Chapter 4: Stuck Here Forever

Every member of the Dominion was tied to an unseen spiritual bond known as the Flame Thread. Most children only sensed it faintly when they grew older.

Elias wasn’t supposed to be able to feel it this clearly yet.

His voice lowered.

“Grandfather Regulus is gone… isn’t he?”

Lyra’s composure shattered instantly.

She pulled him into her arms before he could see her expression.

“Yes,” she whispered, voice unsteady. “He passed away tonight.”

Elias said nothing more. He only held her back tightly, as if he already understood more than he should.

And in that moment, Lyra felt something inside her fracture all over again.

Because this child loved her without condition.

Without blame.

Without expectation.

She buried her face in his hair, breathing in the familiar scent of cedar soap and something sweet he always seemed to carry with him.

Whatever happened to her…

Whatever the world decided to do to her…

She would never regret him.

Never.

After a long silence, Elias shifted slightly.

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

His voice dropped even softer.

“You and Father… you won’t leave me too, right?”

The question landed like a wound opening slowly.

Lyra’s breath caught.

For a brief moment, she saw everything she was afraid to face.

Darius’s arms around Selene.

The way his voice softened for her without effort.

The distance that had never truly disappeared between them, no matter how many years passed.

And now Selene had returned.

A future Lyra had always known might one day break open suddenly felt dangerously close.

Still, she forced warmth into her expression. She brushed his hair gently from his forehead.

“You’re stuck with us forever,” she said softly. “No matter what happens.”

Elias seemed to relax at that, though doubt still lingered in his eyes.

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

He nodded slowly, exhaustion finally pulling him under.

Within minutes, his breathing deepened into sleep.

Lyra stayed beside him until she was certain he was truly at peace.

Only then did she leave the room.

---

The estate felt different that night.

Too quiet.

Too empty.

Like it was holding its breath for something it already knew was coming.

Lyra wandered into the kitchen without thinking, drawn by the need to do something—anything—that could anchor her thoughts.

The refrigerator light flickered on as she reached for water.

And then she heard it.

The front doors opening downstairs.

She froze.

Heavy footsteps moved through the hall with quiet certainty.

She didn’t need to see him to know who it was.

Darius.

She hadn’t expected him to return tonight.

Especially not after Selene.

Especially not after the way he had looked at her.

The kitchen doorway darkened as he entered.

Darius loosened the collar of his black coat as he walked in, rain still clinging to the ends of his hair. Exhaustion sat beneath the sharp lines of his face, but even worn down, he carried the same overwhelming presence—like the room adjusted itself around him without permission.

His gaze flicked to Lyra briefly.

Empty.

Unreadable.

Then he walked past her to the counter.

The faint scent of smoke and frostwood followed him as he opened the fridge and took a bottle of water, their shoulders nearly brushing.

Too close and familiar.

Lyra stepped back on instinct.

“Did you eat anything?” she asked quietly.

Darius didn’t look at her.

“No.”

She swallowed. “I can make something.”

“No need.”

Silence returned almost immediately, settling between them like something well-practiced.

He drank in steady silence, then placed the bottle down with controlled ease. Both hands came to rest on the marble counter, his shoulders slightly lowered—as if whatever he carried tonight weighed more than usual.

Lyra shifted toward the hallway.

“I should check on Eli—”

“Lyra.”

Her name stopped her instantly.

Not loud.

Not harsh.

But different.

She turned slowly.

Moonlight filtered through the kitchen windows, cutting across his face in pale lines.

Darius didn’t speak immediately. For a moment, he simply stood there, as if organizing words he had already decided on long before entering the room.

That expression tightened something inside her.

She knew it.

That look came before endings.

“What is it?” she asked carefully.

His jaw flexed once.

Then he spoke.

“Selene is returning to Shadowcrest after the funeral.”

The words were simple.

But the way he said them was not.

Lyra held her expression steady. “She’s part of the mourning family. That makes sense.”

“That’s not all.”

A slow chill spread beneath her skin.

Darius looked away for a fraction of a second, then met her eyes again.

And this time, there was something there she hadn’t seen in years.

Guilt.

“I can’t continue this marriage anymore.”

The world seemed to stop moving.

Lyra didn’t respond. She didn’t even realize she had stopped breathing.

Ten years of silence, endurance, and quiet distance rose to the surface all at once.

And yet, some part of her had always known this would come.

Darius’s voice remained steady, controlled, almost clinical.

“I want to dissolve the Blood Oath.”

The glass slipped from her fingers.

It shattered against the floor, the sound sharp in the stillness.

Neither of them moved.

Because in that moment, after ten years of everything unspoken between them…

Their marriage finally ended before either of them had the chance to stop it.