Who am I

Thorne's eyes softened, just for a moment. "You're not just a girl from a farming village, Aria. You are far more than that. Your bloodline... it ties you to something ancient, something the Imperium has been searching for, for centuries."

Aria's heart raced. "The Andromedans," she whispered, the word feeling foreign on her tongue.

Thorne nodded slowly. "Yes. The Andromedans were a people of incredible power and knowledge. Your ancestors were among the last of them, a bloodline thought lost after the fall of their civilization. The Imperium has been searching for you—someone like you—for generations."

Aria staggered back, the weight of his words hitting her like a physical blow. "Why?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why are they looking for me?"

Thorne's face darkened. "Because you are the key to something they want. Something they believe will give them the power to control the galaxy."

Aria's blood ran cold. "And you? What do you want, Elias? Are you here to help me or to hand me over to them?"

Thorne's eyes flickered with something—regret, perhaps, or conflict. He took a step toward her, his voice low. "Aria, I don't want to see you hurt. But I have my orders."

The distance between them seemed to stretch for miles, and for the first time since meeting him, Aria realized that whatever connection they had, it was built on a foundation of lies. Elias Thorne was not her savior. He was her captor.

"You've been lying to me," she said, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and betrayal. "This whole time, you've been lying."

Thorne reached for her, but Aria pulled back, her hand clenching around the pendant at her chest. "Don't touch me."

"Aria—"

"I trusted you," she spat, her voice breaking. "But you're just like the rest of them."

Thorne's face fell, the mask of control slipping just for a moment. "I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did," Aria whispered, her eyes filling with tears she refused to let fall. "You've taken everything from me."

There was a long, painful silence before Thorne spoke again. "There's more at stake here than you know, Aria. You're in danger. The Emperor knows about you. He's watching, waiting for the right moment to strike. If you run, he will find you. And if he finds you..."

His voice trailed off, the unspoken threat hanging in the air between them.

Aria took a deep breath, her hand still clenched around the pendant. "I won't let him take me. I won't let you take me."

Thorne said nothing, the conflict raging behind his eyes. But it was too late for apologies. Too late for redemption.

Without another word, Aria turned and walked out of the room, her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew one thing for certain: she couldn't trust anyone—not even Elias Thorne.

As she stepped out into the night, the stars above seemed to pulse with a distant, ancient light. And somewhere, deep within her, something stirred—something powerful, something she had yet to understand.

The game had only just begun.