When Abigel finally left the room that night, Aria was already asleep.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
The palace had become unusually quiet. Guards patrolled the halls, healers came and went, and the servants moved carefully as though afraid even the smallest noise might disturb the fragile peace that had settled over the royal family.
For the first time in days, Abigel allowed himself to rest.
Then a familiar voice echoed inside his mind.
"Master."
Abigel's eyes snapped open.
Umbros rarely sounded alarmed.
"What is it?" he asked, immediately sitting up.
The shadow familiar emerged from the darkness; his expression grim.
"Princess Aria is gone."
For a moment, Abigel thought he had misheard.
"What?"
He was already on his feet.
"The room is empty," Umbros replied. "The guards saw no one enter or leave. The windows remain locked. Yet the princess is no longer inside."
A cold feeling settled in Abigel's chest.
Impossible.
After everything that had happened, the entire palace had been watching Aria.
Selene. Kaelen. The healers. The guards.
Yet somehow—
Aria had vanished.
Without another word, Abigel rushed from the room. Behind him, shadows spread across the corridor as Umbros followed.
Before Abigel forced open the door, he already knew.
Aria was gone.
The room was silent. No movement. No presence. No trace of the person who had occupied it only hours ago. His eyes scanned the room.
Nothing. Not even her scent remained.
As though she had deliberately erased every trace of herself.
Moments later, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
The door burst open.
Selene and Kaelen rushed inside, both still dressed in their nightclothes, swords in hand.
"What happened?" Kaelen asked immediately.
Abigel's expression darkened.
"She's gone."
Selene's eyes widened. Without wasting another second, she began searching the room.
The windows. The walls. The balcony. Any sign of forced entry.
"I can't find any signs of a break-in," Selene finally said.
"Unless she left by herself."
Theo's voice came from the doorway behind them.
The room fell silent once more.
Everyone knew Aria.
She was never someone who disappeared without leaving something behind.
A note. A clue. A trace of her scent.
Something.
Yet this time there was nothing.
As if she had intentionally hidden herself from those who would come looking.
As if she didn't want to be found.
Kaelen slowly clenched his jaw.
"Why?"
No one answered immediately. Then Abigel lowered his gaze.
He already knew the answer. Or at least, he knew who she was searching for.
"I think..." he said quietly.
"I think she's looking for Icarus."
The words struck the room like a blade.
Because deep down, all of them had known this day would come.
Aria had been patient. She had recovered. But not once had she stopped searching.
Not once had she stopped feeling the bond.
A secret force had been dispatched by Liam to find Aria.
Only a handful of people knew about it.
After her awakening, allowing the princess to wander alone was unthinkable. Not only because of her unstable power, but because there were countless people who would seek to use her for their own gain.
Yet despite searching day and night, the reports returned the same.
Nothing. No traces. No sightings. No clues.
It was as though Aria had vanished from the kingdom itself.
Three days passed.
Then, on the morning of the royal council meeting, the impossible happened.
The great doors of the palace opened.
At first, the guards thought they were seeing a ghost.
A figure slowly walked through the corridor.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Blood stained the polished floor beneath her feet. The conversations throughout the hall died instantly.
Her silver hair was a tangled mess, streaked with crimson. Her white nightgown was soaked in blood, torn in several places as if she had walked through a battlefield.
And behind her—Something dragged across the floor.
The scraping sound echoed through the corridor.
Some nobles stepped back instinctively.
Others turned pale.
The guards froze where they stood. Aria continued walking without looking at anyone.
Without acknowledging the shocked stares. Without speaking.
Then she reached the centre of the hall.
The body behind her rolled forward. And stopped.
Directly before the Emperor. A collective gasp spread through the chamber.
No one could mistake that face.
Khalid.
The Second Prince of Ashkalon.
Dead.
For several seconds, nobody moved. Nobody breathed. Nobody dared to speak.
The air itself seemed frozen.
Then Aria slowly lifted her eyes. They were empty.
And somehow that frightened them more than anything else.
She looked at Caisson. Then at the gathered nobles.
Finally, she spoke.
"Prepare for war with Ashkalon."
Her voice was calm.
Before anyone could question her, before anyone could ask what had happened, Aria turned away.
She simply walked past them. Leaving behind an entire kingdom struggling to comprehend what they had just witnessed.
And for the first time since her awakening—
fear entered the hearts of the nobles.
But fear of Princess Aria.