Chapter 203 203

Chapter 203 203
Lorien POV
“How could you do this to Sylira?” Lysandra’s voice cracked with venomous fury, echoing off the stone walls. “She’s rolling in her grave knowing you betrayed her with a Fae!”
“That’s enough, Lysandra,” Auren snapped, his tone sharp enough to cut through the air, but she didn’t stop. She wouldn’t. She saw the flicker of pain in his eyes, recognized the wound she’d struck, and pressed harder. She wanted to break him.
I stood still, forcing myself to breathe evenly. I didn’t know how to calm him without crossing a line. Sylira was a name I rarely dared to speak around him it was sacred, and it was raw. I wouldn’t risk making it worse.
“You’ll never see her again!” Lysandra’s words were a cruel hiss. “Do you understand that? You just bound your soul to another woman to the enemy! When you die, Auren, your soul will never find hers again. She’s out there alone, hurting because of you!”
A surge of pain speared through my chest, sharp and hot, a reflection of Auren’s anguish bleeding into me through our bond.
“She is with the Goddess now,” I whispered softly, turning my hand in his and squeezing, pouring every ounce of calm and love I could into the connection between us. “Sylira is not alone, Lysandra.”
Lysandra’s head snapped toward me, her eyes blazing. “You don’t get to say her name!” she shrieked.
“That’s enough, Lysandra,” Lucen’s voice cut through the chaos, quiet but steady. I turned toward him, realizing for the first time that his ankle, too, was chained to the floor. “We all need to take a breath,” he continued. “There’ve been a lot of emotions stirred up by Lorien’s presence but she’s here now. She’s not going anywhere. And she makes Auren happy. So maybe it’s time to end this fight.”
His words settled over the room like a fragile peace offering. My heart fluttered with unexpected warmth, but suspicion followed quickly behind. Lucen wasn’t saying this just to comfort us he was here for a reason. And until I knew what that reason was, I couldn’t trust him.
Auren straightened, his tone suddenly cold and controlled. “How long have the two of you been working together?”
The tension in the room shifted. I could feel the ache in him, the betrayal festering beneath the surface.
“Since Sylira died,” Lucen said quietly, guilt flickering in his eyes.
My throat went dry. I licked my lips, my free hand curling into a fist, while Auren’s hand in mine went still.
“What?” His voice cracked, low and dangerous. He looked both hurt and furious, like a man whose last foundation had just crumbled.
“He’s lying!” Lysandra screamed, wild panic flashing across her face.
Lucen didn’t even look at her. “I don’t know how you never saw it,” he said to Auren, voice rough with exhaustion. “Lysandra’s been obsessed with you since we were kids. After Sylira died, she decided she’d take her place that she’d become your chosen mate. And she thought she could use me to make it happen.”
Auren’s lips pressed into a hard line. “Which is why you kept pushing me to sleep with her,” he said, his voice flat, deadened by disbelief.
The realization made my stomach twist. I knew he’d never gone through with it, but the idea alone churned my insides.
“Stop talking, Lucen!” Lysandra snapped, but I leaned forward slightly, hope sparking inside me. Please, I thought. Don’t stop now.
Lucen exhaled, shaking his head. “I’m done with this, Lysandra. I’m so fucking done. You’re psychotic. You need help.” His voice cracked with a mix of anger and pity as he turned his eyes back to Auren. “Man, I wanted to be there for you after…” He trailed off, shaking his head, unable to finish.
After Sylira was killed.
The words hung in the air even though he never said them. Through the mate bond, I felt the sharp stab of grief that pierced through Auren, and I had to fight not to flinch.
“Then why weren’t you?” Auren demanded, stepping closer, his tone breaking under the weight of years of unspoken hurt. I could feel it the old wound, the loneliness he’d buried but never healed. Lucen’s silence had been one of his deepest scars.
“Shut up, you piece of shit!” Lysandra cried out, panic bleeding into every word. She looked frantic now cornered, desperate to silence him.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Lucen said, jaw tight. “Then Lorien showed up, and I” He hesitated, his eyes flicking toward me. “I hated her at first. Because she was Fae. Because I thought she’d destroy you, Auren. But more than that… I didn’t want you to suffer through losing another mate.”
His voice broke slightly on the last word.
The realization hit me like a cold wave. My stomach dropped. “You thought I was going to die,” I whispered, glancing between him and Lysandra. “The two of you were planning to kill me?”
The silence that followed was deafening.