“You are dead,” I said. “I watched you die. I buried you myself.”
“You buried a body. Not me.” My mother stepped closer. She looked exactly as I remembered. Auburn hair like mine. Green eyes that used to hold warmth. Now they held something else. Something ancient. “I am sorry, Aria. For the deception. For the pain. But it was necessary.”
“Necessary? You let me think you were dead for ten years! Let Father become a monster! Let him torture me because I was not the son he wanted!” Rage exploded through me. The curse surged. “You let me suffer alone!”
“I know. And I am sorry. But I had no choice.” She raised her hand. Symbols glowed beneath her skin. The same runes the First Ones carried. “I am cursed too, Aria. The ninth bloodline. The one Aurora never mentioned. The one that has been hi
