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Not wanting to be left alone in this beautiful alien palace, I reluctantly trailed behind the mist. Once my foot brushes the first step, my pace quickens, climbing countless stairs after it. How much wealth do they have? The answer came as I noticed the marble floor glistening with sky-blue scorodite crystals embedded in each step we took. Each stone sat at the center of blooming flowers pressed into the marble in a thin sheet of gold. It was grander than anything I’d imagined. Unfamiliar—yet somewhere deep inside, it tugged like a call home.

I stole one more glance at the banner at the center of the room. Its crest stirred something in me, a whisper in the soul that I couldn’t deny. Denying it would have meant denying a part of myself I was only just beginning to understand.

Just before I reached the landing, a woman’s bloodcurdling scream tore through the air. Raw panic laced the sound as it rose from a room on this floor. The shriek vibrated through my body, awakening every nerve within my system. The woman’s terror pulled at something deeper than my heart but rooted in my soul. An irrational thought gripped me to my core; I need to protect her. Whoever she had been had unlocked something deeper than a bond in my heart; it had been devotion. My feet twitched with the urge to sprint toward the next cry.

“What was that?” I asked, my chest tightening from the sudden surge of feeling. It must have been misplaced because I had only ever felt something this irrational for my own mother.

The mist didn’t answer me It led me down a corridor that twisted deep into the castle, knowing every inch of it. The layout made no sense; each turn was more disorienting than the last, yet I somehow knew I could navigate it if I tried.

Closer now, another tormented cry ripped through the hallways, bouncing off every surface. Her screams were a demand to be seen. I could feel it in my bones; these were not regular sobs; this was a woman being broken down to her very core. The mist guided me to a set of double doors. They hung open against the nursery walls their paint smeared with blood.

The sight chilled me as my feet hesitated at the threshold. Blood pooled across the floor. Two maids lay face down, their throats torn wide. Just beyond the fallen servants, a woman stood in a white silk nightgown before a crib. There was no way to make out her face as she loomed over the empty bedding. All I could see were long chestnut curls cascading down her back.

The mist slipped past me into the nursery, moving with intention. It glanced over its shoulder, urging me forward, but my body stood paralyzed by the woman’s presence. It took everything me to follow after it my nerves coiled tight, threatening to fire with pain if I moved. I dared to. I drew in a breath, and my lungs filled with jasmine and eucalyptus. It had been stronger than the iron and ginger of the blood staining the floor. Her scent was like an invitation for me, and I moved heavy but obedient.

The woman folded over the crib, her bloody fingers clutching at the cotton sheets until she pulled the mattress from its wood frame. When her fingers came up empty from her search another twisted wail tore free of her throat. The sight pulled at my heart as her raw desperation pierced my ears. She shook—violently, uncontrollably.

“Are you okay?” I managed as my voice broke. There was no reaction from her to my voice, not even a flinch, she was in so much pain. I thought about reaching to touch her back, to see if I could offer her any respite. My fingers twitched at my side before my hand lifted, stopping inches from her back. She seemed so broken. Not wanting to startle her fragile state I stopped myself.

She didn’t answer; her cries only swelled loudly ricocheting inside my skull like a broken melody. When she turned around slowly, my breath held. She was beautiful even in sorrow. But it was her eyes that caught me. They reminded me of my own with that same soft wonder set in almond. Her features were almost unbearable to look at, lips dragged down by grief; eyes scrunched with pain as tears streamed unchecked. Even though this stranger should have meant nothing to me, a thread rooted itself inside me as I took her in. She reminded me of the sun how bright her skin glowed. There was a warmth to her mahogany tone that reminded me of my own just deeper.

Who could she be?

When she looked my way, her swollen eyes passed right through me, focusing on the open door behind me. Her knees buckled nearly toppling over as she wailed, “Victor!”

“What is it, Eliza?” a voice asked as a man entered. Another wave of jasmine filled the room, heavier than before. It was as if they shared the same eucalyptus scent, filling the room with wafts of freshness.

He was dressed in garbs of finery, his silk robe tailored to perfection. It was a rich navy in color, with a velvet belt wrapping around his waist. The color suited him well too. Victor was composed in a way that felt wrong for the scene. There was no blood staining him like the woman. The way his eyes held a stillness in them was so cold, almost heartless at first until he realized her state.

My mind froze as the realization settled in. Eliza. The name didn’t just ring—it was indescribable. This was the woman Valentina and Draco warned me about. My mother. How was it possible she was here? How could I see this? My feet begged me to close the distance between us. I just needed to hug her once. I didn’t care about logistics. Because there was no logic behind it, other than a child wanting to comfort their mother. But I stayed put.

Victor didn’t spare the bodies a glance as he darted towards her. Cupping her face in both hands, he rested his forehead against hers. He was a lean man, fairer than Eliza, tall though not taller than me. There was a youthfulness about both of them, though something in his expression made him seem older.

“Someone took him!” she shrieked, collapsing. He followed her down to the floor, collecting her body in his arms, as he kept them away from the pool of blood at their feet. Victor’s touch was careful as he placed Eliza into his lap. His hand trailing circles into her back trying to soothe the grief within her.

“They took my baby…” Eliza’s voice cracked down into a whisper. Victor’s fingers moved through her curls holding her face inches away from his own as she continued her sobs. He pressed kisses into her cheeks silently. “I want him back. I don’t care how he was made. He was mine. He was ours no matter what.”

Knowing how this story ended tightened my chest. She was pouring her heart out to the one that caused her that pain. The man who wanted me gone from the moment I was born. Seeing her this broken felt like a sin against the world. Before I could think, my feet moved on their own. I just had to touch her once. Even if she couldn’t see me I just had to.

Kneeling besides both of them my hand reached out to touch her shoulder just once. It was a hopeless attempt because my hand passed straight through her. There wasn’t even an ounce of friction or warmth, but I could smell her. It all seemed so real.

“I’m here,” I whispered, wanting her just to hear me once.

The scene played as if I was never there at all. Victor’s grip tightened on the back of Eliza’s head as he leaned in to kiss her brow. “I’ll do everything in my power, Eliza, to bring your son back.” He sounded so true in his words. For a moment, I almost believed him. The fact that he had the sheer will to lie so effortlessly was appalling in every sense of the word.

Since the first time we entered, my gaze shot over my shoulder to the entity that brought me here. “Why are you showing me this?” I whispered, the truth settling in. This was the night my mother learned I was gone. The night the king set my death in motion.

For the first time, I saw the face that started it all. What shook me most was that he looked inviting. Serenity, safety—his voice a lie wrapped in silk. There was no reason for her to think he was capable. From just this impression alone, I could understand how she trusted him so blindly.

Victor was a con dressed as a gentleman. A king.

“I don’t want to see this!” I shouted, getting up from my knees. It was too much, and I didn’t want to listen to her torment. Those tears would be engrained in my memory forever. Wanting to outrun the nightmare that was bare to me, I turned and ran through the open doors.

I couldn’t outrun her sobs. They twirled around me in taunting patterns. The farther I ran, the louder they echoed, a melody meant to drive me mad. Victor’s silk-wrapped lies churned through my thoughts. Her grief. His promises. All of it struck a spark.

He had to pay. There was no apology that could save him from the course he set in motion. But I knew one thing—his time started ticking the moment I stepped into this kingdom. Victor just didn’t understand it was mine for the taking yet. He would.

I hadn’t known the shadow had followed after me until a harsh tug on my cloak yanked me backward. Before I could react, it plunged its hand into my back and shoved a burning light into me.