One

Chapter One

Arias POV

“No, please! I can’t leave! We can find another way!”

I grabbed Kael’s arm desperately, my fingers tightening around his sleeve as I stared at him in disbelief.

“Why are you being so selfish, Aria?” he snapped, shaking off my hand. “This is the apocalypse! The only way to protect our son and survive is for you to go and stay at King Asher’s residence!”

“No!” I shook my head violently. “You know who King Asheris! Everyone is afraid of him. Women enter his residence and never come out again. You want me to go there?”

“Would you rather have our son die?”

His words struck me like a slap.

I froze.

Our son.

My three-year-old baby.

The thought of losing him was enough to make my heart clench painfully. I looked at Kael, desperately searching his face for some sign that he understood how terrified I was, but all I saw was impatience.

“Kael, please,” I begged, forcing myself to remain calm. “We can still find another way. We can quickly buy food, water, and other supplies. We can find somewhere safe before things get worse. We don’t have to—”

A violent tremor shook the house.

I stumbled sideways, grabbing the edge of the table to steady myself as glasses toppled over and shattered against the floor. The lights flickered several times before going out, plunging the room into darkness.

A deafening rumble came from outside.

Then someone screamed.

Another scream followed, accompanied by the horrible sound of metal crunching against metal. Car horns blared continuously, and the noise of people running and shouting filled the air.

My heart pounded.

“What’s happening?” I whispered.

Kael’s expression changed. Whatever impatience he had shown moments earlier was replaced by urgency.

“It’s started.”

My blood ran cold.

“What?”

“The apocalypse!” he shouted. “It’s started, Aria! Go!”

Before I could process his words, he grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the front door.

“Kael, wait!” I struggled against him. “What about our son?”

“Just go!”

He shoved me outside so violently that I nearly fell onto the concrete steps. I reached for the doorframe to keep myself from collapsing, but before I could regain my balance, he slammed the door shut.

Click!

The sound of the lock turning sent a chill down my spine.

For several seconds, I stood there, staring at the closed door.

I couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“Kael?”

I grabbed the handle and pulled.

It wouldn’t open.

“Kael, open the door!”

I twisted the handle repeatedly, my hands trembling as I pulled with all my strength.

“Kael!”

I pounded against the door as the ground continued shaking beneath my feet.

“Please! Don’t do this to me! I’m your wife!”

Then I heard it.

“Mummy! Mummy!”

Our son was crying inside.

Tears immediately flooded my eyes.

“Baby!” I pressed my face against the door. “Mummy is here! Don’t cry, sweetheart. Mummy is right outside!”

His cries grew louder.

I could imagine him standing there with his little arms stretched toward the door, looking for me while his father did nothing to bring us together.

“Kael, please!” I screamed, hammering my fists against the wood. “Let me in! He’s crying for me! Can’t you hear him?”

I heard movement inside, followed by the sound of my son sobbing harder.

But Kael didn’t open the door.

He didn’t even come close enough to tell me to go away.

My husband had locked me outside while our three-year-old son remained inside with him.

I slid my hand down the door, my legs trembling so badly that I could barely stand.

“Why?” I whispered between sobs. “Why are you doing this to me?”

I had loved this man.

I had trusted him with my life.

When we got married, I believed we would face every difficulty together. I had imagined growing old beside him, watching our son grow into a fine young man, and building a happy family.

Never once had I imagined that the day the world fell apart would be the day my own husband decided I was no longer worth saving.

Yet here I was, begging to be let into my own home.

And he had chosen to abandon me.

Outside, the chaos was getting worse.

People screamed as they rushed down the street, desperately searching for somewhere to hide. A vehicle crashed into a lamppost, its alarm blaring as smoke poured from the damaged engine. Somewhere nearby, a woman cried for help before her voice was abruptly cut off.

Then came a sound that made every hair on my body stand on end.

A guttural snarl.

I slowly turned my head.

At the far end of the street, a man was staggering toward a group of people. His clothes were torn, his movements unnatural, and his skin looked disturbingly pale. One of the fleeing men stumbled, and before he could get back up, the creature lunged at him.

Blood splattered across the pavement.

The crowd erupted into terrified screams.

I clapped a hand over my mouth, fighting the urge to vomit.

It was real.

The apocalypse was no longer something people discussed in frightened whispers or watched on their screens. It was happening right in front of me.

And I was standing outside with nowhere to go.

The smell of smoke drifted through the air as flames began rising from a building across the street. The heat reached my face, but I barely noticed it.

All I could think about was my son.

My baby was inside that house.

He needed me, and I couldn’t reach him.

I turned back to the door and struck it with my fists one last time.

“Kael, please! I won’t ask for anything else. Just let me stay with my son!”

Silence.

My hands fell to my sides.

Something inside me broke.

He had secured his own survival and our son’s. As far as Kael was concerned, his responsibility toward me was over.

I sank to the ground, pressing my knees against my chest as tears streamed down my face.

“How could you do this to me?” I whispered. “After everything I’ve done for you, how could you?”

I didn’t know how long I remained there, crying against the door that had once been the entrance to my home.

Then I heard footsteps.

Heavy, deliberate footsteps approaching through the chaos.

I lifted my head.

Several armed men were moving down the street, their weapons raised as they pushed through the panicking crowd. Unlike the other survivors, they weren’t running aimlessly or screaming for help. They moved with purpose, clearing a path for someone.

Their uniforms bore a symbol I recognized immediately.

The royal insignia.

My blood ran cold.

A black vehicle came to a stop behind them.

The rear door opened.

A tall man stepped out, dressed in a long black coat. He looked completely unfazed by the destruction around him. While people screamed and ran for their lives, he surveyed the burning buildings and bloodstained streets with the calm authority of someone who had never needed to fear anything.

His men immediately formed a protective line around him.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me who he was.

King Asher.

The most powerful man in the country.

The man people feared even before the apocalypse began.

The man my husband had sold me to.

He was here.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

I scrambled to my feet and desperately grabbed the door handle again, as though the locked door might somehow open if I tried hard enough.

“Kael!” I screamed. “Please! Open the door!”

I pulled the handle repeatedly, but it remained locked.

Behind me, King Asherbegan walking in my direction.

I turned to look at him.

His gaze had settled on me.

For one terrible moment, I forgot how to breathe.

He was walking directly toward me, his cold expression revealing nothing. His polished shoes moved steadily across the debris-strewn pavement, and his men followed several steps behind him.

I shook my head.

“No,” I whispered.

He continued approaching.

“No, please…”

I backed against the door, trembling from head to toe.

There was nowhere to run. The infected were roaming the streets, the buildings were catching fire, and the people who might have helped me were fighting for their own lives.

My husband had locked me out.

My son was trapped inside.

And the most feared man in the country was coming to claim me.

I pressed myself against the door, my fingers curling around the handle as if it were the only thing keeping me alive.

King Asherstopped directly in front of me.

Up close, he was even more intimidating. His dark eyes moved over my face, taking in my tear-streaked cheeks and trembling lips. He didn’t look angry. He didn’t look pleased.

That somehow frightened me even more.

I swallowed painfully and forced myself to speak.

“Please,” I whispered. “Don’t take me…”

His gaze remained fixed on mine.

I shook my head desperately, tears spilling down my cheeks.

“Please, don’t take me… please!”