Novel & Cerita Lucien Grey

Two fluffy silver fox ears sprouted atop his head like mischievous antennae of divine gossip. “Oh no no no—!” he gasped, quickly slapping a leaf on his head with practiced panic. The leaf shimmered once, and the ears vanished. He looked around, cheeks puffed in embarrassment. Good. No witnesses. Not even that creepy vending machine ghost. Yin coughed, smoothing down his hair with faux dignity. “Anyway, yes. She’s definitely the one. Nexus’s whole ‘the land shall choose the spirit-bearing flame born in rust’ nonsense? Yeah. Selena literally works in Vermillion Cyberspace. Couldn’t get more prophetic if it slapped us.”

I needed space from him. I found neither. Lucien was already there. He stood by the marble fountain in the center, jacket discarded, shirtsleeves rolled up to his forearms. The ink of his tattoos peeked from beneath the crisp white fabric. When he turned and saw me, something in his gray eyes shifted—softened with dangerous tenderness before flaring into raw hunger. “Rain.” My name in his mouth was velvet and sin. I swallowed. “I thought I’d be alone.” “You’ll never be alone here.” He crossed the distance in three strides. “Not while I’m breathing.”

The higher I climbed, the warmer the air felt. That was strange. “Took you long enough.” My head snapped up. “I thought you were going to fall,” Lucian continued in a low, yet amused voice. Was that concern I heard? Part of me thought he wouldn’t mind if I did fall to my death based on the secrets Aaron and his sister had been whispering about since I arrived. Still, there he was…standing in the middle of the stone room, shirt open, chest streaked with sweat and dust like he’d been pacing for hours.

Aaron handed him a glass of golden-brown liquid, which was half way to the tippy top of the crystal glass. "Matinee..." He added as he noticed Adrian give the glass a disdain look, before looking up at him. "You also hate matinees?" "Also?" Adrian noticed his choice of words. "You appear unfazed by the relics and sentiments of this world –" Adrian raised a brow at him when he paused, which forced him to decide upon an explanation. "Dark... Cold... Rude... Antisocial! You appear to be someone who hates a awful lot of things."

The high-polished marble hallway echoed with the rhythmic tap of two sets of boot heels. Elara, known in the underworld as Elayne Duskmoor, led the way with her usual practiced elegance. Two of her personal guards flanked Jason. To Vanessa and her family, Jason was nothing more than a nobody, an insignificant waste of space, with no pedigree. But the underworld knew him differently. He was known to most in the underworld as Lucan Vale, the Ghost among shadows and the Eclipse Syndicate’s deadliest weapon.

Lucien said, his voice low and taunting, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he studied her reaction. Nina's pulse quickened, her hands instinctively moving to put distance between them. "What are you talking about, sir? I don't understand!" she replied, trying to edge away from him. His imposing presence made the air feel thick, and she struggled to breathe under the weight of his gaze. I hate arrogant men like him! Lucien crossed his arms casually, blocking her path with his body. He watched her futile attempts to escape with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. "Don't understand?" he said, his tone mocking. "Then how do you know my last name is Gray?"

Like the kind of wealth that didn't need to prove itself. And his eyes. God, his eyes. The same color as Adrian's, that pale gray-green, but where Adrian's were charming and empty, Lucien's were dark. Intense. Like someone who'd seen things. Done things. Someone who carried secrets that would destroy you if you got too close. Adrian had told me Lucien was an asshole. Difficult. Impossible to work with. A genius, yes, but cruel and calculating and not worth knowing. Right now, I hate Adrian's entire family. Including Lucien.

Lucien moved his hands very quietly, looking into his eyes with complete blankness "Discover the truth for yourself. I put you on the first path, and I will never change my decision. I do not want to see you next to Grace. I promised her that I would fulfill all her desires, and her desire was never to see you again. She is satisfied with her new life, so do not ruin it for her." Galadriel looked at him for a long time before he laughed madly, then left the place. At first he expected that what Lucien had done was just a lie in order to get back to Grace, but after he delved deeper into the search, he discovered the truth. His companion was innocent and this was her. The truth that really de

56 Lilian POV As if sensing the need to break the oppressive atmosphere, Damien cleared his throat and turned to Grace, his thoughtful expression evident. "You know, Grace, I think you are right. But, there's something more urgent at the moment," he said, eyes darting between her and me. Curiosity piqued, I glanced up from my glass, waiting for Damien to continue. Leaning forward, Damien's voice lowered, a sense of urgency creeping into his words. "After hearing about how someone tried to kill Lilian the same way they tried to kill you, Grace, an idea occurred to me," he revealed, his eyes flickering with a newfound determination.