Aria's POV
We drive for two hours before Azrael finally speaks.
"They'll track us if we stay in the city."
"I know." My hands grip the steering wheel tighter. In the back seat, Lily sleeps peacefully, unaware that our entire world just exploded.
"We need a plan," Azrael continues. "The Society won't stop. Neither will Xavier now that he knows about Lily."
Xavier. The look on his face when he saw our daughter—shock, regret, desperate longing. Part of me wanted to see him suffer. But another part, the part I thought was dead, felt something twist in my chest.
"Mama?" Lily's sleepy voice comes from the back. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere safe, baby." I meet her eyes in the rearview mirror. "Go back to sleep."
"I can't. I keep thinking about those scary men."
My heart breaks. She's four years old. She shouldn't have to be afraid.
"Uncle Az won't let them hurt you," I promise.
"I know. Uncle Az is the strongest." She yawns. "Even stronger than Daddy."
My breath catches. "What?"
"The man at the hospital. He's my daddy, right? I could tell." Lily's silver-gray eyes—Xavier's eyes—watch me carefully. "He looked sad when he saw me."
Children see too much.
"Yes, he's your father," I admit quietly.
"Why didn't he want me?"
The question stabs through me. "It's complicated, sweetheart."
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No!" I pull the car over, turning to face her. "Listen to me, Lily. You did nothing wrong. Nothing. Your father... he made mistakes. Bad mistakes. But that has nothing to do with you. You're perfect."
"Then why did he give us away?"
I don't have a good answer. How do you explain to a four-year-old that her father was a coward? That he chose pride and power over love?
"Some people aren't ready to be parents," I finally say. "But that doesn't mean you're not loved. I love you more than anything in this world."
"I know, Mama." She reaches for my hand. "And Uncle Az loves me too."
"I tolerate you," Azrael mutters, but his eyes are soft. "It's different."
Lily giggles. "You read me bedtime stories. That's love."
"That's tactical storytelling to make you sleep faster."
"You make me pancakes shaped like dragons."
"Efficient nutrition delivery."
"You carried me on your shoulders at the park for two hours because my feet hurt."
Azrael's jaw tightens. "That was... strategic exercise."
I smile despite everything. Over five years, the terrifying Demon King has become the most devoted uncle imaginable. He'd burn down the world for Lily without hesitation.
"We should keep moving," I say, pulling back onto the road.
My phone rings. Sarah's number.
I hesitate, then answer on speaker. "Hello?"
"Aria, thank god. Are you safe?" Sarah's voice is tight with worry.
"For now. Who are you really, Sarah? My sister?"
"Half-sister. Dad had an affair twenty years ago with my mother—a mortal doctor. Mom raised me in the mortal world, but I inherited the Chen bloodline. Dad paid for my education, kept tabs on me, but never acknowledged me publicly." Her voice is bitter. "Just like he did with you, eventually."
"So why help me?"
"Because I know what it's like to be the daughter Marcus Chen is ashamed of." She pauses. "And because when you disappeared five years ago, I looked for you. I found Maya's network, tracked you to the coastal town, watched you struggle through medical school while pregnant and alone. You reminded me of my mom—strong, determined, refusing to break."
"You've been watching me for five years?"
"Protecting you from a distance. Making sure no one from the Society found you." She sighs. "I transferred to your hospital on purpose. I wanted to meet you, to tell you the truth. Then tonight happened."
I don't know if I should be grateful or angry. "What does Dad want?"
"He's conflicted. Publicly, he supports the Society's hunt for you. Privately? He's been blocking their investigations for years, buying you time." Sarah's voice drops. "He knows what he did to you was wrong. He's too proud to admit it, but he's been protecting you in his own twisted way."
"He sent me a text. Gave me three choices—run, surrender, or fight."
"What are you going to choose?"
I look at Lily in the mirror, at Azrael beside me, at the road stretching ahead into darkness.
"I'm done running. And I'll never surrender." My voice hardens. "That leaves fight."
