Chapter 243 Fake Aurora

*~Aurora’s POV~*

I sat in the middle of the Demon Lord and his council.

They’d placed me on a low stone seat in the center of the hall, on display. When I lifted my head, I realized just how many of them there were. Not a dozen. Not even fifty.

Hundreds.

Hundreds of demons, every one of them pale-skinned with white hair and glacial blue eyes. They looked nearly identical, like echoes of one another. The sight made my stomach twist. How could such creatures exist in this world without anyone knowing? And how many more were still out there?

I clenched my trembling hands in my lap.

They were angry—furious that I’d allowed Leon and Heather to escape their grasp. I could feel their hatred crawling over my skin like frost.

So this was it. The final judgment.

“You will be stuck here until we find a way to bring back Heather and George.”

Is that it? The judgement?

But then the Demon Lord’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

“And now,” he said, “you will stay here. You will be married to one of us.”

My heart skipped. Married?

He extended his hand toward Darius.

Darius rose instantly, his smile twisted and predatory. He blew me a kiss, and a shiver ran down my spine.

“You will be married to him,” the Lord continued. “And if we cannot have Heather—well, since you share the same bloodline of power—you will take her place.”

Cold adrenaline rushed through me. My body went rigid.

The judgment ended. One by one, the demons turned and filed out of the grand hall, their footsteps echoing like war drums against the marble floor.

I remained where I was—frozen—until I realized Darius was still there. He began walking toward me, his eyes bright with anticipation.

But before he could reach me, a hand shot out in front of him.

Rebecca.

She stepped between us, her expression calm but firm. “You won’t be speaking to your bride until the wedding night,” she said evenly.

Darius raised a brow, amusement flickering across his face. “Oh? I didn’t realize that rule still applied to me.”

“Now you do,” she said coolly.

Their gazes locked for a moment before he scoffed and turned away.

Rebecca then grabbed my wrist—surprisingly gently—and led me out of the hall.

My body still ached, the after-effects of dark magic gnawing at me from the inside. When I tried to summon a spark of power, nothing answered. The magic was still drained from me—still seized.

She took me back to the room from earlier and, to my surprise, Rebecca didn’t lock the door behind us.

“Now that you’re going to be a demon—well, at least a demoness—you should start learning a few things.”

Rebecca’s voice filled the dim room as she paced slowly in front of me, her white hair shimmering faintly under the candlelight.

“You’re to be married to Darius,” she went on, “a very prominent demon here in Decresh. The City of Demons.”

Her tone was calm, instructional, as though she were discussing something as mundane as a wedding dress rather than my fate.

“This place,” she continued, “is called the City of Decresh. No mortal knows where it is—not even your kind. And I doubt you do either. But somehow, the powers inside of you do. They took both the twins and that wolf, Leon, away from here. Fascinating, really.”

She gave me a small, cold smile. “But thank the darkness that your powers have been seized. I can no longer see those black currents running through your veins. Dark magic must be punishing you.”

I swallowed hard, my confusion growing with every word.

“Well,” she added, folding her arms, “until your powers return—if they ever do—you’ll already be married. And once you are, I doubt you’ll ever touch that kind of power again.”

My chest tightened. The words hit like a curse.

“What is your obsession with Heather?” I finally asked. My voice was quiet but edged with fury. “Why do you want her so badly? She’s just a child. Why is she your priority?”

Rebecca turned her head, her eyes flickering with something unreadable.

“You’re right,” she said softly. “Heather is special. But not for the reasons you think.”

My brows furrowed.

“Heather inherited something very rare—something from her father,” she said. “Her father was brought back to life using dark magic. That power runs in his blood. Somehow, Heather tapped into it.

My heart stopped. “You’re saying—”

“Yes,” Rebecca cut in. “She carries darkness within her. That blood makes her more than human. It makes her one of us. Not only is she stronger than her twin, but she’s stronger than all of us combined.”

I stared at her, horrified.

She smirked faintly. “And that’s why we need her. Or, rather—needed her. Because now that you’re here…” She stepped closer, her voice lowering. “…if you and Darius produce a child, that child will be almost as strong as Heather. And then, we won’t need her anymore.”

A cold chill ran down my spine.

Rebecca smiled again. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? To make her irrelevant? Don’t worry—Darius will be an excellent husband. I’ll make sure of it. I practically raised him, you know. He listens to me.” Her lips twisted in amusement. “I’ll ensure he becomes the perfect husband—and your devoted brother-in-law.”

I stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “You really believe all of this is going to work?” I said, my voice shaking with disbelief. “You really think Leon and the rest won’t come for me?”

“Oh, we have them handled,” she said lightly.

“What?”

“They wanted Aurora,” she replied. “So we gave them Aurora.”

My stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”

She smiled wider. “We have a demon—one who can shapeshift perfectly. She’s taken your form and your memories. To them, you’re already home.”

“No…”

“Oh, yes,” Rebecca said, almost gleefully. “She’s in the High House as we speak. They’ll never realize she’s a demon. And now, we have one of our own sitting right inside your precious pack.”

My knees weakened.

“So, if you ever think about escaping,” she whispered, leaning close, “we’ll simply tell our little shapeshifter to kill Leon. Or one of the twins. Or maybe your sister.”

I gasped, my vision spinning. “You wouldn’t dare—”

“Oh, but we would.” She laughed softly, brushing invisible dust from her sleeves. “So keep your head down, little demoness. Be obedient. Be the strong girl you pretend to be—but not too strong.”

Her words echoed in my skull, cold and final.

I felt the dizziness wash over me, my balance slipping. The edges of the room blurred.

They sent a demon to replace me… Leon and everyone thinks I’m back… the High House is compromised.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, gripping the side of the bed as the world tilted. “This is trouble.”