23

The fire crackled low in the war room, but no one spoke.

Selene sat at the head of the table, her silver eyes locked onto Lucian’s. There was something heavy between them, something unspoken, and she could feel it pressing against her ribs like a weight she couldn’t shake.

She had felt it for days now—the way Lucian had been watching her, the way his silences had grown longer, heavier.

Now, with Kael’s stolen artifact pulsing on the table between them, the truth couldn’t wait any longer.

Selene’s voice was quiet but sharp. “Tell me.”

Lucian leaned back in his chair, his emerald eyes shadowed. “Tell you what?”

Selene exhaled. “Don’t play that game with me, Lucian. You know why the gods are doing this, don’t you?”

Alec folded his arms, his golden gaze flickering between them. “You’ve known for a while.”

Kael, ever the reckless one, kicked his boots up onto the table and smirked. “And let me guess—it’s something really bad.”

Lucian didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

But Selene saw it—the tightness in his jaw, the way his fingers curled slightly against the armrest of his chair.

Kael’s smirk widened. “Ohhh, it’s worse than bad, isn’t it?”

Lucian’s voice was quiet. “They want vengeance.”

Selene’s breath caught. “For what?”

Lucian’s emerald eyes met hers, and the weight behind them sent a shiver down her spine.

Then, after what felt like a lifetime, he spoke.

“For me.”

Silence.

Kael blinked. “Well. That’s unexpected.”

Alec didn’t move, didn’t react, but his golden eyes sharpened. “Explain.”

Lucian exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face. Then he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, staring into the fire as he spoke.

“I wasn’t always a part of this world.” His voice was steady, but there was something fractured beneath it. “Not in the way you think.”

Selene’s stomach twisted.

Lucian had always been the quiet one. The shadow at her side. The one who never gave more than he needed to.

But now, she could feel it—this wasn’t just a story.

This was his sin.

Lucian didn’t look at her as he continued.

“The gods didn’t create me,” he said. “They stole me.”

Kael let out a low whistle. “See, I knew you had that brooding, tragic backstory, but I wasn’t expecting divine theft.”

Lucian ignored him. “There was a time, long before this war, long before the gods ruled as they do now, when the divine weren’t the only ones with power.” His voice dropped lower. “There were others. Beings who were just as strong. Some stronger.”

Selene inhaled sharply. “The Forsaken Ones.”

Lucian nodded.

Kael frowned. “The creepy, ancient beings that were locked away? Yeah, I remember them. They were fun.”

Lucian’s emerald eyes burned. “I was one of them.”

The room went still.

Alec’s fists clenched at his sides.

Selene felt her breath falter.

No.

No, it wasn’t possible.

Lucian had been with her from the beginning. He had fought beside her, bled beside her. He had been one of them.

Hadn’t he?

Selene swallowed hard. “You’re saying…”

Lucian exhaled. “I was born before the gods took control of this world. Before they decided they were the only ones who deserved to exist. I was… something else. Something they feared.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “And when they finally won their war, they wiped out my kind. Locked them away. Destroyed them.”

Selene’s chest tightened. “Then how are you here?”

Lucian’s emerald gaze flickered to her.

“They made me forget.”

Selene’s breath caught.

Lucian’s voice was quieter now, almost distant. “I woke up one day, not knowing who I was. Not knowing what I had been before. The gods took my memories, changed my existence, and made me theirs. A weapon. A servant. A being that would live only under their rule.”

Kael’s smirk was gone.

Alec exhaled sharply.

Selene forced herself to speak. “And you remember now?”

Lucian let out a bitter laugh. “Not everything. But enough.” His gaze met hers, raw and unshaken. “Enough to know that I was never meant to be their pawn.”

Selene stared at him, her mind spinning.

This changed everything.

Lucian wasn’t just a warrior. Wasn’t just hers.

He was one of them—the beings the gods had erased.

Alec’s voice was sharp. “So that’s why they want you dead.”

Lucian nodded. “I’m proof that their war never ended. Proof that they didn’t win as completely as they wanted to. And if I were to remember everything—” He exhaled. “Then I could undo what they’ve done.”

Selene felt a shiver crawl down her spine.

Lucian’s final sin wasn’t something he had done.

It was who he was.

And now, because of her defiance, because of the war they were losing, the gods had finally decided to wipe him out for good.

Kael groaned, rubbing his temples. “So, just to summarize—Lucian used to be some all-powerful, pre-god entity, the gods erased his memories and made him their lapdog, and now they want him dead before he can remember how to kill them back. Sound about right?”

Lucian smirked slightly. “Pretty much.”

Kael sighed. “You know, I was really hoping our next move would be less suicidal.”

Alec ignored him, turning to Selene. His golden eyes burned. “What do we do?”

Selene didn’t hesitate.

“We fight.”

Lucian inhaled sharply. “Selene—”

She cut him off. “No.” Her silver eyes blazed. “You are not their pawn. And you are not dying for them.”

Lucian stared at her.

Selene stepped closer, her voice softening, but no less fierce. “You are mine, Lucian. Just like Kael. Just like Alec. And I will not—will not—let them take you.”

Lucian’s throat worked, but he didn’t speak.

Kael clapped his hands together. “Alright, well, that was emotional and terrifying, but we should probably talk about how we don’t die in the next few days.”

Selene smirked. “Agreed.”

Alec exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “We need a plan.”

Lucian studied Selene for a long moment.

Then, quietly, he said, “I think I know where we start.”

Selene’s breath caught.

Because she saw it in his eyes.

Lucian had always been her shadow.

But now—

Now, he was ready to burn.