Amelia was a peaceful force.
We had grown up together, but we were never too close—mostly because she detested her father for what he and the empire had done. I, naïve at the time, was blinded and praised the empire.
So we would see each other at events and festivals, but never really spoke beyond the required formalities.
But now, with everything that had happened in both our lives, it felt like we weren't just little kids anymore.
We left the walkway of the palace halls and slipped into a secluded area.
There were so many places in the palace where one could get lost.
If I remembered correctly, it was the old south wing—left for the families of dead war generals.
It was always dusty, yet beautiful.
It had been the job of the families to clean it, but the wing was too big, so most places stayed dusty, even as flowers tried to beautify the emptiness.
But don't be mistaken—it always felt warm.
They were sad, yes, but they were the only resemblance of a proper family—or even something family-like.
Persephone saw the place as where the useless went, but to me, it was more amazing and beautiful than anywhere else in Nefarious.
And the smell—that smell—just always seemed...just always seemed like the scent of a home I never really had
It felt like the only place in the palace where the air wasn't so tense all the time.
But I usually avoided the area.
My mother had been the one who sent their people to die—and I could always feel their stares.
And now, me and Amelia were there—
And it became one of the best, but also the hardest conversations I'd had since coming back.
No one else was around.
She said, "You shouldn't have come back here."
And I replied, "I had to. There was no other way."
She shook her head and said, "Peace. Peace was the other way. Your mother was still your mother even after you left. But it always seemed like she was tired of it all—or at least getting tired. But now she has someone younger, just like her. And it's Luna's daughter, no less."
She looked at me, pain in her voice.
"Why bring her back? What were you thinking? Was this to give Athena peace—or was it to give yourself peace?"
Her words cut deeper than any blade.
"I remember when you hated the world, and I saw the evil in your eyes," she said. "But I promise you—Athena is worse."
While she was about to speak again, I screamed,
"I don't know!
I had just lost Luna—the only person that ever felt like home. The one beauty through all the ugliness.
And I, not you, had to watch her die in front of me.
I was so helpless—I couldn't do anything to save her.
The one person I promised I would be there for... and when she needed me the most, I was useless.
I watched them slit her throat right in front of me.
I watched the light and beauty in her eyes go out.
I watched the blood spew from her neck.
And I watched the whole world go dark—in my eyes, not yours, but mine.
So you don't get to judge me.
I realize what I did. I realize it wasn't the right thing to do.
But you weren't there.
You didn't know how hard it was to move, how thick the air was, how tight my chest became.
You weren't there when Aurora was just kicking and screaming in her dreams—dreams of her mother dying—and I had to lay next to her, telling her we would survive and make it out, when even I didn't believe it myself.
I needed something to numb the pain.
I needed something other than pain and sorrow and agony.
And the only other emotion available was anger, rage, and vengeance—
so I took it!
Was it worth it now?
No, it wasn't.
But I didn't know!"
I threw my arms out, and in my rage, knocked over a flower vase.
Glass shattered, slicing into my skin—I was bleeding, but I didn't even realize it.
I looked at the broken vase, blood dripping, and said softly, almost like a confession,
"Why does everything I touch turn sour?"
And then, a piece of the vase caught the light—it was reflective.
Catching a glimpse of myself, I muttered,
"What have I become?
What did Lunafreya even see in me?
Why didn't she just live her life?"
Before I could spiral further, Amelia stopped me.
She just hugged me from behind.
There was a long moment of silence before she finally began to speak again.
She said,
"Luna talked a lot about you before you two even got together.
She always said that even as you did evil beyond imagination, there was something about you that just screamed—like you were the only one doing it against your will.
She said deep down, you had more to you.
And when you two finally got together, she always said you were her joy.
No matter how much you brooded or pretended to be upset, you were always happy with her.
And she wouldn't want to have this baby with anyone who didn't have a sense of right and wrong like you.
Her greatest joy was that she was with someone who, push comes to shove, would always do the right thing, no matter how difficult it would be.
That you would make the tough, hard decisions for the right reasons.
Everyone falters—but the important thing is, can you be man enough to correct your mistakes when you regain control."
Amelia paused for a moment, her voice heavier now.
"I know you don't want to hear it—or even imagine it—but the only way out of this is to dethrone Persephone and Athena."
I wasn't surprised.
It wasn't like the thought hadn't already crossed my mind.
But hearing it said out loud made it all too real.
And so I knew what had to be done.
I would have to dethrone my mother—and my daughter.