The isle felt different without Aurelia.
It was hard to explain.
It was almost as if a part of the island’s magic had disappeared with her, leaving behind a quiet emptiness no one was sure how to fill.
Diana stood in the middle of a grassy meadow surrounded by a dozen little witches, all of them no older than seven.
This had once been Aurelia’s class.
Every morning she had gathered them here to teach them the basics of magic and nature.
Now…
The little monsters were her responsibility.
A tiny fireball whizzed past Diana’s head before exploding against a nearby tree.
Another child squealed with laughter as she chased after her friend with glowing blue sparks dancing between her fingertips.
Two more had somehow abandoned spell practice altogether and were rolling down a hill while another attempted to summon butterflies instead of paying attention.
Diana simply stood there with a smile that grew tighter by the second.
She had never known how hard it was to keep little girls from snipping their braids off till now.
What in Hecate’s name had Aurelia been doing to keep them under control?
“Alright…” Diana called, clapping her hands together.
“That’s enough.”
Not a single witchlet listened.
One of them somehow managed to set another’s dress on fire.
Diana closed her eyes.
“…Oh my blood pressure…”
With a wave of her hand, silver magic burst from her fingertips and formed a large glowing box around the children, trapping every last one of them inside.
The little witches immediately crowded against the shimmering walls.
“Whaaat?”
“No fair!”
“We weren’t done!”
“Class isn’t over,” Diana said, folding her arms across her chest.
A chorus of dramatic groans answered her.
With another snap of her fingers, the glowing box dissolved into silver sparks before disappearing completely.
The little witches immediately settled onto the grass in neat little rows, though a few still whispered and giggled amongst themselves.
Diana folded her arms and looked over them, silently wondering how Aurelia had managed to get them to behave without trapping them first.
Before she could begin the lesson, a small hand shot into the air.
“Where’s Teacher Aurelia?” The question caught her off guard.
Diana looked down at the little girl sitting cross-legged in the front row, her bright eyes full of nothing but innocent curiosity.
She didn’t know what to say.
How was she supposed to explain exile to children who she was sure would fumble to pronounce the word?
How was Diane supposed to tell them the teacher they adored would never be coming back?
“…She’s gone to the mainland for work,” Diana finally said, forcing a small smile onto her face.
The answer seemed to satisfy a few of them.
For all of three seconds.
“My sisters said Teacher Aurelia is never coming back.”
Another little girl spoke up from the second row, hugging her knees against her chest as she looked up at Diana with wide, trusting eyes.
“They said the High Priestess banished her.”
The meadow fell strangely quiet.
Every pair of little eyes turned towards Diana, waiting for her to tell them whether that was true.
Her smile faltered.
Before Diana could answer, another voice beat her to it.
“Of course she’ll come back.” The familiar voice carried easily across the meadow.
“Have you all forgotten who she is?”
Diana looked up to find Clover making her way towards them with a wicker basket hooked over one arm, fresh herbs spilling over the edge.
A few loose strands of her blonde hair had escaped her braid, and she wore the same easy smile she always seemed to have.
The moment the children spotted her, the lesson was forgotten.
“Clover!”
The little witches swarmed her, nearly knocking the basket from her hands as they bounced excitedly around her.
Clover laughed.
“Alright, alright.” She raised both hands in surrender.
“You all know the rules.
First one to reach my herb garden gets a treat.”
That was all the motivation they needed.
A chorus of excited squeals filled the meadow as every single child sprinted past her towards the herb workshop.
Diana let out a long sigh, folding her arms as she leaned against the nearest tree.
“I was teaching that class.”
“And you were failing,” Clover replied with a snicker.
Diana rolled her eyes, though a reluctant smile still tugged at her lips.
She pushed herself away from the tree and fell into step beside her friend as they followed the trail the children had taken.
“They don’t listen.”
“They listened to Aurelia.”
“They adore Aurelia.”
“She was supposed to lead us someday.”
They both fell silent as they continued down the stone path.
Her words reminded Diana just how much the isle had lost.
Despite Aurelia’s shaky relationship with Asteria, she had still been the High Priestess’ heir.
One day she had been meant to rule them all.
Aurelia had been everything a ruling sorceress should be.
Blessed by both goddesses.
Powerful.
Bold.
Kind.
And despite the proud, arrogant façade she always wore, she had one of the humblest hearts Diana had ever known.
Now…
Now she couldn’t even summon a glass of water.
The once powerful witch of their isle was nothing more than a human living amongst wolves.
Every time Diana thought about it, it felt wrong.
It made her think the gods themselves had made some terrible mistake.
“I heard they’re removing her things from the Solaris Room,” Clover said quietly after a while.
Diana’s feet came to a stop.
They really were determined to erase every trace of her sister from the isle.
The Solaris Room belonged to the isle’s heir.
Every future High Priestess had lived there before ascending.
Removing Aurelia’s belongings wasn’t simply clearing out a room.
They were quietly stripping her name off their history.
Clover looked back and, seeing the way Diana had gone rigid, sighed softly.
“You don’t need to worry…
your mother didn’t let them.”
Only then did Diana unclench her fists.
Right.
Of course Aradia hadn’t.
