Chapter 204: The Lesson

Azura’s POV

Rhydor’s question hung heavily in the quiet air, stretching the silence between us until it felt ready to snap.

If I were in his position... would you have stayed?

I opened my mouth, desperate to find a sharp, quick retort to push him away, but nothing came out.

My throat tightened up completely. I quietly closed it, lowering my eyes to my lap as my mind scrambled to find any sort of footing under his intense amber gaze.

Before the silence could grow any more suffocating, the heavy wooden door creaked open.

Genevieve walked into the room, her presence instantly breaking the suffocating tension.

In my mind, I let out a massive sigh of pure relief. I silently thanked the Moon Goddess for this woman.

She always managed to come around at the exact right time. She was a lifesaver, and I really did love her for that.

Genevieve’s sharp eyes went straight to the bed where Torin lay.

In a split second, her calm expression completely shifted into deep, heavy worry. It was a mother’s instinct taking over.

She crossed the room in a few quick, hurried steps, instantly reaching out to press her soft hand against his bruised forehead.

She checked his pulse, her fingers resting gently against his wrist while she counted the beats.

After a few seconds, she let out a long, slow breath, her shoulders visibly relaxing. He was okay. The immediate danger had passed.

She turned around to face the two of us, her gaze turning incredibly serious.

"What happened to him?" she asked carefully.

I didn’t hold anything back and told her everything that had gone down in the woods.

I described the fierce fight, the sudden emergence of the portal, and the sheer chaos of the ambush.

She listened to every single word without interrupting, nodding her head slowly as I spoke.

She understood the weight of what we were dealing with.

"Where is Isadora?" Genevieve asked, her brows furrowing.

"I left her with my aunts," I answered quickly, wanting to ease her mind.

Genevieve frowned, looking completely confused by my choice.

"Why would you leave her with them?"

"As we all know, that isn’t the real Isadora," I explained, leaning forward in my chair.

"She might try to use her powers against us if she wakes up. My aunts agreed to watch her because Aunt Alisa gave her a strong medication."

"It is a special blend that will keep her entirely unconscious for a long time. Even if she starts to wake up, Aunt Alisa can put her right back down before she can chant a single spell."

Genevieve nodded her head, her expression smoothing out as she accepted the explanation.

She seemed completely satisfied with the safety measures we had put in place.

Then, her sharp gaze drifted down to my right arm, locking onto my wrist.

"What is that?" she asked, her voice filled with sudden curiosity.

I raised my hand into the light, letting her get a clear view of the silver, cold metal circling my skin.

I showed her the heavy iron bangle.

"It appeared," I said softly, my voice trailing off as I remembered the exact moment of terror. "Right when she was about to almost get me."

Rhydor’s head snapped toward me, his brows pulling together into an angry frown.

"You did not tell me that part."

I shrugged my shoulders carelessly, refusing to let his intensity rattle me.

"Because I knew you would immediately start worrying and fussing over me like a mother hen."

Genevieve ignored our small bickering and stepped much closer, her eyes staring intensely at the metal bands.

"You mean that appeared just seconds before you were about to be hurt?" she asked, her voice dropping into a whisper.

I nodded my head once, confirming her suspicion.

A genuine, beautiful smile spread across her face, lighting up her entire countenance.

"Wow," she breathed out, her eyes shining with warmth. "You finally got yours."

I blinked, looking from her to the cold metal on my arm.

"Got mine?" I asked, confused by what she meant.

Instead of answering with words, Genevieve slowly stretched her hand out in front of her.

A bright, glowing light suddenly sparked and appeared right in the center of her open palm.

It was a brilliant golden chain, radiating a warm, incredibly familiar energy that filled the entire space.

I remembered that exact chain so clearly. It was the very same protective chain she had used back when those terrifying creatures had tried to take the children away.

It was the same one she had used to shield me when I was completely defenseless.

"It is always a part of us," Genevieve explained softly, staring down at the golden chain before letting it fade away into nothingness.

"I guess yours decided to take the form of a bangle?"

I shook my head quickly, wanting to clarify how the weapon actually worked.

"No. It is not just a bangle. It is a ring blade. It just stays in this harmless form when I do not need it."

Genevieve’s eyes lit up with even more curiosity.

"Do you know how to use it yet?"

I paused, thinking back to how it had reacted during the struggle.

"I am still learning," I admitted honestly.

"But I noticed something incredible. Whenever I think of a specific action... the weapon immediately follows my thoughts."

Genevieve nodded her head, as if she had expected that exact answer all along.

"If you remember, I told you before that it is a literal part of you. So even if you make a sudden mistake and want to fix it immediately... it is an extension of your own soul. It will always listen to you."

A massive wave of realization hit me.

