LOGINSAPHRA’S POVThe moment the doors slam shut behind Seraphine something changes.I feel it, in the bond.A violent snap, like fragile thread being stretched too far, then breaking.My breath catches.“No…” The word leaves me instinctively, barely a whisper.Lucien stiffens completely.Every muscle in his body locks at once, his spine going rigid like a drawn bowstring pulled too tight. The sword in his hand stills.Wrong.So wrong.“Lucien?” My voice shakes despite me.He doesn’t respond.Then, the darkness surges. It floods him.I see black veins erupt across his skin all at once, spreading faster than I can track, swallowing every inch of him. It’s no longer creeping or pulsing.It’s claiming.Taking.Consuming.His head tilts slowly.And when his eyes meet mine... There is nothing there.My heart stops.“No…” I whisper again, shaking my head.A sound leaves him.A low exhale.Then, he laughs.The sound is differentDeep.Layered.It echoes through the throne room like something anci
LADY SERAPHINE'S POVIt’s over.My assassins are dead.All three of them.I stare at their bodies scattered across the marble, useless and something inside me fractures in a way I cannot immediately contain.No.No, this wasn’t how it was supposed to end.They were precise. I placed them carefully, chose them for this exact moment, this exact purpose.And yet they failed.Worse than that, I have been exposed.My breath comes faster, sharper, as realisation claws its way up my spine.Everyone saw.Marcus saw.The guards saw.Even the servants, those weak, sentimental fools saw.There is no denying it now.No twisting of truth.No manipulation left to hide behind.The room feels smaller suddenly, suffocating, closing in as the weight of their awareness presses against me.I lift my gaze and I meet their eyes.No obedience.No fear.Their eyes are filled with judgment, accusation and betrayal.For a heartbeat, I freeze then instinct takes over. I step back slowly at first then faster.I
SAPHRA’S POVThe sound that breaks me isn’t the clash of steel.It isn’t Lucien’s roar.It isn’t even my own sharp breath as pain pulses through my shoulder.It’s Marcus.The way his voice fractures when he says her name.I turn and everything inside me drops.Mara is in his arms.Too still and pale.For a heartbeat, I don’t move. My mind refuses to accept what I’m seeing, refuses to process the shape of her body against his, the way his hands shake as he tries to hold her together.Then reality slams into me.No.No, no, no...I push myself forward, ignoring the scream of pain that tears through my shoulder as my injured arm shifts. My hand slips against the blood on the marble, but I don’t stop. I crawl, dragging myself across the floor, my breath coming in sharp, uneven bursts.“Mara.....” My voice breaks before I even reach her.Marcus doesn’t look up. He’s bent over her, cradling her like she might disappear if he loosens his grip for even a second.“Stay with me,” he’s saying, o
MARCUS’S POV Everything narrows to a single objective. Protect Saphra. Steel screams against steel as I drive forward, forcing my way through bodies that should have been allies. Guards.....my guards turn their blades on me, but I don’t hesitate. I can’t. Every second I waste is another step closer to Saphra bleeding out on the floor, another moment for those cloaked bastards to finish what they started. I see them. Three of them. “Move!” I roar, slamming my shoulder into one of the palace guards. He stumbles back, just enough for me to break through his line. My sword arcs without pause, instinct and training taking over. The first assassin turns toward me too late. His dagger is still wet. Poison glints along the edge. My vision goes red. I don’t think....I react. My blade cuts across his throat in one brutal, decisive stroke. There’s no finesse, no measured restraint. Just force. Just fury. Blood sprays across the marble as he drops, choking on a sound that never become
LADY SERAPHINE'S POVSteel rings. Voices rise. Blood stains the marble.But none of that matters.My gaze locks onto the center of the storm, where everything is coming undone.Saphra and Lucien.Her hands are on him.Her power is on him.Silver light spills from her touch like something divine, something pure and ancient, spreading across his skin in defiance of everything I built.Everything I have gained.“No…” The word escapes me, quiet at first, disbelieving.I watch it happen.The black veins recede beneath that light.Enough to weaken the hold.Lucien gasps.I hear it even through the chaos.See it in the way his body jerks, in the way his head lifts slightly as if breaking through water after being drowned.And then, his eyes clear.“No,” I breathe again, sharper now, panic lacing through the edges of my voice.This can not happen.He was supposed to be mine, the possession made it easy for Lucien to be wielded like a weapon. Why did she have to save him?My fingers curl tigh
SAPHRA’S POVMy palm presses against his cheek, my other hand steady against the side of his neck, feeling the violent pulse of those black veins beneath his skin. They throb against me.His sword is still raised.Still trembling.His forehead nearly touches mine now, his breath uneven, harsh, breaking apart with every exhale. Sweat drips down his face, mixing with something else....Tears.My heart twists painfully.He’s crying. I have never seen him cry before.“Lucien…” I whisper, my voice trembling but steady enough to carry through the bond between us.His name feels like an anchor.I swallow hard, my chest tight with everything I haven’t said, everything I need to say now.Because if I don’t, I might lose him forever.“I know this isn’t your fault,” I begin softly.The words feel fragile, but they’re true.Every single one.His body jerks at the sound, a broken reaction, like something inside him recognizes the meaning even if the darkness tries to twist it.“I know you didn’t c
SAPHRA'S POV The next day, Lucien arrives just before sunset. I know it’s him before the door opens. The bond gives him away.It always does.A quiet shift beneath my ribs. A flicker of awareness like someone brushing against the edge of my thoughts. My wolf lifts her head instantly, alert in a wa
SAPHRA'S POV I decide before he arrives, If I let another sunset pass with stories about frost and stars, I will lose my nerve. Some questions rot if they’re not cut open. Tonight, I will cut. The sky is bleeding into dusk when the lock turns. My pulse stutters despite my resolve. Lucien step
LUCIEN’S POV Thousands of wolves packed shoulder to shoulder beneath the open sky, their scents blending into a restless current of expectation and unease. Stone banners ripple overhead, bearing the crest of our pack. The elevated platform beneath my boots overlooks them all.My people, my respons
LUCIEN’S POV Food tastes like ash. It doesn’t matter what the kitchen sends up—roasted stag, fresh bread, berries soaked in honey. The moment it touches my tongue, it turns dry and flavourless, like I’m chewing dust scraped from the hearth. I force it down anyway. I sit at the head of the long







