That night, the court hosted a feast beneath the great crystal dome. Velvet drapes shimmered. Gold flickered in the chandeliers. Goblets overflowed with wine dark as blood. And everywhere, eyes watched Lucien.
Not because he was beautiful. Not because of his charm.
Because they could feel it now. His body radiated something primal. His smile stirred cravings. His steps left a pulse in the floor.
He had been awakened.
And predators noticed.
She arrived late.
The music paused as the doors opened, and in stepped Lady Seraphine Delacroix—a high priestess of the Scarlet Arcanum. Bare-shouldered, red-haired, dressed in obsidian silk that clung to her every curve like a lover.
The room held its breath.
She walked straight to Lucien.
"I hear you've been... feeding," she purred, circling him. "I can smell Evelyne on your skin."
"And what if you can?" Lucien said, lifting his goblet.
Seraphine smiled. "Then I want a taste."
Later, in her chambers
Lucien didn't know what drew him more—her power or the danger in her kiss.
She pressed him against the wall, tongue invading his mouth, one hand gripping his cock through his breeches. Her magic was sharp, cold, but intoxicating.
"I can give you what Evelyne cannot," she whispered, biting his lower lip. "Obedience. Control. Worship."
She snapped her fingers.
Chains of red light bound his wrists above his head.
He grinned, even as the magic pricked at his skin. "And if I like to misbehave?"
Her eyes flared.
"Then I'll enjoy punishing you."
She stripped him with a thought. Her nails raked down his chest, drawing blood that glowed before sealing shut. Her mouth followed—biting, sucking, teasing until he trembled.
Then she mounted him—hard and fast—riding him like a wild thing, her voice a chant of old erotic spells that made his nerves spark.
Lucien moaned, trying to resist her pull. But her power was overwhelming. She kissed his throat, his lips, his soul.
And whispered, "She'll never love you like I will. But I'll own you."
When he came, it was with a roar—and a burst of blinding scarlet light.
But deep below the palace, Evelyne felt the shift in the ether. She tasted the betrayal like blood in her mouth.
Lucien had touched another.
And the Binding Flame does not share.