Frostlands of Outer Amanécer – Nightfall, Four Months Since Departure
Snow lashed against the blackened iron of the war camp. The far horizon bore the outline of ruined villages now cleared of demonic presence, their watchtowers smoldering under Stygian banners. Erebus stood inside a reinforced command tent, torchlight reflecting off silver-threaded maps strewn with markers and sigils.
The mission had been brutal but effective. Demon hordes that had rooted themselves in Amanécer's northern reaches were being driven out, exterminated, or sealed. Yet for all his success, Erebus felt unrest blooming within him—an ache, subtle yet constant.
It began with a dream.
Luciana stood beneath an ivory archway in Olympus, the wind teasing the veil of her robe. She looked over her shoulder—but not at him. Her arms cradled Hades, and her hand hovered, almost unknowingly, above her abdomen. A second life pulsed in that silence.
Her face was unreadable: not sorrowful, not joyous—but guarded.
A whisper broke through the veil of sleep:
> "She hides it not from shame, but fear. You'd take her with you. And she'd follow… even against her own judgment."
Erebus jolted awake, hand gripping the dagger beneath his cloak.
Now, seated at the edge of his cot, he penned the letter with a steady but urgent hand.
---
To Lucia,
I have faced nightmares. Creatures twisted by shadows and blood. Yet none unnerve me as the silence I receive from home. Four months have passed, and not a single word from you since then.
I saw you in my dreams twice again, Luciana.
I saw you, with our sons... and perhaps something more.
Tell me: are you with child?
If so, why the silence? Is it fear I'd return and claim you and the children for Stygian soil? That I'd rob Olympus of its princess for the sake of blood and war?
You are not my captive, Luciana. You are my wife.
And if you carry my child, I want to share in the weight of it.
Yet if you choose to remain silent, I will not blame you.
I only ask that you guard yourself—and them—with full strength.
Yours,
Erebus
---
The letter was handed off to a Stygian scout with a swift horse and sacred seal. It would reach Olympus in six days, weather permitting.
And Erebus... would only wait.
---
Olympus – Capital City of Amanécer
The sunlight slanted through the stained-glass windows of the council chamber in Olympus, bathing the floor in halos of color. Princess Luciana stood at the head of a long crescent table, draped in deep blue robes marked with the sun-and-wolf crest—symbol of the union between House Mircéa and House Stygian.
To the nobles of the realm, Luciana was a figure of reverence and uncertainty—an emblem of tradition married to a man of war and shadow.
And lately, they whispered.
Today, during a minor court hearing, Lord Veynon of House Sabel had let the words slip too easily:
> "The younger child bears an… unusual countenance. Demonic blood, some whisper. We must be vigilant—if not now, then in future years. What if the emperor gives a decree of one of them being the future successor? It could tarnish the Amanécerian purity."
Luciana had dismissed the court five minutes later—too calm to be safe.
Now, Aria stood beside her in the chamber's silence, arms folded.
"They've grown bolder," she said.
Luciana nodded, holding Hades in her arms, who babbled peacefully. His ebony hair seemed to swallow the light. His pitch black eyes—an unmistakable Stygian mark—had become the center of gossip and tension.
"He's innocent," Luciana murmured, brushing a lock from his brow. "Yet they look at him and see only Erebus."
"They see a weapon," Aria replied. "Not a child."
Luciana's fingers drifted to her abdomen, unknowingly resting there. She caught herself—too late.
"Does lord Erebus know?" Aria pressed.
Luciana shook her head, slow and weary. "He sent a letter again... but I haven't answered."
"Why?"
"Because I know what he'll do, I told you before Aria," she whispered. "He'll return. Abandon his campaign.If he hears about the current unrest because of Hades, he'll take me and the boys back to Wahrheit—to protect us. But if he leaves now, Amanécer will fall to those creatures again."
"And if the nobles find out about this child?" Aria asked.
Luciana's jaw set. "They'll say the House of Mircéa has fallen into corruption. That two children born of Demonic blood are a threat to the realm's purity."
Aria placed a hand on Luciana's arm. "You've always protected us. Let Erebus protect you."
Luciana looked away.
"I will… eventually. But not now. Not until I've secured Hades's place in this realm. I won't let them exile my son because of his father's shadow."
Hades gurgled, reaching for Luciana's necklace, pulling her back to the present. She kissed his forehead.
He was her light.
She would not let fear dim it.