"Good." Sarah sounds satisfied. "Because I'm not the only one who wants to help. There are others in the Society who think the old ways are wrong. Who believe demon contractors shouldn't automatically be criminals."
"A rebellion?"
"More like a reform movement. We've been building support quietly for years. Your case could be the catalyst we need."
"Or it could get me killed."
"That too," she admits. "But you have leverage now. You saved Xavier's son. The Kane family owes you a life debt—that's sacred in Tamer law. They can't move against you without violating honor codes."
I hadn't thought of that. "Xavier would actually honor that?"
"Xavier looked at you tonight like a drowning man seeing shore. And when he saw Lily..." Sarah's voice softens. "Aria, I think he's been looking for you for five years. I think he regrets everything."
"Regret doesn't erase what he did."
"No. But it might make him useful." She pauses. "The Society is voting tomorrow on your arrest warrant. If it passes, they'll send their best hunters. You need allies. Fast."
"And you think Xavier—"
"I think Xavier Kane meeting his rejected daughter is going to haunt him. Use that. Use his guilt."
It's manipulative. Cold. Strategic.
Five years ago, I would have been horrified at the idea.
Now? Now I'm Dr. Elena Russo, a woman who survived hell and came out stronger.
"I'll think about it," I tell Sarah.
"Think fast. Tomorrow, the Society moves. After that, all bets are off." She hangs up.
I drive in silence for another hour, Lily finally sleeping again, until we reach a small motel off the highway.
"This will do for tonight," Azrael says. "I'll set protection wards."
Inside the dingy room, I tuck Lily into bed. She clutches her dragon, murmuring something about pancakes in her sleep.
I step outside for air. Azrael follows.
"You're thinking too loud," he says. "It's giving me a headache."
"Sorry."
"What's bothering you? Besides the obvious."
I lean against the railing. "Xavier looked at Lily like she was precious. Like he actually cared."
"He doesn't get to care now. Not after—"
"I know. But Lily saw it too. She wants a father." I close my eyes. "What if I'm being selfish? What if keeping her from him is wrong?"
"He threw money at you and told you to abort her."
"Five years ago. People change."
"Do they?" Azrael's crimson eyes burn in the darkness. "Or do they just learn to fake remorse when it's convenient?"
"I don't know anymore." I'm so tired. "I thought I had everything figured out. Build a life, raise my daughter, avoid the past. Now it's all falling apart."
"Nothing's falling apart. You're just finally facing what you ran from." He moves closer. "Aria—Dr. Russo—whoever you are, you're not weak. You never were. You're just finally ready to fight back."
"What if I lose?"
"Then I'll burn down everyone who hurt you and we'll start over somewhere else." He says it so casually, like genocide is a reasonable Plan B. "But you won't lose. You're too stubborn."
Despite everything, I laugh. "Is that a compliment?"
"It's an observation." His expression softens slightly. "You saved a child tonight. The child of the man who destroyed you. You could have let him die. No one would have blamed you. But you didn't. Because you're better than all of them."
"Or stupid."
"Perhaps both." He grins. "But I've grown fond of your particular brand of stupid over the years."
My phone buzzes. A video call from an unknown number.
I answer cautiously. Xavier's face fills the screen.
"Aria. Please don't hang up."
I should. I really should.
But I don't.
"What do you want, Xavier?"
"To see her. Our daughter. Please. Even just on video. I just need—" His voice breaks. "I threw away five years with her. I can't get those back. But maybe I could have tomorrow. Please."
I look at Azrael. He shakes his head in warning.
But I think about Lily asking why her father didn't want her. About the sadness in her voice.
I walk back into the motel room and point the camera at sleeping Lily.
Xavier's breath catches. "She's beautiful. She looks just like... like both of us."
"Her name is Lily. She's four years old. She loves dragons and pancakes and bedtime stories. She's brilliant—already reading at a first-grade level. She can sense spirits naturally, without training." My voice is cold. "She's everything you didn't want."
