Chapter 20
808 Words
The paper trembled in Midnight’s hands.
Ascension.
The word felt wrong the second she read it.
Ancient.
Final.
Deadly.
Kael took a slow step toward her. “Midnight—”
“No.”
She backed away instantly.
The mate bond pulled painfully between them, but right now it wasn’t enough to stop the panic rising in her chest.
Terminate immediately.
Like she wasn’t a person.
Like she was a disaster waiting to happen.
Lucien looked grim. “The records are old.”
“That doesn’t make them less horrifying.”
Midnight’s eyes scanned the page again desperately, searching for something—anything—that made this feel less real.
There was none.
Only more notes written beside her bloodline:
unstable hybrid
royal abyss inheritance
emotional catalyst
realm convergence risk
Her breathing turned sharp.
Kael noticed immediately.
“Breathe.”
Midnight laughed bitterly. “You really love saying that while my entire existence gets progressively worse.”
Kael moved closer anyway.
“You are not those records.”
“The hunters seem to disagree.”
“The hunters kill anything they fear.”
“That’s not comforting!”
Her voice cracked louder than intended.
Silence followed.
Midnight looked away quickly.
Because the worst part wasn’t the prophecy.
Or the abyss.
Or even the thought of becoming some monstrous queen.
It was the fear slowly creeping into her chest that maybe everyone else was right.
Maybe she was dangerous in exactly the way they feared.
The balcony shadows stirred around her feet.
Kael saw it instantly.
So did Lucien.
The alpha’s voice softened slightly.
“Midnight.”
She shook her head hard.
“I’m trying.”
The confession nearly shattered him.
She could feel it through the bond.
Kael took another careful step forward.
“No one here thinks you’re weak for struggling.”
Midnight’s eyes snapped toward him.
“That’s not what I’m afraid of.”
Kael’s silver gaze sharpened.
“What are you afraid of?”
The answer came too fast.
“That one day I’ll stop struggling.”
Silence hit hard.
Even Lucien looked unsettled by that.
Because that was the real fear.
Not the power.
Not the demon.
The possibility she might eventually want it.
The shadows around Midnight deepened instinctively.
Not violent.
Listening.
Waiting.
Kael stepped directly in front of her now.
Close enough to feel his warmth.
“You listen to me carefully.”
The alpha command in his voice wrapped around her mind like steel.
Midnight looked up automatically.
“You are not evil because power exists inside you.”
Her throat tightened painfully.
“You don’t know what’s inside me.”
Kael’s eyes darkened.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “I do.”
The mate bond surged sharply.
Midnight felt every ounce of conviction behind his words.
Every protective instinct.
Every terrifying ounce of devotion he kept trying not to show openly.
Lucien cleared his throat awkwardly.
“You two are becoming emotionally intense at alarming speed.”
Neither of them looked at him.
Kael’s attention never left Midnight.
And somehow that made everything worse.
Or better.
She honestly couldn’t tell anymore.
Lucien sighed dramatically. “Right. Well. Since we’re all spiraling emotionally, there’s more.”
Midnight’s stomach dropped.
Of course there was.
Lucien pulled another page from the folder.
“This one was hidden separately.”
Kael took it first this time.
And Midnight immediately knew something was wrong.
Because the alpha’s expression changed.
Not anger.
Shock.
Real shock.
Her pulse spiked instantly.
“What?”
Kael stared at the page another second before slowly handing it to her.
Midnight looked down.
And froze.
It was a photograph.
Old. Worn. Slightly burned around the edges.
A woman stood in the center holding a small child.
Her mother.
There was no mistaking her.
Same eyes. Same dark hair.
But Midnight barely noticed her at first because of the male standing beside her.
Tall. Dark-haired. Terrifyingly beautiful.
Crimson eyes.
One arm wrapped around Midnight’s mother possessively while the other rested against the child’s head gently.
The child.
Her.
Midnight’s blood turned to ice.
“No.”
Kael’s jaw clenched hard.
Lucien spoke quietly.
“We found it hidden behind the bloodline records.”
Midnight stared at the male in the photograph.
Malakar.
Not a shadow. Not smoke. Not a monster from nightmares.
A real man.
And he was holding her like a father.
Her stomach twisted violently.
“That’s impossible.”
But deep down—
she already knew it wasn’t.
The mate bond flared sharply beside her.
Kael’s rage rolled through it instantly.
Not at her.
At him.
Midnight looked closer at the photo.
Her mother looked terrified.
Malakar looked calm.
Almost happy.
And on the back of the photograph, written in her mother’s handwriting:
If Midnight ever learns the truth, tell her I tried to save her from both of them.
- Writer
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