The throne room was deathly silent, save for the labored breathing of Misery as she dragged herself across the cold, unforgiving stone floor. Her body trembled violently, each movement a fresh agony as the blood oath’s dark magic tore through her.
The edges of her vision were shrouded in darkness, but she forced herself forward, her determination burning brighter than the pain that wracked her body.
Adrian stood a few paces away, cradling the swaddled infant protectively in his arms. Misery’s gaze locked onto the child, her blurred vision sharpening with singular focus.
The baby’s faint cries were barely audible over the roaring in her ears, but they propelled her onward.
She stretched her trembling hand toward Adrian, her voice a hoarse whisper.
“Protect her.”
Adrian knelt beside her, his face etched with anguish. His crimson eyes, so often unreadable, now shimmered with unshed tears. He grasped her hand in his, his voice breaking.
“I will,” he said, his words trembling with emotion. “I promise.”
Misery’s fingertips brushed against the baby’s soft blanket, and for a fleeting moment, a weak smile flickered across her cracked lips.
The touch grounded her, offering a brief reprieve from the searing magic coursing through her veins.
But as her senses adjusted to the dim light of the room, a sharp jolt of realization pierced her fading consciousness.
The baby’s scent was wrong.
Her breathing quickened, ragged and uneven, her heart pounding with a final surge of strength.
The familiar connection she had felt to her daughter was absent, replaced by an emptiness that hollowed her chest.
Her eyes darted to Adrian, her expression a mixture of confusion and dawning horror.
“Adrian…” she murmured, her voice barely audible, each word a monumental effort. “What… have you done?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer immediately.
Misery’s trembling hand fell away from the baby, her strength nearly gone as darkness crept further into her vision.
The truth hovered just out of reach, her fading mind trying to piece together the cruel reality.