Seraphina
I had been sitting on my bed, staring at the window.
The sky had turned deep blue, almost black. I was thinking about everything, the dagger strapped to my thigh, the way Lucien’s expression had hardened earlier, my father.
That’s when the door clicked shut behind me.
I didn’t hear it open. I didn’t hear footsteps. Just the soft, deliberate sound of it closing.
My heart dropped into my stomach. He stood near the wardrobe. Calm. Composed. Not out of breath. Not panicking.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I whispered.
“I had to come alone this time,” he replied. “It was the only way to speak freely.”
My throat tightened. “Did you kill them?”
“They chose loyalty,” he said evenly. “That was unfortunate.”
I stood slowly. Fear was there, sharp and real, but beneath it,anger.
“You want answers?” he continued. “You deserve them.”
He stepped closer, hands visible, not reaching for a weapon.
“Your mother wasn’t just a woman who disappeared. She married into Virelli. Blood bound to an order that predates this city.”
My pulse pounded.
“She left to protect you. Lucien didn’t find you by accident. He was instructed to.”
“Fuck you,” I whispered.
“He watched you for years because your bloodline is leverage. You aren’t his equal, Sera. You are his investment.”
The words cut deeper than any blade. The bedroom door exploded open.
Lucien and Ronan right behind him.
Chaos erupted.
The stranger moved first, fast, precise but Lucien was faster. They collided hard enough to crack the side table. Ronan disarmed him in seconds, but the man fought like someone with nothing to lose.
A shot rang out.
Ronan’s.
The bullet hit the man’s shoulder, dropping him to one knee.
Lucien didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward and drove his blade straight into the man’s side. Clean. Controlled. Final.
