Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Five
~Author’s POV~
A heavy wooden door shut behind Anastasia with a dull thud, and for a moment, the silence was crushing. Anastasia stood there, her heart slightly pounding loudly against her ears. She had returned late at night hoping Lucien wouldn’t take things up with her the next morning but that wasn’t the case.
Lucien sat at the desk, one hand pressed against his temple, the other absently flipping a silver ring on his finger. His expression was unreadable, carved from ice, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed him. The moment his crimson eyes lifted to meet Anastasia’s, the room dropped several degrees colder.
“Sit,” he said, his voice firm and low. “Explain.”
Anastasia walked in slowly, trying to mask her discomfort with grace. She folded her hands neatly in front of her as she sat, her gown swaying lightly around her legs.
“Lucien—“
He raised a hand. “Don’t try to sugarcoat it. Just tell me what happened.”
She inhaled deeply. “I didn’t know the forest wasn’t clear. I swear it. I told him to go in to find some spare clothes. It wasn’t supposed to be dangerous. The guards said—“
“You don’t give orders to my guards,” Lucien snapped, his gaze sharp enough to cut through stone. “And you don’t Elias anywhere again. Do you understand?”
Anastasia flinched. “He’s not a prisoner, Lucien.”
“No,” Lucien said, his eyes narrowing. “But he’s mine. And that makes him protected.”
There was silence. Heavy. Bitter.
Anastasia looked down at her hands, fingers laced tightly together. “You weren’t always like this with me.”
Lucien didn’t respond right away. He leaned back, eyes studying her like she was a puzzle he no longer cared to solve.
“I’ve always been like this,” he said cooly. “You were the one who imagined something else.”
Her breath hitched slightly. “We’ve been close for centuries, Lucien. You always trusted me. We shared—“
“You misunderstood convenience for closeness,” he cut in, coldly. “You were useful. Loyal. But that doesn’t give you the right to endanger Elias.”
“I didn’t mean to,” she said, her voice cracking. “I was just trying to…. I don’t know. Understand him. Make things better between us.
“You don’t need to understand him,” Lucien replied, his voice firm. “It’s enough that I understand him. You just need to stay away.”
There was nothing more to say.
“Get out,” he said quietly.
Anastasia rose slowly, her jaw tight, her movements rigid.
“You are going to regret pushing me away like this.”
Lucien didn’t blink. “I’ve made peace with worse regrets.”
She stormed out, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the walls.
Lucien leaned back again, his jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the ceiling. He didn’t know how long he said that. So many thoughts ran through his head at the same time. Part of him was scared because something would have happened to his boy if he had gotten there a bit later.
Another part of him was curious as to why Anastasia didn’t hear Elias’s screams. Vampires had the ability to hear things from a distance, and Anastasia was royal too.
He sighed loudly before a knock came.
He didn’t answer, but the door creaked open anyway.
“Busy?” Jae’s voice came, lighter than usual, but layered with strange tension.
Lucien didn’t look at him. “Always.”
Jae entered and shut the door. “I heard what happened with your human boy.”
Lucien stayed silent.
“You need to calm down,” Jae continued. “You have been doing all sorts of unreasonable things since he got here.”
Lucien’s head tilted, finally meeting his brother’s gaze.
“Careful.”
“I’m serious, Lucien.” Jae folded his arms. “You are too involved with him. You are forgetting why he is even here.”
Lucien raised an eyebrow. “Why do you think he’s here?”
Jae gave a scoff. “What’s this question? The blood. The golden blood. That’s all that matters. You said so yourself when this whole thing started. He didn’t even need to stay in the palace in the first place.”
Lucien stood slowly, the light from the tall windows casting a sharp shadow across his face. “Things change.”
Jae frowned. “Don’t tell me you are actually starting to feel something for him.”
Lucien pressed his lips together. “I don’t know what that means.”
“But?”
“But he matters to me.”
Jae’s eyes narrowed slightly. “That’s not how this works, Lucien. You don’t get to play savior. You don’t get to forget who you are just because you are obsessed with a human.”
Lucien’s voice lowered. “You think I don’t know who I am?”
“Then act like it.” Jae’s tone sharpened. “You have been neglecting everything else. You are moody. Violent. Distracted. And don’t even get me started on Ana, she’s been walking around like a kicked dog.”
Lucien’s gaze flickered. “What does she have to do with this?”
Jae blinked. “I mean….you two have history, right?”
Lucien’s tone chilled again. “Why do you care?”
There was a pause.
Jae scratched the back of his neck and shrugged it off. “Just saying. It’s not like her to sulk. She’s probably trying to figure out what the hell changed between you two.”
“Everything,” Lucien said softly. “Everything changed.”
Jae stepped closer, his voice quieter now. “I’m just warning you. Don’t forget that boy isn’t like us. You will make him a target if you continue this way.”
Lucien nodded once. “I know.”
“And you are still going to do it anyway?”
Lucien looked toward the window, his eyes distant before his lips curled up in a dirty smile.
“Yes.”
The room fell into a heavy silence again.
Jae sighed and turned to leave. “Watch yourself, brother. Emotions like this—they never end well for people like this.”
Lucien didn’t respond. He waited until the door shut again and then walked to his desk. His hand trembled as he picked up Elias’s pin that his guards had found.
He brought it to his lips, breathing in the faint scent of flowers and warmth.
“Elias,” he murmured his voice barely a whisper.