Chapter 261

AURELIA’S POV The door shut behind Father and Seraphina with a heavy thud, leaving only Kael leaning against the wall, Darius standing in the center of my room, and me sitting stiffly in my chair. The silence stretched, tense and sharp, until Darius finally broke it with that familiar low, brooding tone of his. “I have said this before,” he murmured, his gaze fixed on me like a weight. “Never let anyone bully you. Just because they are your family doesn’t mean they can order you around.” My throat tightened. For a moment, his words almost settled into me, a balm on the wound of years of silence. But then I remembered how quickly he had judged me, how easily he had thrown knives at me with his tongue, and the sting returned. So I smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it. “Family,” I echoed, my voice edged with bitterness. “I wouldn’t know who to consider that anymore. People have a tendency to turn on each other, don’t they?” His jaw ticked, the faintest crack in his composure. Kae