Lucius POV :
My demons came back.
They didn't knock or whisper—they crashed into me like a tidal wave of shadow and wrath, their return so violent that it made me stumble. I hadn't even realized how hollow I'd been until they filled me again—how quiet the world had grown without their voices gnawing at the edges of my sanity.
They were furious.
The moment they reentered me, I felt it—burning, writhing rage. But not directed at me. That was the first surprise. They didn't speak much; only one message bled through the haze of their anger: She's safe… for now.
Then silence.
It wasn't comforting silence either—it was the kind that screamed louder than words ever could. My demons had been somewhere they didn't want to be, and whatever hell they'd crawled back from had left them weaker. Their presence still pulsed faintly within me, but their strength was fractured, flickering like dying embers in a storm.
