Bound to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 142: Aria’s Inner Battle

ARIA POV

Pain exploded through my head as shadow claws dug into my mind. I screamed and tried to pull away, but the chains holding me were too strong.

"Stop fighting, little Earth Guardian," the Shadow Lord hissed in my ear. "Give us what we want, and the pain will end."

"Never," I gasped, even though every word felt like eating glass.

The thing laughed and pressed harder. I felt my thoughts being pulled apart like pages torn from a book. My memories of the ritual, of Oberyn’s old magic, of everything that could help us win—they were all trying to slip away.

But I held on. I had to.

"Tell us about the Ancient Fae Magic," another Shadow Lord ordered. "How does it work?"

Instead of replying, I thought about my first day at school. I was six years old, wearing a pink dress that my mom had made for me. I focused on every detail—the way the fabric felt, the sound of my new shoes on the hallway floor, the worried flutter in my stomach.

The Shadow Lord trying to read my mind growled in frustration. "What is this? Why are you thinking about school?"

"Because," I said through hard teeth, "my memories belong to me."

It was a trick Elder Malin had taught me years ago, back when I thought he was trying to help me. When someone tries to steal your important thoughts, you fill your mind with silly ones instead. Make them work for every scrap of knowledge.

I thought about my tenth birthday party. Only three kids had come, but Mira had made it special anyway. We’d played games and eaten too much cake and laughed until our sides hurt.

"Stop this nonsense!" The Shadow Lord’s claws dug deeper. "Show us the ritual!"

Pain shot through my head like lightning, but I pushed it aside. I thought about the time Lucien had wrapped my knee when I fell off my bike. He’d been so gentle, so careful not to hurt me more.

"You cannot resist forever," the creature snarled. "We have all the time in the world."

"So do I," I said, though I wasn’t sure that was true.

The truth was, I was getting tired. Every happy memory I used to hide the important ones took energy I didn’t have. And the Shadow Lords were getting better at finding the cracks in my mental walls.

I thought about Kael teaching me to fight. How patient he’d been even when I kept making mistakes. How proud he’d looked when I finally got a move right.

But as I remembered that day, I felt something else trying to push into my thoughts. Not the Shadow Lords. Something new. Something that felt almost... familiar.

"Aria." A voice spoke inside my thoughts. Not out loud—directly into my head.

I tried to ignore it and keep thinking about training with Kael, but the voice came again.

"Aria, it’s me. Listen carefully."

I knew that voice. But it was impossible. "Mom?"

"Yes, sweetheart. I don’t have much time."

My mother had died when I was twelve. How could she be talking to me now?

"You’re not real," I whispered. "The Shadow Lords are trying to trick me."

"I’m real," she said gently. "Death isn’t the end for Earth Guardians, Aria. We become part of the land itself. Part of the magic you carry."

The Shadow Lord noticed I’d stopped thinking about odd memories. "What’s happening? What are you doing?"

I ignored him and focused on my mother’s words. "Mom, I’m scared. They’re trying to take my memories."

"I know. But there’s something you need to understand about those memories. About why they’re so important."

"What?"

"The rite Oberyn showed you—it’s not complete. There’s a missing bit that only Earth Guardians know. A piece that’s been passed down through our family for thousands of years."

My heart started beating faster. "What piece?"

"The Shadow Lords think they need to steal your memories to learn it. But they’re wrong. The truth isn’t in your mind, Aria. It’s in your blood."

Before I could ask what she meant, the Shadow Lord pressed his claws deeper into my brain. "Enough! Tell us about the process now!"

This time, the pain was so strong I couldn’t think of anything else. My vision went white, and I felt my carefully built mental walls starting to break.

"I can see it," the Shadow Lord said with joy. "The ritual room. The old words. Yes, give me more!"

"No!" I tried to strengthen my defenses, but I was too weak.

"Aria," my mother’s voice was urgent now. "You have to let them see the ritual."

"What? But that’s exactly what they want!"

"Trust me. Let them see it, but only the parts Oberyn showed you. Don’t let them see the real secret."

"What real secret?"

"The spell doesn’t just trap Shadow Lords, sweetheart. It changes them. Back into what they used to be before the evil took them."

My mind went blank with shock. "What?"

"Shadow Lords weren’t always bad, Aria. They were like us once. The ritual can cure them, not kill them. That’s why they’re really afraid of it."

The Shadow Lord was pulling more memories now, seeing Oberyn’s magical test, the old words, the glowing symbols. But he didn’t know what I’d just learned. He thought he was taking a weapon, not a cure.

"Got it!" he said proudly, pulling his claws out of my head. "The Prisoner will be very pleased."

I slumped in my chains, pretending to be more hurt than I was. Let him think he’d won.

"Take her back to her cell," the Shadow Lord ordered. "She’s no use to us now." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

As they dragged me away, my mother’s voice whispered one last thing: "The real battle is just starting, Aria. And you’re the only one who can end it without hurting anyone."

They threw me into a dark cell and locked the door. But I wasn’t alone. Huddled in the corner was someone I never expected to see.

"Aria?" a weak voice called out. "Is that really you?"

I crawled toward the sound and gasped when I saw who it was.

"Elder Malin?"

The old man who had betrayed us, who had worked with the Shadow Lords, was chained to the wall. But he looked different. Younger. And his eyes weren’t the cold gray I remembered.

They were warm brown. Human.

"Aria," he said desperately. "You have to listen to me. Everything I did, everything I told you—it was all lies. The Shadow Lords have been ruling my mind for years."

"What?"

"I’m not their ally," he said, tears streaming down his face. "I’m their prisoner. Just like you."

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on fre ew𝒆bnovel.com