The wedding had ended abruptly after her appearance, not in the way weddings were supposed to end.
There was no celebration drifting into nightfall, no soft music, or fading laughter, no gentle goodbyes between families.
Just tension so thick it was suffocating.
Whispers followed her even after she left the hall.
She could feel them on her skin like cold hands.
She knew what she was to them, in their heads and hearts they painted her the villainous witch who ruined the wedding of a beautiful couple.
But Aurelia didn’t care.
Not one bit.
Now she sat near a fireplace in one of the northern guest chambers, watching the flames struggle against the cold that seeped through the walls.
The North was colder than she was used to, it felt hostile as if the land itself found her unworthy.
Downstairs, Darius was speaking with the bride’s father.
She couldn’t hear the words, but she could feel the charged tension anyway.
Thick.
Heavy.
Rising through the floors like smoke.
Clover sat nearby, pulling a thick cloak tighter around Aurelia’s shoulders.
Diane was kneeling by the hearth, feeding more wood into the fire until it finally caught and flared brighter.
Still, it wasn’t enough to keep her warm.
“It’s cold here,” Diane muttered, rubbing her arms.
“They’ll have to give you a warmer place.”
Aurelia let out a small breath that almost became a laugh.
“They’ll have to decide I’m worth warming first.”
The words came out flat, so honest they almost sounded bitter.
Clover glanced at Diane then her.
“Aurelia—”
“It’s fine,” she cut in gently.
It wasn’t.
The fire cracked softly, sending sparks up the chimney.
Shadows moved across the stone walls in uneven shapes.
Aurelia stared into it.
They wouldn’t accept her.
Not with the way they looked at her as if she had walked into something sacred and stained it simply by existing.
Like she didn’t belong in any version of their world.
Downstairs, something moved.
A door slammed to hard she felt the vibration.
There were a few raised voices before silence took over again.
Aurelia wanted to feel victorious, she had spoken her mind and imprinted herself back into his life, so why did she feel so alone?
The door creaked open and footsteps followed after.
She didn’t look up to know who it was, the smell of rain and earth that filled the room already told her.
Diane and Clover quietly left knowing they needed privacy to talk.
“How did this happen?” Aurelia heard the familiar timbre of Darius voice.
She still didn’t turn.
The question felt stupid.
“How did this happen?” she repeated.
“No I mean…
How?” she heard him start to pace behind her.
“It was one night!”
“Well it turns out you’re a sharp shooter” Aurelia said flatly still staring at the flames.
He paused his steps and glared at her.
Aurelia found herself smirking, she had to admit frustrating him made her a bit smug. This story is hosted at g.com.
Finally, she stood up to face him.
There was annoyance written all over his face.
“Don’t make that face Darry dear…
Might scare our son.” her tone dramatic.
Darius raised a brow, “How sure are you it’s a boy?”
For a moment, Aurelia paused.
That question had somehow grated on her nerves.
How sure was she?
Maybe because she was standing in front of him now with no home to go back to.
Or maybe because deep down she cursed herself for all of this.
But all she managed to say was, “I know…
I saw it.”
It was a lie.
But telling Darius she had no powers would be the wrong move.
She couldn’t afford to expose the fact that she was as vulnerable as a human now.
The room fell quiet, save for the soft crackling of wood in the fireplace.
She watched him drag a hand through his hair and exhale loudly.
His eyes swept over her.
When they landed on her stomach, they softened.
For a moment an emotion crossed his face, one she couldn’t quite name.
He let out another heavy sigh.
“What do we do now?” he asked, sounding exhausted.
Aurelia didn’t have an answer to his question.
She had no idea what to do.
In fact, she still hadn’t fully accepted the idea that there was a life growing inside her.
She had come to the North mainly because her mother insisted, not because she wanted to.
Aradia had said everything would fall into place once she told him.
Yet here they were, without a clue of what to do.
“Would you stay here?” Darius asked.
“I bet you’d rather be on your island, right?”
He wasn’t wrong.
She would rather be on her island.
But that was no longer an option.
She had already decided she wouldn’t tell him the truth.
Not until she had a solid plan at least.
“I’d rather stay here.
The island doesn’t take males.
It would be disrespectful.” It was only a partial truth, but a truth nonetheless so according to her logic, she wasn’t completely lying.
Darius nodded without questioning her.
“I’ll make some arrangements for you.”
“I want somewhere warmer.” It came out less like a request and more like a demand.
Darius raised a brow.
“There are no warm places here.”
“Then look for one.” The sharpness of her tone ended the conversation.
Darius was obviously irritated, but he said nothing.
“Insufferable,” he muttered under his breath before marching out of the room.
When Aurelia heard the door close behind him, her legs gave out.
She was alone.
Alone in a room she wasn’t familiar with.
Her hand trembled as she placed it on her stomach, over the space where her child grew completely unaware that his mother was falling apart.
The reality of the situation finally crashed over her. Find the original chapter at g.com.
She was pregnant, technically homeless and probably a burden.
A strangled sob tore from her throat.
Never in her twenty-two years of life had she felt so helpless.
She had lost everything.
Her home.
Her gift.
Everything that made her Aurelia Dusk.
Had she been too arrogant at first?
Was this some kind of punishment?
The thought came so naturally that she almost didn’t notice it.
Aurelia’s breathing hitched.
Slowly, her gaze dropped to the hand resting over her stomach.
Punishment.
The word echoed in her mind and again till the understanding crashed into her.
Aurelia froze.
Her fingers curled against the fabric of her dress.
No.
No, that wasn’t what she meant.
But it was exactly what she had meant.
A fresh wave of tears blurred her vision.
She had looked at her situation and called it a punishment.
Called it a consequence, a price she had to pay.
As if the child growing inside her was responsible for any of this, as if he had done something wrong.
A sob caught in her throat.
“No…” Her voice came out broken.
Aurelia pressed both hands against her stomach protectively and desperately.
The gesture was instinctive, happening before she could even think.
Because none of this was his fault.
Not Darius rejecting her.
Not her exile.
Not the silence of the gods.
Not the loss of her gift.
None of it.
The child growing inside her hadn’t asked to be here in this situation, hadn’t asked for a mother who was falling apart.
Aurelia bent forward as another sob escaped her.
Guilt twisted painfully inside her chest.
How could she think that?
How could she look at him and see a punishment?
Fresh tears slipped down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry.” The words trembled as they left her lips.
Aurelia stroked her stomach with shaking fingers.
“I’m so sorry.” Her voice cracked completely.
“Mummy didn’t mean that.”
Aurelia bowed her head.
For long she had thought about what she had lost, but now, for the first time, she thought about what she still had.
A child.
Her child.
And suddenly the thought of losing him hurt far more than losing anything else ever could.
“Mummy is so sorry,” she whispered again as tears continued to fall.