-41
ASLAN’S POV
My heart sank when I saw Aurora leave. Did that mean Zarina had truly killed the baby? My heart beat like thunder as I moved to the front of the cage.
“Zizi, Don’t tell me you killed the baby… You just wanted to use her as leverage right…” I asked in a shaking voice.
“So what if I killed her… What do you care?”
My knees gave way and I fell to the ground. Tears rolled down my cheeks and a scream erupted from my soul. This had to be a lie… She couldn’t do this…
Tyson kneeled beside me and pulled me into a hug, “I am so sorry, Aslan. I… I am such a failure… I should have come up with something better…”
“No, Tyson you didn’t fail… I was the one who failed.”
Jumping to my feet I grasped the bars of the cage and roared, “I should have listened to Tyson. I should have let him kill you, Zarina. I believed that you could be saved. I was so wrong, Zizi… you are just like our mother; pure evil!”
Wincing, I removed my hands as the bars burned me.
Zarina’s eyes widened in shock as she asked, “What are you saying, brother?”
Her words were like acid to my ears, “Don’t you dare call me your brother after killing my daughter.”
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She asked in a shaking voice, “YOUR daughter…”
Tyson exhaled deeply and said, “The baby you killed was Aslan and Raina’s daughter, Lily. When he told me about your plan, I wanted to kill you immediately but Aslan convinced me to give you one more chance…”
“That was my biggest mistake, Zizi. I had so much faith in you Zizi. Despite Tyson’s warning, I replaced Tiara with my baby… we used a masking spell so that you couldn’t recognize her… If only I had agreed to Tyson’s plan… my daughter would have been still alive…”
Zarina’s face turned red with fury and she roared, “Which spell did you use to hypnotize Aslan?”
“None, my little sister… I just told him the whole truth… Before leaving for the Quest, I realized that Aslan was behaving very strangely.”
“When I accused him of killing our mother, he took me to Fiona and showed me his memories. Tyson killed our mother just to protect us, Zizi…”
Zarina shook her head and said, “I don’t believe you… you are lying… you are making stories to make me feel guilty…”
Tyson walked closer to the cage and said, “Zarina, please let me show you… haven’t we lost enough to hatred…”
He groaned as he thrust his arms through the bars. His face contorted in pain as the bars burned him.
Zarina took his hands and closed her eyes in concentration. My brain zoned out as I wondered how I would tell Raina that her daughter… our daughter had died… Tears flowed down my cheeks as I lost myself in the sea of grief and guilt…
AURORA’S POV
Tiara, my love, my daughter, my life source was gone just like that… Here I was wandering through some stupid maze searching for a useless stone unaware of the fact that my daughter was in danger.
If only I hadn’t handed her to Zarina, my angel would have been safe… it was like someone had ripped off my soul, my purpose of life…
Knock! Knock! Knock!......
I ignored the knocking at my door by it was incessant. In the end, I dragged myself to the door and opened it.
My jaws hung open and my eyes widened. This had to be an illusion. Standing right in front of me were Aslan and Raina and a baby… Her smile pierced through my heart and made me whimper.
My hands trembled as I raised them to touch her face. A gasp escaped my mouth when she didn’t vanish. Pulling her into my arms, I smothered her face with kisses. “Tiara… my little angel… you… I…” My voice choked up and I couldn’t speak ahead.
Tiara started crying, not too comfortable at being smoldered with kisses. But, I didn’t mind… It proved that she was in my arms flesh and blood.
Rocking her in my arms, I asked, “Where did you find her?”
“Tyson has asked us to tell you that Zarina handed it over to me after I killed him with a secret weapon.”
“Sorry!”
“Tyson will probably kill us for this but I want to tell you the whole truth… Can we come inside?” Raina asked, shifting her weight from one foot to another.
After Tiara calmed down a little, I joined them in the hall.
“You better be honest with me else I will skin you alive and shower you with salt,” I warned before he started speaking. I was so done with plots and lies.
I was stunned to know that Lily was killed instead of my daughter… Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled that my daughter was safe… but at what price… the burden was too great to bear!
My blood boiled at the unfairness of this. Tyson was so selfish! He didn’t even flinch using a baby in his plot. “That B******! Couldn’t he have come up with a better plan?”
“This time it’s my fault Aurora. Tyson wanted me to kill Zarina or keep her trapped. I convinced him to give her a chance. I had faith that my sister could never kill an infant… Tyson warned me, still…” Aslan said and buried his head in his hands.
Grasping Raina’s hand, I exhaled deeply. “I don’t even know what to say… I have died a thousand deaths from the time I learned that my daughter is no more… You…”
She bit her lower lips and interrupted, “Tiara is like my daughter too… I took care of her while you were away… If she had died… I would have been equally shattered… I will try to see Lily in Tiara… I know I can’t be her mother but maybe you will let me see her once in a while…” She burst into sobs after that.
Tightening my grip on her hand, I said, “You sacrificed your baby to save Tiara. You have given her a new life, Raina… she is your daughter as much as she is mine…”
Wiping her tears, she said, “Are you serious?”
“Of course… Isn’t Tiara lucky, she has so many people to take care of her…” I said, handing Tiara to her.
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