Lucien's eyes blazed with fury as his horse charged through the blizzard. Soldiers trailed behind him, but he was alone in his wrath. Alone in the cold storm that churned louder than the pounding of his heart.
"She's gone," he growled. "She was taken… again."
Ayra cried in her sleep as Myla held her tighter in the safehouse. But Lucien had left them both behind—for Ivy.
Because Ivy was his curse. And he was hers.
Inside the fortress, I stood barefoot on frozen marble. The man who claimed to be my "father" had dressed me in velvet, fed me royal food… and caged me in golden halls.
"You're not locked in," he said. "You're just being watched."
Same thing.
"Why do you want me?" I asked him.
He leaned in, voice low. "Because you're the last flame of the North. The key to the throne. And Lucien knew it all along."
I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. "He wouldn't lie to me."
The king chuckled. "He would burn the world to keep you. That is not love. That's fear."
Suddenly, thunder cracked.
A guard stormed into the room. "Sire—he's here. Alone."
The king's eyes lit up. "Ah… the devil himself."
I ran to the window.
Lucien stood below—black coat, blood-soaked sword, snow melting beneath his boots.
He looked up at me.
And smiled.
Not the soft smile I loved.
The deadly one.
BOOM!
The gates exploded open.
Lucien stepped through the flames.
"I came for my wife," he said, voice like death. "Give her to me… or I take your crown next."
And just like that, war began.
Ivy
I couldn't breathe.
Smoke curled into the golden halls like hungry hands. Screams echoed. Metal clashed. And through the flames—he came.
Lucien.
Blood on his face.
Fire in his eyes.
He didn't say a word as he walked toward me. His chest rose and fell like a beast barely caged. His sword dripped.
"Lucien…" I whispered.
He reached me.
And kissed me.
Not soft.
Not gentle.
A claim. A punishment. A promise.
"You're mine," he said, voice raw. "No king, no fate, no fire will take you from me."
"I never left," I choked.
"Liar," he growled. "You ran. Again."
A sob broke out of me. "I was trying to protect Ayra. Protect you."
"You think I need protection?" His voice cracked. "You think I'd survive one day without you? I'm dying every second you're not mine."
I fell for him.
And he held me like something he'd killed for.
But the war wasn't over.
A blade flew past my face.
Lucien caught it mid-air and threw it back.
Straight into the soldier's heart.
He turned to me, eyes dark. "Stay behind me."
"I can fight."
"No," he said. "You'll stay alive. That's all I need."
We ran.
Through fire.
Through blood.
Through soldiers.
Lucien cut them down like shadows in the dark.
And when we reached the gates…
A thousand men waited.
The king stood at the front.
"You'll die for her," he said.
Lucien smiled. "Already have."
He turned to me.
"Ivy, close your eyes."
Then he raised his hand.
And the ground itself obeyed.