Chapter 50 Something Answered
Chapter 50 Something Answered
That night, Aria slept fitfully and Lucian refused to leave her side.
Lucian sat at the edge of the bed in their chambers with one hand wrapped around hers and the other resting lightly at her waist. He wants constant contact with her, as if distance itself had become a threat.
Every time Aria stirred in her sleep, Lucian would get tensed. Every time her breathing changed, his heart would stuttered.
He had fought countless enemies with claws and steel. He knew very well how to protect territory.
But this...
This enemy didn’t need walls. This enemy is stronger.
Aria stirred again just before dawn broke and her eyes flutter open.
“You’ve been staring at me," she murmured.
Lucian huffed out a breath. “You vanished into thin air in front of me.”
She shifted closer to him while pressing her face into his chest. “But I came back. I'm here now.”
Barely, he thought—but didn’t say it out.
The bond between them hummed softly, it was calmer now, but altered. Like a scar forming where there had once been smooth skin.
“What did you see?” Lucian asked quietly.
Aria hesitated. “Not places. Not faces.”
“Then what?”
“Intent,” she said. “Hunger. Patience.”
Lucian’s arms tightened around her. “They want you.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “But not just me.”
He waited for her to continue.
“They want what we are together,” Aria said. “The bond. The balance. Shadow and Alpha. They believe it can open something.”
Lucian swallowed hard and then asked. “Open what?”
Her voice dropped into a whisper. “A gate.”
The word settled quietly between them like a curse.
“Did they tell you that?” Lucian asked.
“No,” she said. “They didn’t need to. I felt it.”
Lucian leaned back slightly while searching her face. “Aria... if they’re using you as a key...”
“Then they’ll keep pushing,” she finished.
He brushed his thumb over her cheek gently. “Then we won’t give them the chance.”
Aria smiled faintly. “You sound confident.”
“I sound terrified,” he corrected softly. “There’s a difference.”
She laughed quietly, then sobered. “Lucian... I need you to trust me.”
He nodded without hesitation. “I always do.”
“If it comes to choosing between the bond and stopping them...”
“No,” he cut in sharply. “We don’t have to make that choice.”
Aria met his gaze steadily. “You might have to.”
Lucian’s expression hardened. “Then I’ll choose you.”
The bond flared warmly at his words, and Aria’s breath hitched.
“Lucian...” she whispered.
He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead slowly. It was possessive and protective.
When he pulled back, his eyes burned with quiet intensity. “I don’t know how this would end. But I know one thing.”
“What?”
“I’m not fighting for a kingdom anymore,” he said. “I’m fighting for us.”
The words wrapped around her like an armor.
For a moment, the world felt almost peaceful.
Almost.
\---
The peace shattered by noon.
A scout was dragged into the courtyard, he was bloodied and shaking, barely conscious.
Lucian was there in an instant. “What happened?”
The scout coughed weakly. “They didn’t attack... they just watched.”
Lucian stilled. “Who?”
“The Veiled Hand,” the scout whispered. “They stood beyond the ridge with masks on. Dozens of them.”
Aria’s heart sank.
“They left something,” the scout added with his eyes rolling back. “For the Luna.”
Lucian’s head snapped up. “What?”
Rowan stepped forward, holding a folded cloth with careful hands. “It was placed at the border.”
Lucian took it slowly.
Inside was a thin strip of black fabric that is soft, and almost silky with a single symbol stitched in silver. And a crescent split by a thorned line.
Lucian’s breath caught.
“My mother’s mark,” he whispered.
Aria’s stomach twisted.
Then she noticed something else.
Beneath the symbol, there was something else, it was nearly invisible unless you knew where to look. There was a second mark.
Aria's mark.
The room spun underneath her feet.
“This isn’t a threat,” Aria said quietly.
Lucian turned to her sharply. “What do you mean?”
“It’s an invitation.”
Just then, the torches flickered violently.
A whisper curled through the air, brushing against Aria’s mind like cold fingers.
'You are closer than you think.'
Lucian felt it too. He felt the bond tug, not violently this time, but insistently.
Aria pressed a hand to her chest with her breath shaking. "They know where to find me,” she said.
Lucian grabbed her shoulders. “They don’t get to decide that.”
Her eyes met his. Her eyes were full of fear, resolve, and something dangerously close to acceptance.
“Lucian,” she said softly, “what if I’m the only way to stop them?”
Lucian's heart slammed painfully.
“No,” he said. “I won’t lose you.”
She reached up her hand and touched his face gently. “You won’t lose me.”
The ground trembled suddenly.
Not like an explosion.
It was like something was waking up.
From far beyond the kingdom walls, a deep, resonant sound rolled across the land. It was ancient, vast, and unmistakably alive.
Lucian’s blood ran cold.
Aria’s eyes widened in horror.
“They’ve started it,” she whispered.
And deep within the bond... Something answered.
Aria and Lucian went up to their room so that Aria could rest. Lucian has already ordered all the scouts to positioned themselves all over the mansion and to also be on guard against unseen enemies.
Aria lay on the bed resting, while Lucian sat beside her and caressing her cheeks gently. "Do not worry, I would never leave your sight or lose my attention on you," Lucian assured her.
He then leaned down and kissed her lips softly and then tried to draw back, but Aria grabbed his neck and then pulled him down.
She kissed him so passionately, like her depended on it. Lucian then kissed her back with the same energy, forgetting all their worries and enemies planning on separating their bond.
They both spent a very heated and passionate night together that night. And Lucian vowed at that very moment, that he's forever going to love and protect Aria, no matter what happens.