Evelyn's POV
For a long moment, I just stood there, caught between Lucian's piercing gaze and the pounding of my own heart. The room was silent, too silent, except for the faint crackle of the hearth and the sound of my own uneven breathing.
Lucian was still standing there, tall and composed, looking every bit like a creature sculpted by power and darkness. And yet.… for a brief moment, he had looked almost human when he asked me to go with him. Almost.
But then Lisa's face flashed in my mind, her laughter, her warmth, and then the way her lifeless eyes had stared into nothingness. My chest tightened painfully.
Lisa had died because of him.
Because of Lucian.
Maybe he hadn't swung the blade himself that day, but his existence, his chaos, had taken everything from her. From all of us.
I owed her something. At least this.
