Everything seems to be happening in slow motion. I don’t know when it happened. I just know that it did. Aria’s soul fractured when her father wouldn’t let up and the sparks in my palms lit up. Both Muerte and the Republic surround me and they’re all shouting at me, but I can’t hear them over the sound of the anger boiling to the surface. She’s all I can focus on.
Her eyes have gone vacant and the light inside her has gone out. There’s nothing but an empty shell left now. “NO!” Aziza’s cries pierce through my thoughts. She wraps her arms around Aria and sobs uncontrollably while cradling her in her arms.
I turn to Marcum who for the first time has shown any type of regret. HE DID THIS…he pushed her too far. I aim my palms at Marcum, only Thien clasps my palms together between his hands and the sparks die out. “She’d hate you for killing him.” He warned. “Besides, I think everyone has suffered enough, don’t you?”
I nod but I still can’t take my eyes off of her. If I lose her I’ll burn Petrem to the ground. Thien calls for Medic’s to come tend to both Aria and her mother, and they are whisked away to Aria’s room where they work tirelessly throughout the night to repair the fracture done to her mind.
I can’t stay here. I have to go. I have to get as far away from Petrem as my feet will take me. I head home to Kaalen where Aria’s smile and the look in her eyes haunt me. I wanted to kill her father for pushing her as far as he did, but that asshole is right…she’d never forgive me.
“I can’t believe my own brother would plot to have me arrested by the Magistrate.” Gavin’s voice startles me. I flick on the lights inside my bedroom and he’s lying on my bed.
“I can’t believe you’re stupid enough to come back here.” I chuckle.
“The Muerte and the Elite, huh?” Gavin’s amused.
“Yeah. I’m glad you got my text before it was too late.”
“And Cipher?”
“Dead.” I inform him.
“Good. Does the Magistrate expect anything?”
“No, but I have a problem.”
“What’s wrong?” Gavin asks.
“It’s Aria. Her soul has been fractured.”
“Damn.” He scoffs. “The deadliest assassin in the world is done in by emotional trauma. Who would’ve thought?”
“Please tell me there’s a way to bring her back.”
“Why would you want to? With Aria out of the way we can do what we set out to do.”
“The longer she stays like this, the more likely it is I’ll lose her. I can’t let that happen.”
Gavin inhales and then exhales deeply. “What is it about Aria that has every male within the Legion pitching tents?” He asks.
“I wouldn’t even know how to put it into words.”
“Okay fine. If you want to get Aria back so she can run her blade through your heart when she finds out you’re helping me, you have to get the person who fractured her to sincerely have a change of heart.”
“Marcum Bliss doesn’t have a heart. Definitely not where Aria is concerned. You should have seen him today. He didn’t give a single fuck that he was hurting her. He’s so angry with her.”
“Then find out why and help him fix it.”
“Which means going back to Petrem.” I realize.
“Good. I need you to be my eyes and ears Noah.”
“Okay, but I’m done after this. You have safe passage into the human galaxy. Once there you want to contact a wing named Barstow. Here’s his information. He’ll know what to do.”
Gavin and I hug and then he disappears into the night. I spend all night trying to figure out a way to get Marcum to let go of his grudge against Aria, and then it hits me. I need a mirror. No not one that reflects images…okay YES, one that reflects images…but I’m not talking about a piece of glass. I’m talking about a being. And I know just where to find one.
Qi’s calling me like crazy, but I don’t answer. I don’t have time to play twenty-one questions with her. I’m on a mission.
I call a few of my contacts and learn of a mirror named Gin. She happens to live here in Kaalen, which is great, because while my father is away I am interim King. The hard part will be convincing Marcum Bliss to let her into Petrem to fix Aria. Gin is one thousand percent demon, and a pure demon hasn’t set foot inside Petrem since Lucifer.
With her whereabouts in hand, I leave home in search for Gin. It’s not easy to find her, but I have people everywhere looking for her. I’m all but ready to give up looking when my cell phone rings. It’s Gavin again and he claims he left me a present at the house. He caught wind of who I was looking for and like a present under a Christmas tree he had her delivered to my doorstep.
“You’re a hard woman to find.” I smile, waving my hands in front of her mouth to give her the ability to speak again.
“Who are you and what the HELL DO YOU WANT?” She asks.
“How would you like to go to Petrem? Specifically the Royal House of Bliss?”
“Am I being executed?”
“No. Nothing like that. I need your help.”
“What is that the young Prince desires?” She peers into my eyes.
She asks the question, but doesn’t wait for the answer. Fog fills the room and within the fog an image begins to form. The image was of Aria and I sharing a kiss that day near the stone wall. That was the first image. The second image was of her soul fracturing and then the smoke began to clear. “I see.” She sighs.
“I will do anything my Prince asks of me, but how do you plan to get me access? I’m a demon.”
“Just…wait right here.”
“Sure…its not like I can go anywhere TIED TO THIS CHAIR!”
I open up a vortex to take me back to the castle and it spits me out right outside Aria’s room. When I walk in, all of her family, including Thien, is waiting eagerly by her bedside. “Who told you that you could come in here? This is a private family matter!” Marcum shouts at me.
“I may have found a way to bring Aria back.” I tell him, despite his rude behavior. His expression softens.
“How?”
“A mirror.” I confide. “I have one ready to do as you ask, but there’s just one problem…she’s a demon.”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT.” Marcum refuses.
“Look, the longer Aria stays like this the closer we get to losing her for good. Let me help her…PLEASE.” I plead with him.
“NO.” He refuses. “Now get out.”
“You’re killing her!” I shout at him.
Aziza begins to sob uncontrollably and Marcum has me thrown of the room. He’s IMPOSSIBLE. If I could go over his head, I would, but as a demon I don’t have feet to stand on here.
“Do you really think this mirror can help Aria?” Thien walks up.
“Yes, but her father is so damn STUBBORN.” I sigh, frustrated.
“Don’t worry about that. Come with me.”
I follow Thien into his room and he makes a few phone calls. I give him the mirrors name and within minutes Gin has her clearance. I use a Vortex to summon Gin and we untie her. Before long the three of us are racing towards Aria’s room.
“What the hell are you doing back here? I told you to leave!” Marcum shouts at me.
Thien focuses on him and Marcum is rendered motionless. He tries to shout but Thien takes his mouth away. We bring in the mirror and Syria hides behind Aziza’s shirt. “Is this really going to work?” Lucas asks.
“It depends on your father.” I tell him.
The mirror walks up to Marcum and just like before a thick fog enters the room. His worst fears are played out in the fog. It’s Aria and she’s standing on a mound of bodies covered in blood. It reenacts what Marcum thinks happened to Myra. It’s what we all think happened to Myra even though none of us has come out and said it. We all think Aria went on a bloody rampage and killed her. Just like before, the fog disappears once all has been revealed.
“What now?” Aziza asks. “Everyone knows she killed Myra.”
Gin says nothing. Instead, she moves over to Aria, places her fingertips against Aria’s temples and sucks in what looks like smoke from Aria’s lips. Once her cheeks are fully extended, she blows the smoke into the air creating another thick screen of fog. An image begins to appear. It’s Aria and she’s on her way to visit Myra.
Aria sees something that causes her to stop dead in her tracks. Azury. Azury is Aria’s twin, only it can’t be, she’s dead. She can only see the person’s eyes, but deep down she believes it’s her twin. The person takes off and Aria goes after her. She runs into Myra’s study and there on the floor is Myra’s lifeless bloody body. A few minutes later, guards come running through the door and tackle Aria to the ground. The fog dissipates and fades away.
We’re all in a state of shock. ARIA IS…INNOCENT.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
