Chapter 62 Aria

• I arrive home, exhaustion screaming through my body. Warm blood trickles from my shoulder, a viscous stream sliding down to the middle of my arm, staining the already worn fabric of my clothes. The metallic scent mixes with the stifling air of the room, where the lights are on, casting an almost suffocating brightness that fills every corner. I take a breath and hope that only my mother is awake—not the children. The last thing I need right now is their frightened, questioning eyes.
• As soon as I take a step inside, the floor seems to spin beneath my feet. I stagger, my weak legs nearly giving out, and my body sways, teetering under the weight of exhaustion. The blood flowing from my wound feels thicker, and my eyelids fight to stay open, longing to close against the glare.
• My mother appears suddenly from the kitchen, startled, her cry of alarm echoing through the room, nearly making me flinch with weariness and fragility. The echoes of the screams I heard at the castle still ring in my mind, blending with the fear and worry etched across Lyra's face.