Chapter 12

Aurelia POV

I pushed open the heavy oak doors of the cottage and stepped out onto the porch.

The morning air hit my lungs, cold and sharp. The Redmoon was raw, stripped of all artificial perfection. In Draven’s estate, everything had been designed to feel like a golden cage—manicured gardens concealing pressure sensors, silver-trimmed walls hiding listening devices, heated marble floors beneath my bare, aching feet. Here, the air smelled of crushed pine needles, cedar smoke, and damp stone. Wooden cabins were scattered along the slopes, their chimneys sending lazy trails of grey smoke into the overcast sky. Farther down the ridge, the faint, azure shimmer of the runic barrier hummed quietly, a protective dome holding the nightmare outside at bay.

“You look significantly better than you did twenty-four hours ago.”

I turned toward the voice.

Nico was leaning against the porch railing, dressed in a charcoal-grey sweater and dark trousers. He held tw