Chapter 78 Aria

• The drive home with Alexander is steeped in a silence that feels alive—thick, suffocating. His gaze, as deep as the ocean, reflects the remorse and disappointment from the dinner. Guilt takes root in my soul, burning like acid, corroding every layer of justification or self-pity I might have built.
• “I'm sorry for what my mother said last night…” Alexander breaks the silence, just a few blocks away from my house. “Actually, I apologize for the entire night. The queen was a heartless bitch. I don’t know how Caelum manages to stay with her,” he says, disbelief lacing his voice.
• Hearing Caelum’s name—and Seraphina’s—my body reacts involuntarily. A cold shiver runs down my spine, my stomach twisting into an impossible knot. Seraphina isn’t just a presence; she’s a constant threat, a shadow looming over me, filling me with an irrational fear that seeps into my thoughts, my very being. I take a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions, the terror Seraphina inspires, and the uncontrollable pull and revulsion that Caelum evokes.