Aurelia was waking up.
The first thing she felt was pain
A sharp, biting pain right behind her eyes.
Every heartbeat made it worse, like something inside her skull was striking against bone.
She groaned, fingers curling against the sheets as she forced her eyes open.
The world blurred, smearing into soft shapes and dull shadows… until finally the room settled into place.
Aurelia pushed herself onto her elbows. Her arms trembled violently, barely able to hold her weight. Her breath left her in short, strained bursts.
Then she looked around properly.
The room was dim — not dark, but muted, like the light was afraid to fully enter. A single lantern sat on a wooden table near the wall, its small flame flickering quietly, barely alive.
A shelf stood in the corner.
Completely empty—not even a cup was in it.
A basin of water rested beside it, steam long gone, with neatly folded cloths placed on top.
But this wasn't a prison cell.
And it wasn't a servant's quarters either.
Aurelia's gaze dropped to her leg.
The bandages were clean.
Carefully wrapped.
White and tight from ankle to knee.
Someone had touched her.
Someone had lifted her body and tended to her while she was unconscious.
She reached toward the wound and winced, pulling her hand back instantly. Even through the cloth she felt the heat of the venom burning under her skin.
She swallowed hard, her throat dry, her voice caught somewhere deep.
I should have died.
So who saved me…?
Her mind dragged itself back to last night —
the estate.
the weird wolf.
And her body collapsing into the dirt
the moonlight—the dark boots she fell against
Her breathing quickened.
No… it couldn't be him…
Then—
A sound.
It was footsteps, right outside her door.
Aurelia froze, her entire body locking in place. Her fingers gripped the blanket so hard her knuckles turned pale pink.
The footsteps stopped for a moment, letting silence pour into the room.
Then—
Click…
The handle turned.
And the door… began to open.
The door opened.
It wasn't Tenebrarum.
It was someone else—someone human.
Calvus.
Tenebrarum's most trusted companion… or slave… or something between both.
A boy gifted to Tenebrarum when they were both in there young youth, raised beside a demon who could tear cities apart. They grew together in shadows and war, in blood and victory, until Calvus became the closest thing Tenebrarum ever had to a brother.
He stepped inside with a confidence that didn't match Aurelia's expectations of a servant. His posture was straight, shoulders relaxed, as if this estate belonged to him too.
His hair was brown—soft, unbound—falling slightly over his coffee-colored eyes. His skin was warm-toned, smooth. His lips pale from the cold morning air. And though he was human, his beauty was striking enough to look almost unreal in the dim room.
Aurelia tensed, instinct pulling her backward on the bed.
Calvus noticed.
He stopped halfway into the room, his gaze calmly sweeping over her — her startled eyes, her trembling arms, the bandaged leg she was trying to shield.
"You're awake," he said, voice low and steady. No emotion.
He shut the door behind him with a soft click and walked toward the table, not toward her.
"Good. Lord Tenebrarum expected you to be unconscious longer."
Aurelia's breath hitched.
Tenebrarum.
Expected.
Her.
Calvus finally turned his head to look at her fully. His eyes weren't unkind… but they weren't warm either. They were the eyes of someone who had seen too much—someone who knew exactly how this house worked, and what happened to people brought inside it.
"Your leg will hurt for a while," he said. "We cleaned the venom. Wrapped the wound. You'll walk again soon."
Aurelia swallowed, her fingers tightening around the blanket.
"Who…" she whispered, "who saved me?"
Calvus didn't answer immediately.
Instead he studied her—slowly, quietly.she looked familiar to him but he couldn't just tell where.
Then:
He pointed to the bandages.
"It's surely not me."
He pointed to the door behind him.
"And not the physicians."
Aurelia's heart stopped.
There was only one person left.
Calvus's expression didn't change, but his voice lowered, just slightly—
"You shouldn't bother about that."
Calvus's voice cut clean through the air as he tossed something toward her.
Aurelia barely had time to lift a hand.
The tied scroll struck her cheek and dropped into her lap.
She stared at it, confused.
Calvus didn't wait for her to ask anything. He simply folded his arms, expression unreadable, and nodded at the scroll.
"This," he said, "is what you should be worried about."
Aurelia's breath tightened.
Her fingers hesitated before touching the string.
The parchment felt rough, cold—like it hadn't been written for a human to read.
Her pulse climbed.
"What… is this?"
"Rules," Calvus replied. "rules you must abide by while living under Lord Tenebrarum's roof."
Aurelia's stomach dropped.
"Rules… I don't need to follow any stupid rules."
The words never left her mouth—but they roared inside her skull, louder than the pounding in her head.
Aurelia gripped the scroll until the parchment crumpled, her jaw tightening, her breath burning in her chest.
Rules?
From him?
From the demon I have sworn to kill?
Her vision trembled with fury.
This were strict rules she had to follow to live here.
Her hands trembled as she untied the string and slowly opened it.
The ink was dark, sharp—written with a precision that made her skin crawl. Each stroke looked carved, not drawn, as if the letters themselves were alive.
At the top:
REGULAE SERVANDAE
(The Rules to Be Obeyed)
Her eyes moved downward.
I. You will not speak to Lord Tenebrarum unless spoken to.
II. You will never touch Lord Tenebrarum under any circumstance,unless he orders it.
Aurelia's fingers froze over the parchment,but she had to continue reading.
III. You will remain within the lower quarters unless commanded otherwise.
IV. You will not attempt to flee or leave the estate for any reason.
She frose again but forced her eyes to continue.
V. You will not harm, threaten, or show defiance to any guard, servant, or creature of this estate. Doing so will be met with punishment.
VI. You will keep your identity—your past—hidden. Now you have no name. No origin. No history. Nothing.
Aurelia's pulse skipped. Her chest tightened.
Nothing—how could she erase everything that had carved her into who she was?
Her mother's laughter, her brother, her father. Marcus's betrayal. The blood that had spilled at her wedding. The ruin of her home.
All of it burned in her memory, branded onto her heart.
Forgetting it?
That's mpossible.
Her fingers clenched the scroll until the edges bit into her palms. The paper crinkled under her grip. Her violet eyes burned with defiance, tears threatening, but she refused to let them fall.
She was Aurelia.
She had always dream to be a warrior, a girl of arrows and ambition.
I will not—can not—be nothing.
But she was not ready for the last rule,
VII. You will obey all commands given by Lord Tenebrarum. Without exception.
Aurelia's hands began to tremble violently.
She shut the scroll quickly, unable to read the words again.
Calvus watched her quietly, like he had seen this reaction many times before—as if fear here was as normal as breath.
"These rules," he said, stepping closer, "are not for negotiation. Break any one of them—and you won't be given a second warning."
Aurelia looked up at him, anger and dread twisting inside her.
Calvus exhaled, almost softly.
"You were bought by him," he said. "That alone makes your life… complicated."
He pointed to the scroll again.
"I can't… I cannot obey these rules," Aurelia's voice rang sharp and clear, slicing through the dim light of the room, echoing off the stone walls. Each word trembled with defiance, hitting Calvus like a physical strike.
For a moment, he froze.
What did she just say?????
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To be continued...