Chapter 68 Aria

• “What do you plan to do now, Aria?” My mother asks as soon as we drop the kids off at school.
• The surrounding street is filled with hurried footsteps, voices, and the laughter of strangers, blending with the noise of cars and bicycles swiftly passing by on the bike lanes. The sun is already high, the air warm and sticky, impregnated with the scent of heated asphalt. The facades of houses and shops cast shadows onto the sidewalk, creating an irregular path of light and darkness that we follow with hesitant steps.
• My heart feels heavy, as though each step I take is a weight I drag behind me, and my mother’s comment does nothing to ease this sensation. She stares at me, and I sense her hopeful, almost demanding gaze, waiting for an answer I may not have. Two weeks have passed since the attack on the castle. That place, no matter how majestic it may appear on the outside, with its towering spires, meticulously cared-for gardens, and halls adorned with ancient works of art, is like a refuge of hidden shadows, a constant field of danger.