Chapter 7 Aria

I am brutally thrown to the ground, the impact violent, as if the force of the world had been concentrated in that single moment of collision. The blow knocks the breath out of me instantly, my lungs emptying in a forced gasp as my head hits the marble floor with a dull thud. An intense pain explodes at the back of my skull, radiating down my spine like an electric current, and for a moment, everything around me becomes a blur, a confusion of mixed colors and sounds.

The pain in my arm, caused by King Caelum's relentless grip, is quickly supplanted by a new, sharper pain that shoots through my back and chest. It feels as if my entire body has been hit by a shockwave, every bone, every muscle screaming in protest. The explosion that devastated the hall created a crushing force, throwing me to the ground with the brutality of a storm. It is as if the air around me has become heavy, dense, making it difficult to breathe.

My lungs burn, aching with a desperate need for air, but each attempt to breathe is accompanied by an uncontrollable urge to cough. A veil of black, dense smoke spreads in the direction of the hall, obscuring my vision, turning the environment into a nebulous nightmare. I fight against the disorientation, forcing myself to focus, to move, but the throbbing pain in my head and back makes each movement a difficult task.

Finally, with great effort, I manage to stand, my legs trembling as if they are about to give way at any moment. The surrounding sound is chaotic-panicked screams, the shattering of glass, and the distant roar of new explosions fill the air, creating a cacophony of terror. I feel a hand gripping the hem of my pants, and as I look down, I see King Caelum's fingers, dirty with dust and debris, trying to hold onto me.

The determination in his grip frightens me even more, his intentions remaining mysterious, but the primal fear I feel is overwhelming. Each second I spend beside him, the image of the fallen canapés and the anger on his face before the explosion continues to haunt me, mixing with the fear that he might do something to me, now that everything is upside down. Behind us, I hear the horrible howling of the werewolves invading the nearly destroyed hall.

Beams of light explode amidst the veil of smoke, lightning bolts of magical energy that briefly illuminate the darkness, revealing fragments of the surrounding chaos. The hall, once majestic, is now a battlefield, and each second I spend there heightens the feeling that I am not safe, that I need to escape. I want to help the king, to lift Caelum and get him out of this hell, but the fear... the fear that he might react with anger, that he might blame me even more, is paralyzing.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I make the decision my survival demands. I reluctantly leave him behind and run back to the kitchen, where chaos reigns supreme. The scene I encounter is one of total panic-staff members running back and forth, many of them with expressions of terror that mirror my own. The smoke begins to seep through the door, bringing with it the acrid smell of destruction and burning.

"What is happening?" Nicole asks in a frightened tone as she rushes toward me. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Before I could respond, a new rumble reverberates through the air, making the kitchen walls tremble. A group of staff members bursts into the kitchen in a frenzy, their faces pale with fear, as if they had just seen death up close.

"It is the Wolfspawn Renegades!" one desperate staff member shouts. "They threw a bomb in the hall; it is chaos out there!"

The news falls like a death sentence. Everyone in the kitchen, including me, screams in response, the sound of pure terror echoing off the now unstable walls. The reality of the situation hits with full force-we are under attack, and the safety the palace always represented has dissolved in an instant, like sand slipping through fingers.

Suddenly, the window overlooking the garden shatters with a deafening sound. Glass flies in all directions, cutting through the air like blades, and before I can process what is happening, a massive, fur-covered body crashes through the empty space where the window used to be. A wolf, fierce and imposing, lands in the middle of the kitchen, its eyes glowing with untamed savagery.

The wolf advances without hesitation, its claws sharp as knife blades, and its jaws open in a terrifying snarl. It lunges at one of the staff members, and the sound of the screams that fill the air is horrifying, almost inhuman. The blood in my veins turns cold as I watch the scene, unable to move, absolute terror rooting me to the spot.

Nicole grabs my arm, trembling with fear, her nails digging into my skin as she desperately tries to find some sort of anchor in the storm of chaos around us.

I pull away from her grasp, my survival instinct taking over. I grab her arm tightly, trying to pull her out of the kitchen, but she is paralyzed, frozen by her own fear. Her eyes are fixed on the creature causing so much terror, as if she is hypnotized by the imminence of death.

The panic inside me grows, an overwhelming sense that time is running out. If I did not go back to help King Caelum, I also cannot allow myself to stay here, trapped by Nicole's fear. I need to get out, I need to survive. With one last pull, I release her arm and run, following the other staff members who are already fleeing the kitchen.

The air is thick with the smell of blood and smoke, and my feet slip on the wet floor as I run away from the danger surrounding us. I feel the werewolves getting closer, their presence becoming more oppressive, but I do not dare look back.

I run through the garden, there are other people running for their lives. Some werewolves catch up with the nobles and tear them apart with savagery. I keep running towards the forest when I realize there are two werewolves coming in my direction.

The desperation to survive leaves me with no option but to run, until, from somewhere I cannot identify, a huge white wolf with red eyes appears. Its fangs are bared in front of me, and I freeze in place. I feel like this is the moment of my death, but the wolf leaps over me and charges towards the other werewolves, giving me the chance to escape.

I manage to escape the castle alive, and several military and police cars appear at the entrance of the castle. I do not want to stay to give a statement; I keep running for countless blocks until I feel my legs giving out.

I arrive home with my entire body aching, the terror still in my bones, and with my clothes and face dirty. My mother is in the kitchen, as always. As I approach her, Lyra runs towards me, terrified by the state I am in.

"Aria, what happened to you? I was watching the news. There was an attack at King Caelum Frost's palace! Those werewolf delinquents threw a bomb and invaded. Where were you?" Lyra questions with a tone of concern, but also of accusation.

"I was at the palace. I was there when they threw the bomb, it was..." I reply with a hoarse voice. My throat is rough, and I cough again.

My mother guides me to a chair and fetches a glass of water for me. I sit down, exhausted, feeling all the adrenaline I needed to escape that hell leaving my body.

"My daughter, the danger things are in. You should have found a good man who would provide security and financial stability for you. Because, look at your situation now, daughter? You almost died! What would happen to your children? I cannot work!" Lyra complains with a voice full of condemnation.

I close my eyes, wanting to escape her accusatory words.

"Alexander would never have allowed you to work as a waitress, certainly not!" my mother declares with pride in her voice. "Here, drink!"

I open my eyes and notice the glass of water filled. I drink it all in three long gulps, feeling the roughness in my throat ease a bit.

"You forget that he broke up with me. Without giving any explanation and then disappeared. He certainly did not care enough about me, mother!" I retort with exhaustion in my voice.

My mother shakes her head, disagreeing with the visible and palpable facts of the last five years.

"You must have done something to drive him away, for sure," she accuses me with regret in her voice.

"Believe me, if I did anything, it was loving that b*st*rd too much!" I retort impatiently. "I am going to take a shower, goodnight, mother."

As soon as I step out of the shower, completely clean and still in pain, I head to my children's room, where they are already asleep. I kiss Elowen's face and then go to Thorne. However, when I sit on my son's bed, he wakes up, very sleepy.

"Mommy?" he whispers sleepily, yawning immediately after.

"Hi, my love. Go back to sleep, I just came to give you a goodnight kiss," I say softly.

"You saw Daddy today, did you not? He was very mean to you, was he not?" Thorne says sadly.

I raise an eyebrow at my son, not understanding what he is saying. In the faint light of the bedside lamp, I observe my son's gentle expression and become alarmed when I notice something in his eyes.