Chapter 208: The Letter

Azura’s POV

I sat still inside the quiet space of my room, holding a large book open across my lap.

The ancient paper felt heavy and thick against my thighs, making a quiet, crisp sound whenever I shifted my position on the seat.

The dry smell of old dust and faded ink came off the pages, filling the air around me with the scent of the past.

This specific book was called the Aegis, and it held every single piece of information about my type.

It was our history, our guide, and our truth all wrapped into one thick cover.

I took my time reading through the lines, moving slowly from one page to the next without any rush.

I wanted to understand every detail about how our unique powers worked inside our bodies.

The text showed how our family lines were connected from long ago, stretching down through time to reach me.

Most importantly, the book explained that the real power of a nine-tailed fox did not come from raw physical strength.

Instead, our magic was completely tied to our deepest feelings, our mental strength, and our heart.

I was so focused on reading the old lines that I almost missed something hidden right between the pages.

As I turned a thick piece of parchment, a loose paper slipped out from the tight binding.

It drifted down silently and landed right in the middle of my lap.

The paper was a faded brown color, looking old, and it was folded up into a small, tight square.

I picked it up carefully, my fingers shaking just a little bit as I felt a sudden wave of nerves hit my chest.

I slowly unfolded the sharp creases, flattening the paper down against the book so I could see it clearly.

The handwriting was very neat and orderly. It looked like the person had taken a lot of time to write down each word, making sure it was clean and easy to read.

~~

Hello, little one.

You might not know who I am right now, but I am your aunt. Sonita. I was one of your mother’s best friends.

If you are reading these words right now, it means I am no longer alive. If I were still breathing, I would never have left this secret letter hidden inside this book for you to find. I would have taken it out myself before this text ever reached your hands.

I just wanted to say something out loud that has been on my mind for a very long time.

Though your mother and I were the best of friends, we still had our bad fights. We had our hard days. We had so many lonely days that we turned out to regret later on, days we wished we could have spent together in peace. Days we wished we could have been much closer than we were.

We always dreamed of having a family together. Of being close. Of always having each other’s backs and watching our children grow up side by side. But life does not always work out the exact way we plan it in our heads.

If you are finding this note, I want you to know something very important. Your mother was a remarkably strong woman. And I already know you are a strong woman too. In fact, I know you will grow into an even stronger woman than both of us combined by the time your journey is done.

Believe in yourself. Do not let the mean things people say hurt your feelings. Do not let the world decide who you are supposed to be. You are your own future. You decide what you become.

Stand tall through the hard times. Stand strong on the choices you make. And there is one more thing you must know: there is so much power inside you that you do not know about yet. Even your mother did not have enough time to find it all. But with you, I believe it will be totally different.

And end him once and for all. Because he is not yet dead.

Your dearest aunt, Sonita

~~

I stared down at the very last line of the letter, my hands shaking so much that the brown paper rattled in my grip.

The dark ink seemed to burn itself directly into my mind.

I did not need to guess to know whom she was talking about. I already knew exactly who he was. ℯℯ𝑙.

The shadow that had hurt my family for years was still out there. And he is not yet dead.

Aunt Sonita had written these exact words before she passed away. She knew the truth.

She had seen it clearly, and she wanted me to know before it was too late for all of us.

I frowned, a heavy feeling of worry settling deep in my stomach. I closed the big book with a loud thud and set it down on the small wooden table next to my bed.

I reached over and picked up my personal journal, running my palm over the smooth cover.

The last time I opened these pages, the book had unlocked memories from my past that I had forgotten.

It had shown me the exact day I got separated from my mother.

I remembered her hot tears falling into the dirt and her shaking voice saying goodbye as she pushed me away to save my life.

I let out a long, slow breath, trying to get rid of the tight feeling in my chest. I closed the journal tightly, refusing to sit in here with my old sadness tonight.

I stood up from my chair, needing to move around.

I left my room and walked out into the cool night air.

I walked along the paths until I found a quiet, dark spot near the stone wall.

It was a peaceful area where I could sit down by myself and just take a deep breath without anyone watching me.

But Genevieve was already out there. She was sitting perfectly still on a stone bench, her head tilted back as she stared up at the dark sky.

Her face looked very calm in the moonlight, but her eyes looked far away, lost in her own thoughts.

