Aria didn't sleep that night.
She lay in the warded chamber, staring at the ceiling as the runes pulsed softly around her. The silver glow washed over her skin, warm and steady, but her mind refused to quiet. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the fragment's face—her face—twisted in fury, screaming as the binding flame swallowed her.
Her hand rested over her stomach.
The child's presence was faint, but real. A soft flutter of warmth beneath her palm. A reminder of everything she had to protect.
Everything she could still lose.
The fragment pulsed faintly beneath her ribs.
You cannot hold me forever.
Aria exhaled slowly. "You're bound."
For now.
"You're not getting out."
You are weakening.
Aria pressed her hand harder against her stomach. "I'm not."
You are afraid.
"Yes," Aria whispered. "But I'm still here."
Silence.
But not absence.
Never absence.
A soft knock echoed through the chamber.
Aria sat up. "Come in."
The door opened.
The Demon King stepped inside.
He looked the same as always—composed, unreadable, wrapped in a cloak of shadows that moved with a life of their own. But something in his eyes was different tonight. Softer. Sharper. Watching her more closely than usual.
"You did not sleep."
Aria let out a humorless laugh. "How could you tell?"
"You are trembling."
Aria looked down at her hands. They were shaking.
She hadn't noticed.
"I'm fine," she said.
"You are not."
Aria glared at him. "You're terrible at comfort."
"I am not offering comfort."
"Clearly."
He stepped closer, his presence cold and steady. "The binding weakened her."
Aria nodded. "I felt it."
"But it also weakened you."
Aria stiffened. "I'm fine."
"You are not."
Aria looked away. "I don't have a choice."
"You do."
Aria blinked. "What choice?"
"To rest."
Aria stared at him. "Rest? While she's still inside me? While she's still trying to break me? While she's—"
"You cannot fight her if you collapse."
Aria pressed a hand to her chest. "I don't have time to rest."
"You must make time."
Aria shook her head. "You don't understand."
"I do."
"No, you don't."
She stood, pacing the room. "She wants the baby gone. She wants me gone. She wants everything gone. And I'm supposed to just… sleep?"
"Yes."
Aria threw her hands up. "You're insane."
"So I have been told."
Aria groaned. "I hate you."
"No."
Aria froze.
He stepped closer.
"You do not hate me."
Aria swallowed hard. "You don't know that."
"I do."
Aria's breath trembled. "Why?"
"Because you trust me."
Aria looked away. "I don't."
"You do."
Aria pressed a hand to her stomach. "I trust you with them."
He nodded. "And that is enough."
Aria sank onto the bed, exhausted. "I don't know how to do this."
"You will learn."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it remains true."
Aria looked up at him. "What happens now?"
He sat beside her—close, but not touching. His presence filled the room, steady and cold, grounding her in a way nothing else could.
"Now," he said, "you learn to use her power."
Aria stiffened. "Her power?"
"Yes."
"You mean… the fragment's?"
"Yes."
Aria shook her head. "No. Absolutely not."
"You must."
"I'm not using her power."
"You already are."
Aria froze. "What?"
"When you bound her. When you silenced her. When you commanded her."
Aria's breath caught. "That wasn't me."
"It was."
"No. That was her."
"It was you."
Aria pressed a hand to her chest. "I don't want her power."
"You do not have a choice."
Aria glared at him. "Stop saying that."
He didn't.
He simply held her gaze.
"You cannot destroy her without using what she is."
Aria's stomach twisted. "That sounds like corruption."
"It is not."
"It feels like it."
"It is control."
Aria shook her head. "I don't want to become her."
"You will not."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because you are not alone."
Aria blinked. "What does that mean?"
He looked at her stomach.
"You carry a life that anchors you."
Aria's breath trembled. "You think the baby will keep me from becoming her?"
"Yes."
Aria swallowed hard. "And if you're wrong?"
"I am not."
Aria looked away. "You sound very sure."
"I am."
Aria pressed a hand to her stomach. "She's quiet."
"For now."
"She's waiting."
"Yes."
"For what?"
"For you to slip."
Aria's breath caught. "Slip?"
"Yes."
"Into what?"
"Fear."
Aria stared at him. "I'm already afraid."
"You are not broken."
Aria shook her head. "I feel broken."
"You are not."
Aria looked up at him. "How do you know?"
He met her gaze.
"Because you are still fighting."
Aria's throat tightened. "I don't know how much longer I can."
"You will endure."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it remains true."
Aria exhaled slowly. "So what do I do?"
He stood, offering her his hand.
"Come."
Aria hesitated. "Where?"
"To the Chamber of Resonance."
Aria groaned. "That sounds awful."
"It is."
"Of course it is."
He didn't react.
He simply waited.
Aria took his hand.
His grip was cold, steady, grounding.
He pulled her to her feet.
"Tonight," he said, "you will learn to wield what she once used against you."
Aria swallowed hard. "And if I can't?"
"You will."
Aria pressed a hand to her stomach.
"For them," she whispered.
He nodded.
"For them."