She would never allow anyone to erase Aurelia’s existence.
Truthfully, Aradia had always adored Aurelia more than her own flesh and blood, and Diana had never once held it against her.
She understood why.
Diana had only been five when Aurelia was born and placed into Aradia’s arms.
Aurelia had been tiny then, so fragile everyone feared she wouldn’t survive.
Asteria had never looked at her daughter with warmth.
Diana had never understood why her birth mother seemed incapable of loving Aurelia, and whenever she dared ask, the older witches would fall silent as though she had spoken something forbidden.
Eventually she stopped asking.
Whatever answer existed clearly wasn’t hers to know.
Either way…
Aradia would never let anyone throw away the memory of the daughter she had raised.
Diana started walking again, a small smile tugging at her lips.
“She would’ve chased every priestess out of the Solaris Room herself.”
Clover laughed.
“She would’ve forced them all the way to the cliffs with a broom in her hand.”
The image was so absurdly believable that Diana found herself laughing too.
They followed the winding path until the herb garden came into view.
The little witches had already beaten them there and were now arguing over baskets, each loudly insisting the biggest one belonged to her.
Clover stopped walking altogether and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Oh heavens…” she muttered under her breath.
“Give me patience.”
Diana smiled at the sight before something else caught her attention.
“Clover…”
The healer didn’t answer.
“Clover.”
This time she looked down.
The silver bracelet around her wrist had begun glowing with a soft blue light.
The color drained from Clover’s face.
“…Aurelia.”
___
Voices slowly registered into Aurelia’s mind as she slowly opened her eyes.
She recognized Darius’ voice first, his usual low timbre different now, filled with a worry she had never heard from him before and the other voice…
She knew that voice, but for a moment her mind struggled to place who it belonged to.
Her entire body was in pain.
Everything felt heavy and weak, but the dull ache in her lower abdomen was what made her heart drop.
Slowly, the memories came rushing back.
The blood…..The locked door.
Her child.
Her eyes moved around the room frantically until they landed on Darius standing a few steps away from her.
His expression softened the moment he saw her awake, relief and worry mixing together as he quickly moved towards her.
“Breathe…
hey…”
His hands gently reached for her face, cupping her cheeks as he tried to calm her down, but Aurelia immediately pulled away from his touch.
“My child?” The question came out desperate, almost like she was afraid of the answer.
She stared at him, searching his face for reassurance, for anything that would tell her everything was fine.
But instead, she watched his expression slowly change.
The fear that crossed his face was enough to make her heart sink.
“No…”
The word left her lips quietly.
“Aurelia…” Darius tried reaching for her again, but this time she moved further away.
“Don’t touch me!”
Her voice came out sharper than she intended.
Her hands immediately moved to her hair, her fingers digging into her scalp as she pulled at the silver strands.
The memories of the night replayed in her mind over and over again.
Someone had done this.
Someone had locked the door.
Someone had left her there bleeding and helpless.
This wasn’t some accident.
Someone had wanted this to happen.
The healer stepped forward carefully, his expression filled with pity.
“I couldn’t hear the fetal heartbeat.” The words were gentle, but they felt like they had crushed whatever little hope she had left.
Aurelia stared at him, unable to process what he had just said.
After everything she had already lost…
Her magic, her home.
Her place among her people.
She had lost her child too?
Her eyes began to burn as tears gathered, and suddenly breathing felt harder.
Her chest felt tight, like the air had become trapped inside her lungs.
She tried to hold herself together, but she couldn’t.
“No…”
The word trembled from her lips.
“This can’t be…”
The tears finally spilled over.
“After everything…”
The pain in her voice was unlike anything Darius had ever heard from her before.
A sob escaped her as her body shook, and she curled into herself, mourning the one thing she had desperately tried to have.
Darius’ fingers twitched, wanting nothing more than to pull her into his arms, but he knew she wouldn’t let him.
His own eyes burned as he watched her.
For the first time in a long time, he felt completely powerless.
He was an Alpha.
He was supposed to protect his people, supposed to protect her, but every day since Aurelia had entered his life felt like another reminder of how much he had failed.
And now they had lost their child.
Aurelia’s sobs slowly faded until the room fell quiet.
Then, with sharp and uncoordinated movements, she pushed herself off the bed.
The healer immediately moved forward to steady her, but one look from Aurelia made him freeze.
Her eyes were cold, filled with so much anger that the man instinctively stepped back.
She didn’t say anything.
She simply moved through the room without looking at any of them.
“Aurelia…”
Darius called her name softly, but she didn’t answer.
He watched as she went through the pile of bloodied clothes she had worn earlier, searching through them with frantic movements despite how weak her body looked.
“Where’s my bracelet?” Her voice was cold.
Darius didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the bracelet.
He had taken it from the floor earlier, not knowing what else to do.
The moment she saw it, she snatched it from his hand.
Then she broke it.
The sound echoed through the room.
Darius stared at the broken pieces before looking back at her.
“What…
why did you do that?”
He reached for her, catching her shoulders and searching her face.
She looked pale, exhausted and so fragile.
But beneath all of that…
He saw it.
Resentment.
“I am summoning a competent person.”