more.

She found solace in his love.

She only hoped his love would continue after he saw the real her. The version of herself she hated. The one she kept hidden.

Chapter 2

Areanel

Eight years later…

‘No!’

There were no words to describe the devastating news, and Areanel’s spirit was crushed.

Tears blurred the path before her, and the pounding of her feet matched the erratic beats of her heart as she rushed to reach the lake, her swollen belly slowing her down.

Her sobs choked her. Each breath came ragged and irregular, sawing out of her lungs as she pushed herself further in her desperate plight. A mixture of sobs and gasps echoed in her ears when she stumbled forward.

She needed to reach the lake. All she had to do was get there, and then she would see that it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true.

It. Couldn’t.

Hurried footsteps trampled the lush, vibrant grass beneath her booted feet, but Areanel did not stop until green gave way to the white sands of Vindyamiriel Lake. Movements frantic, she kicked up the diamond-like grain of the beach, shoulders slumped forward with the weight of her distress, and skidded to a stop.

Horror. Cruel and savage dread filled her to the brim.

Then, sorrow. Desolation fell like a boulder onto her shoulders.

Areanel didn’t feel the pain vibrating through her when her knees hit the ground. A terrifying numbness overtook her as she stared and stared at the waves in disbelief, each pass of the clear azure water lapping at the blood now drenching the once unblemished sand. The tightness in Areanel’s chest grew until it felt like a vice had been placed around her heart.

The lake’s water greedily swallowed the blood-red ichor, erasing any evidence of the tragic truth.

But Areanel knew.

She barely recognised the small figure. But it was him.

Dark, midnight blue tresses, identical to his father’s, were soaked with the sticky substance like each strand had been drenched in red paint.

Voice trembling, her lip quivered. ‘No.’

Areanel crawled towards the broken figure, not even registering the coarse grit and grain scraping her palms. She needed to reach him! Feel the warmth of his soft skin. Feel his tiny, rapid heartbeat beneath her hand.

This was a nightmare. It had to be.

It took far too long to reach him, but when she did, Areanel could not feel his usual bright warmth. No doubt his soul had already traversed over to Andas’s dark realm. The greedy God of Death would not allow Areanel to bring him back—to steal a soul. Not again.