Aethelos Pain and Blood

Months later, the newspapers no longer spoke of peace. · The headlines covered the streets of Aethelos like sentences: · “Rebels dishonor the government” · “Jonas Dorp, the missing coward” · “Jonas and his radical group” · “Death to the rebels” · The Solaris Academy prepared in silence for a stealth attack on Aldiana. Brock and Violeta trained to the limit. Joseph reviewed maps and orders. And Nayb… Nayb disappeared whenever he could. · It was on one of those escapes that he found her. · Eliana was sitting in the shade of a tree, her hand resting on her enormous belly. When she saw him, she smiled. · Nayb knelt in front of her, his voice light for the first time in weeks. · “So? Who’s the future pride of daddy? Who is it?” · She laughed softly. · “If it’s a boy, I want you to name him Nayb.” · He smiled. · “And if it’s a girl, I want her to be named Eliana.” · The moment did not last long. The tension returned to his shoulders. · “You’re preparing for a war. · But you shouldn’t fight.” · Eliana rolled her eyes, tired of the conversation. · “Love, there’s no point insisting on that. I’m not changing my mind. · Look… I’m going, okay?” · “I have to go back to Solaris too.” · They moved in opposite directions. Nayb had not walked twenty steps when Zakrom appeared beside Eliana, his face closed. · “You’re feeding an impossible relationship. · And that bubble in your belly, the one you call a baby… is a mistake. · What you’re doing is delaying the inevitable. · What will you do if he dies in battle?” · Eliana was left without words for a few seconds. Then she spoke quietly, almost pleading: · “Hope things turn out for the best, Zakrom. · And I hope you love my child as if you were his uncle. · It would mean a lot to me.” · Zakrom sighed. His gaze drifted to the side. · “I won’t promise what I can’t keep.” · At Solaris, Brock was waiting for Nayb in the corridor. · “Did you go see her? Again? You keep repeating the same mistake?” · Nayb ran a hand over his face, exhausted. · “Brock… I’m going to be a father. · And as a good father, I’m going to love that child who’s about to be born. · But look… I hope that one day you can love my son as if you were an uncle.” · Brock stayed silent. Then he sighed, pride and loyalty fighting in the same chest. · “Nayb, I’m against everything you did. · But… I will be the best uncle he will ever know.” · Before Nayb could answer, Joseph appeared accompanied by a representative of the Vindicari Royal House. The tutor’s voice echoed across the courtyard where students and soldiers had gathered. · “Tomorrow we go to Aldiana. · In the name of the honor of the kingdom. · Anyone who wants to leave, leave and disappear. · But let no one dishonor the crown afterward.” · No one moved. · No one left. · Everyone stayed. · That night, Nayb could not sleep. · Lying on the narrow bed at Solaris, he stared at the ceiling without seeing it. His chest tight. The cold certainty that something would not go well. · Outside, Aethelos slept. · In Aldiana, Eliana rested her hand on her belly. · And tomorrow… would be the day of the great invasion.