The moment Lucian stepped through the door, the air shifted—a suffocating wave of power rippling through the small cabin.
Aria’s breath caught in her throat.
For the first time since meeting him, he wasn’t smiling.
His silver eyes locked onto her with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine. He didn’t look at Dante. He didn’t look at the woman.
Just her.
Like she was the only thing in the room that mattered.
Dante moved instantly, stepping in front of her, his body tense. His hand hovered near the dagger strapped to his belt, but he didn’t draw it. Not yet.
The woman—who still hadn’t given her name—exhaled slowly. “That was fast.”
Lucian didn’t look at her. “You should have known I’d come.”
His voice was calm. Too calm.
Dante’s blue eyes darkened. “How did you find us?”
Lucian tilted his head slightly, as if Dante had asked something amusing. “You think I don’t know where she is at all times?”
Aria’s stomach twisted.
Dante tensed even further, his muscles coiled like a spring ready to snap. “That’s disturbing.”
Lucian ignored him, his silver gaze never leaving Aria. “You know now.”
Aria forced herself to speak, even as her pulse thundered in her ears. “Know what?”
Lucian exhaled, his expression unreadable. “Who you are.”
Her fingers curled into fists at her sides. “I don’t know anything. Not really.”
Lucian studied her for a long moment before sighing. “That’s what they wanted.”
Her heart pounded. “Who?”
Lucian’s lips curled slightly, but it wasn’t a smirk. It wasn’t amusement.
It was resentment.
“Our parents.”
The words sent a sharp shockwave through her chest.
Dante muttered a curse under his breath. The woman crossed her arms but didn’t interrupt.
Aria swallowed hard. “You’re lying.”
Lucian took a slow step forward. Dante stiffened, but Aria didn’t move.
She couldn’t.
Lucian’s silver eyes gleamed in the dim light. “I wish I were.”
Aria’s pulse thundered. She had spent years believing she was alone—believing she had no family, no past, no connection to anyone.
But if Lucian was telling the truth…
Her entire existence had been built on a lie.
She forced herself to steady her breathing. “If they wanted to destroy the Shadow Order, then why did they abandon us?”
Lucian’s jaw clenched slightly. “Because we weren’t part of their plan.”
The room felt smaller, tighter.
“They created something stronger than they ever intended,” Lucian continued, his voice bitter. “And instead of facing the consequences, they tried to erase us.”
Aria’s breath hitched.
Tried to erase us.
Not just her.
Him too.
The thought sent a sharp pain through her chest.
Dante’s voice was cold. “You’re saying Aria and you—”
Lucian met his gaze evenly. “We were never supposed to exist.”
Aria shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. If they wanted to destroy the Order, wouldn’t we be the best chance of doing it?”
Lucian’s silver eyes darkened. “No. Because they were afraid of what we could become.”
Aria’s hands trembled.
If this was true, if their parents had been the ones to start the Shadow Order, then they had spent years trying to undo their own creation.
But instead of facing them—
They had run.
Lucian exhaled sharply, glancing at the woman. “You shouldn’t have told her.”
The woman scoffed. “She was going to find out eventually.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue.
Instead, he turned back to Aria. “You don’t belong here.”
Her breath caught.
“I do,” she said, her voice firm, even as her chest tightened.
Lucian’s eyes softened slightly. “You belong with me.”
Dante moved before she could react.
His dagger was in his hand, the blade flashing as he lunged.
Lucian dodged easily. His movements were too fast, too precise. He sidestepped the attack, grabbing Dante’s wrist mid-strike and twisting hard.
Dante grunted in pain, but before Lucian could take control, he used the momentum to twist free, flipping his dagger and striking out again.
Lucian caught the blade with his bare hand.
Aria’s breath hitched as blood dripped from his palm, but Lucian didn’t even flinch.
His silver eyes flickered with something dangerous. “I could kill you, you know.”
Dante didn’t back down. “Try it.”
Lucian exhaled, his fingers tightening around the blade for a moment before he let go. Dante didn’t lower his weapon.
The tension in the room was electric.
Then—
Lucian turned to Aria. “You don’t trust me.”
Her voice was quiet. “Should I?”
Lucian watched her for a long moment. Then, slowly, he knelt.
The action startled her.
“I don’t want to be your enemy,” he murmured. “I never did.”
Aria’s chest tightened.
Lucian wasn’t just an assassin. He wasn’t just the Shadow Order’s most dangerous weapon.
He was her brother.
And that changed everything.
She exhaled shakily. “Then prove it.”
Lucian’s silver eyes held hers. “Come with me.”
Dante let out a sharp laugh. “Not a chance in hell.”
Lucian ignored him. “If you come with me, I can show you the truth.”
Aria hesitated.
She knew what this meant.
If she left with him, she might not come back.
She didn’t know if she could trust him.
But she did know one thing.
The Shadow Order was closing in.
And she was running out of time.
Dante’s voice was quieter now. “Don’t do this.”
She turned to him, her heart aching. “I have to.”
Dante’s blue eyes darkened. “Then I’m coming with you.”
Lucian didn’t argue.
He just stood, offering his hand.
Aria stared at it for a long moment before taking it.
And just like that—
Everything changed.