Chapter 22

Aria

I'm frozen, my heart pounding in my chest as I stare at Elijah's battered face. His eyes are hazy, clouded with pain and confusion, and I can see the questions burning in their depths.

"Aria," he croaks, his voice rough and broken. "What... what happened?"

I swallow hard, my mind racing as I try to find the words. How can I possibly explain the horror of what just transpired? The madness in Callum's eyes, the cruel twist of his lips as he threatened to take everything from me?

But even as I open my mouth to speak, a sudden realization hits me like a bolt of lightning. Elijah doesn't remember. The fight, the betrayal, the sickening crunch of bone and flesh... it's all lost to him, swallowed up by the haze of pain and exhaustion.

And in that moment, I make a decision. A split-second choice that will change everything, that will set me on a path from which there may be no return.

I take a deep breath, my voice trembling with feigned fear and distress as I begin to weave my tale.

"It