She turned her head slowly the moment her ears caught the sound of my boots on the path.

"You are still awake?" she asked, her voice quiet in the night.

I did not answer her question right away. Instead, I just walked over and sat down right next to her on the cold stone bench.

I leaned my head back, looking up at the same part of the sky she was watching.

The view was beautiful, but it did not make me feel any better about the problems waiting for me.

Suddenly, a strange sensation washed over me. It felt like a heavy, burning tug deep inside my chest, pulling at my very soul.

A deep gasp escaped my lips, and I clutched my hand over my pendant, my breathing instantly turning shallow.

Genevieve noticed my sudden movement right away. She turned her body toward me, her eyes filling with instant worry as she saw me pale in the moonlight.

"What is it, Azura?" she asked, her voice rising with concern. "What are you feeling right now?"

I swallowed hard, trying to steady the frantic beating of my heart. The pulling sensation was intense, hot, and completely foreign.

It felt entirely different from the steady, warm connection I shared with Rhydor. This pull was heavy and demanded my complete attention.

"It is the Dragon King," I whispered, my voice trembling as the heat flared inside my veins again.

"I feel his bond. I can feel it pulling at me right this second."

Genevieve froze, her eyes widening in shock. She reached out and grabbed my arm, her grip turning very tight.

"Does it mean anything bad?" I asked quickly, looking at her wide eyes. "He is all the way back in his clan territory right now. Why am I feeling his bond from all the way over here?"

Genevieve looked at me with a deeply serious expression, the calm look completely vanishing from her face.

"Yes, Azura," she said, her voice dropping into a dark, worried tone.

"It means something very bad. If the Dragon King is back at his clan and you are feeling the physical pull of his bond from this distance, then things are not going well at all. Things are actually not fine."

I shivered from the intense heat still moving through my blood.

"What do you mean?"

"It means his royal dragon magic is growing too aggressive," Genevieve explained quickly, her eyes searching my face.

"The bond is trying to force its way into your soul because he is putting his energy into it, or maybe because you two are bonded. We need to break that bond immediately, Azura, before it gets any worse."

I shook my head slightly, feeling completely overwhelmed by the magical pressure in my chest.

"But what if he is here?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly under the strain. "What if he is actually here and it’s forcing the connection?"

Genevieve sighed heavily, a look of deep frustration appearing in her tired eyes. She looked away from me for a second, staring out into the dark trees before looking back.

"Then I can’t actually guarantee that he is also safe," she said openly, her voice filled with a stark warning.

"You cannot be having two different bonds inside your soul at the same time, Azura. It is simply not possible for any shifter. It will literally tear your spirit apart from the inside out."

"It will drive both you and Rhydor insane. We absolutely need to break the dragon’s hold on you before the magic destroys your body."

I nodded my head slowly, accepting her terrifying words even though they made a cold sweat break out on the back of my neck.

I pressed my palm harder against my pendant, waiting for the burning tug of the Dragon King’s distant magic to finally fade away into the night air.

Once the heat finally subsided, leaving me completely drained and shivering on the bench, my thoughts immediately shifted back to the other massive problem weighing heavily on my heart.

"The pearl has become one with her," I said suddenly, keeping my eyes fixed on the stars above us.

Genevieve shifted on the stone bench, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion at my sudden change of topic.

I did not look back at her face. I kept my eyes on the sky, watching a small cloud move across the moon.

"What are you talking about?" she asked carefully.

"Amanda," I said, my voice steady and certain.

"The blue pearl. It has become one with her now."

Genevieve let out a long, tired sigh. She looked down at her own hands, moving her fingers around in her lap.

"To be honest, I do not know everything about that dark magic," she admitted softly.

"I know," I said, cutting her off gently before she could say she was sorry. "And I do not blame you."

I finally turned my head to look her right in the eyes.

"But is there any chance I can save her?" I asked, my voice dropping into a whisper.

"Can I take that power away without hurting her?"

Genevieve looked back at me, her eyes looking incredibly tired from all the fighting.

"I do not actually know, Azura," she said openly. "That part is a mystery to me as well. I cannot promise you anything."

I nodded and looked back up at the sky. I thought about the letter and the strength in my family.

"One way or another," I said firmly, "I must get her back."