Eve POV:
My heart was pounding in my chest, the sound of it deafening in my ears as I faced Lucius—his dark, cold eyes locked onto me. For a moment, I thought it was the end. He was standing right in front of me, his presence suffocating, like an iron fist squeezing my lungs. My breath hitched, and I could almost feel the pressure of his hand around my throat, squeezing tighter with every passing second.
But then... he didn't strangle me.
Instead, his arm lifted, and I braced myself, waiting for the strike, for the touch that would end me. But what came next?
He... rubbed my nose?
I blinked, confusion and fear battling inside me. My mind was a fog of half-realized nightmares, but the sensation of his touch... was too real. He rubbed my nose again, soft and almost playful, like a cat toying with its prey. I froze. This wasn't Lucius. This wasn't him... Or was it? What was happening?
His lips parted, but instead of the cold, threatening words I expected, I heard Salem's voice.