"I was wrong." Xavier's face is anguished. "I was so wrong. I've spent five years regretting that day, that moment, that choice. I've looked for you everywhere—"
"To do what? Force me to give her up? Use her for your family's political games?"
"No! To apologize. To beg your forgiveness. To tell you that breaking our engagement was the biggest mistake of my life." He runs a hand through his hair. "I loved you, Aria. I still love you. I was just too much of a coward to choose you over my family's expectations."
"Love?" I laugh bitterly. "You don't throw money at someone you love and tell them to abort your child."
"I know. I know. There's no excuse." Tears stream down his face. "But please, give me a chance to be her father. I'll do anything. Sign any agreement. Give you full custody. I just want to know her. To be part of her life. To prove I can be better."
"Why? Because you finally feel guilty? Because seeing her made it real?"
"Because I've been half-dead for five years!" His voice rises desperately. "Because every day I wake up knowing I destroyed the best thing in my life. Because I see Marcus—my son with Celeste—and I realize he should have had a sister. A mother who actually loves me instead of tolerates me. A family that's real instead of political."
"You made your choice."
"And I've regretted it every single day since." He stares at Lily through the screen. "Please, Aria. I'm begging you. Let me try. Let me be her father. Even if you hate me forever—and you should—she deserves to have both parents."
I look at Lily sleeping peacefully.
She does deserve a father.
But does she deserve this one?
"I'll think about it," I say finally. "But if you ever hurt her, if you ever make her feel unwanted or less than—"
"I won't. I swear on my life."
"Swear on something that actually matters to you. Your power. Your spirit bond." My voice is steel. "Break your promise to Lily, and may Fenrir tear you apart."
Xavier doesn't hesitate. "I, Xavier Kane, swear on my bond with Fenrir that I will never harm or abandon my daughter Lily. If I break this oath, may my spirit destroy me."
The oath hangs in the air, binding and powerful.
"Good." I'm about to hang up when he speaks again.
"Aria? The Society vote is tomorrow. They're going to issue your warrant. When they come for you—and they will—come to me. I'll protect you. Both of you."
"I don't need your protection."
"Maybe not. But Lily does. And despite everything, I'm still one of the most powerful Tamers alive. Use me." His eyes are intense. "Let me earn back even a fraction of what I threw away."
I hang up without answering.
Azrael is leaning against the doorframe, watching me with an unreadable expression.
"That was a terrible idea," he says.
"Probably."
"He could be manipulating you."
"I know."
"But you're going to give him a chance anyway."
I look at Lily. "For her. Not for him. Never for him."
"And if he hurts her?"
"Then I'll let you do what demons do best."
Azrael's smile is terrifying and beautiful. "Now that's the Aria I raised."
I crawl into bed next to Lily, pulling her close. She curls into me, warm and safe and trusting.
Tomorrow, the Tamer Society votes on my fate.
Tomorrow, I become either a fugitive or a revolutionary.
Tomorrow, everything changes.
But tonight, I'm just a mother holding her daughter.
And that's enough.
My phone buzzes one last time. A message from Marcus Chen—my father.
Tomorrow, vote your warrant. I'll abstain. It's the most I can do. The rest is up to you. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. You were always stronger than I gave you credit for. —M
I delete the message without responding.
Sorry isn't enough.
But maybe it's a start.
As I drift off to sleep, I feel Azrael's presence in my mind—protective, ancient, deadly.
"Ready for war, little Chen?" he asks.
I think about Xavier's oath. Sarah's rebellion. My father's regret. The Society's hunters.
And I smile in the darkness.
"Let them come," I whisper. "I'm done being prey."
"Good," Azrael purrs. "Because tomorrow, we show them what happens when you corner a mother protecting her child."
"What happens?"
"They learn that some prey have fangs."
I close my eyes, Lily's heartbeat steady against mine.
Tomorrow, I stop running.
Tomorrow, I fight back.
Tomorrow, the Tamer Society learns why they should have killed me five years ago when they had the chance.
Because now?
Now I'm too powerful to stop.
And they're about to find out exactly what the Demon King's contractor can do.