Chapter Fifteen: Whispers of War

The storm broke overnight.

Not outside, but inside the house.

The storm didn’t come with thunder or lightning. It came with boots on marble, with urgent voices tearing through the silence like blades. It came with the hard slam of car doors, the low click of weapons being loaded, and the cold morning light filtering in through the tall windows.

Emilia woke to that sound of boots thudding against marble, low voices snapping orders, and the distant slam of car doors. She blinked into the half-light of morning, disoriented, her body still cocooned in Lucien’s oversized sheets.

Lucien wasn’t in the room. Her heart kicked painfully in her chest. The place where he had sat last night was cold now. Empty. Panic clawed at her throat before she forced herself to breathe. He said he would protect her. He said she was safe.

But safety suddenly felt like a fragile illusion.

Emilia pushed the covers aside and rose, her limbs still sore from everything that had happened. Every muscle resisted the mo