Suggested listening: "Broken Vows" – Dexter Britain
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Lucian didn't sleep.
Even as Kyrell's breath warmed his chest and the moon retreated into the arms of the coming dawn, his mind remained frayed—too sharp, too alive. Every whisper of air across his skin felt like a warning. Every flicker of candlelight became a shadow he no longer trusted.
Silas's voice still rang through him.
You already have.
What did that mean? What did he do?
Hadn't he spoken the truth to Kyrell? Perhaps did he miss something?
He looked at Kyrell, his lips parted slightly in a sleep so rare, so innocent it seemed almost cruel to shatter it with ghosts.
But the silence would not last long.
A sudden knock at the chamber door shattered the fragile quiet.
Kyrell stirred, groaning softly. "Who…?"
Lucian slipped from the bed in one smooth movement, already wrapping a dark robe around his frame, voice cold. "Enter."
The door opened—Renak, eyes wide, hair still damp with sweat and haste. He didn't even wait to be acknowledged before stepping inside and sealing the door shut behind him.
"I found something," he breathed. "Or rather—it found me."
Lucian's body tensed. "Speak."
Renak held out a parchment, trembling slightly, sealed with an unmarked crest. "It was slipped beneath my chambers. No scent, no trace. Only… this."
Lucian tore the parchment open, eyes scanning rapidly. Then, his pupils narrowed.
Kyrell sat up behind him now, watching them both.
"What is it?" Kyrell asked.
Lucian read aloud, his voice low and grave:
"The blood that marked you is not just a crown, Lucian. It is a curse. The boy you bonded with is the flame meant to burn you. You will love him. You will lose him. And when he dies—your kingdom dies with him."
Kyrell froze.
Lucian crushed the note in his fist, his breath a slow storm through his nose. "Who sent this?"
"No one knows," Renak said. "But it was written in the same ink as Silas's previous records."
Kyrell stood, bare feet touching the cold marble as he walked toward Lucian.
"You believe this?" he asked, voice calm but sharp.
Lucian looked at him—really looked at him. The boy who should've never lived. The boy who had stolen him from himself. The boy who had become everything.
And he shook his head.
"I believe nothing that would make me let you go."
Kyrell stepped closer. "Then don't."
Lucian pulled him in a tight hug like Kyrell was going to vanish from his eyes..
Renak turned away—just enough to give them space, but not enough to leave. Not yet.
Because the next words he spoke chilled them all:
"There's more," Renak whispered. "The Council—they've summoned Damien."
"He's awakened."
"The Council retrieved him. I don't know how. But they've broken the binding and promised him blood and revenge."
Lucian broke the hug, jaw tightening.
Kyrell's expression shifted—slowly, coldly.
"That bastard."
Renak nodded. "He's being offered command of the southern division of hunters. They say it's for border protection… but I think it's for us."
A long silence followed.
Then Lucian's voice—low and lethal:
"I'd like to see them try"
Kyrell smiled, dark and sure. "Let them try."
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