When I had punched the fake Isadora in the woods, I remembered thinking so clearly about how I did not want to accidentally slice her throat open.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, the sharp blade had vanished instantly, turning right back into a safe iron bangle.

It had listened to my silent command perfectly.

"So it changes... entirely according to my mind?" I asked, wanting to be sure.

"Yes," Genevieve nodded firmly.

She paused for a brief moment, her thoughtful gaze drifting back and forth between Rhydor and me.

"Speaking of changing," she began, tilting her head slightly.

"When was the last time you two swapped bodies?"

I blinked, my mind racing backward through the recent chaos to find the memory.

"In the Wraithfen," I said, calculating the days.

"That was the last time it happened."

Rhydor nodded in agreement, his voice quiet.

"We have not swapped since then."

Genevieve tilted her head to the side, a knowing expression crossing her gentle face.

"That is very interesting. Do you two even remember why the random swaps started in the first place?"

I frowned, looking at her with a confused expression.

"You told us it happened because Rhydor rejected me on cursed ground."

"Yes," Genevieve agreed, her voice turning solemn.

"A powerful Alpha was brutally rejected on that same ground a very long time ago. He cursed the land before he died so that anyone who rejected their true fated mate there would be forced to feel exactly what the other person felt."

"It was his permanent way of making people understand the immense pain and heartbreak they caused."

She paused, letting the history lesson sink in before she continued.

"The curse was never actually meant to be permanent," Genevieve revealed, her voice incredibly soft.

"It was always meant to teach a lesson. It was designed to force a deep, undeniable understanding between two people."

"And once you both truly understood each other... the curse simply had no reason to continue existing."

Rhydor went completely quiet, his amber eyes wide as he processed his mother’s words.

"So it stopped... because we finally understood each other?" he asked slowly.

Genevieve smiled warmly at her son.

"Yes. You were forced to walk in each other’s shoes. You felt each other’s physical and emotional pain. You saw exactly what heavy burdens the other person was carrying around every single day."

"That was all the curse ever wanted from you. Once that vital lesson was learned... the magic simply faded away into nothing."

I felt a sudden rush of annoyance mixed with my confusion, and I frowned deeply at her.

"Since you knew exactly what the curse wanted from the very beginning... Why didn’t you just tell us? We could have worked together to end it so much sooner."

Genevieve shook her head slowly, her eyes showing no regret at all.

"If I had told you ahead of time, you wouldn’t have actually learned a single thing."

She turned her gaze fully onto Rhydor, her tone hardening into something unyielding.

"My son desperately needed to feel what it was truly like to be in your shoes, Azura. He needed to know the raw embarrassment of being looked down on by everyone around him."

"He needed to experience the deep humiliation of being treated like he was nothing. He needed to feel the constant, exhausting struggle of surviving with no power, no high status, and no one around to protect him."

She then turned her gaze back to me, her eyes softening significantly.

"And you needed to feel what it was like to be him. You needed to understand what it felt like to be universally respected. To hold immense power in your hands. To carry the crushing weight of an entire pack’s survival on your shoulders every single day."

"You needed to understand that his life was not nearly as easy or perfect as it always looked from the outside."

She paused again, letting a heavy silence settle over the room.

"The curse was not just about teaching you both to understand each other," Genevieve said quietly, her eyes locking onto her son’s face.

"It was also specifically about teaching my son a very necessary lesson. He needed to suffer a little bit. He needed to know exactly what it felt like to be under someone else’s boot."

"He needed to know what it felt like to be completely powerless for once in his life."

Rhydor absorbed her words slowly, a look of profound realization washing over his face.

"So you just let me go through all of that agony... just to teach me a lesson?"

Genevieve held his gaze without flinching, her expression fierce but loving.

"Yes. And I would do it again without a single second thought."

Her expression softened into a gentle, motherly look.

"Because look at you now. You understand. You truly, deeply understand her now. And that real growth is worth so much more than any quick, easy solution I could have ever handed to you on a silver platter."

Rhydor lowered his head, a quiet, respectful sigh escaping his lips.

"I guess... that really was the best way of teaching me a lesson, Mother."

Genevieve nodded her head, a satisfied look returning to her face.

"Yes. And I truly hope you learned it well."

Rhydor paused for a long moment, looking over at me before focusing back on his mother.

"I did," he said sincerely.

Genevieve’s beautiful smile returned.

"Good. Because I do not need to go through all that stress and worry ever again."

Just as the heavy atmosphere in the room finally began to lift, a weak, raspy sound broke the silence.

We all froze, our heads snapping instantly toward the bed.

Torin’s lips moved slightly, his eyes still tightly closed as if he was caught deep inside a vivid dream.

"My angel..." he muttered in a faint, breathless whisper.