An ancient kingdom has been waiting for me.
“Aria!”
Kael’s voice echoed through the mist.
Strong.
Desperate.
Real.
I froze.
My mother’s hand was only a few steps away.
She smiled at me with the same gentle eyes I remembered.
“My little moon,” she whispered. “Come home.”
Tears blurred my vision.
I wanted to believe it was really her.
More than anything.
But then I remembered something she had once told me when I was little.
“The people who truly love you will never ask you to walk into darkness alone.”
I slowly lowered my hand.
“You…”
My voice trembled.
“…you’re not my mother.”
For a heartbeat, the woman said nothing.
Then her smile twisted into something cold and unnatural.
Her face cracked like broken glass.
Her eyes turned completely black.
“You should have come.”
