Elena stood there, trembling.
Then collapsed against the wall, sobbing quietly.
From the shadows, Lucian felt his hands clench into fists.
That smug, entitled piece of shit.
Beside him, Seraphina's grip on her sword had gone white-knuckled. Her whole body was coiled like a spring ready to snap.
"I'm going to kill him," she said quietly. Dangerously.
"Seraphina—"
"He's blackmailing her. Using her brother. Threatening a scholarship student." Her voice shook with rage. "Coward. Absolute COWARD."
"I know." He caught her wrist gently before she could draw her blade. "But if you charge in now, he'll claim we attacked him unprovoked. It'll be his word against ours."
"I don't care about his word—"
"But you care about proving you were right about me." He kept his voice low, urgent. "You publicly defended me, Sera. If we screw this up, everyone will say you were wrong. That you backed the wrong person."
Her jaw clenched. She was breathing hard, fighting every instinct.
"That's not—" She stopped. Swallowed. "That's not what this is about."
She turned to glare at him.
Eyes blazing with fury.
"Let me go."
"Not until you calm down."
"I AM calm."
"Your hand is literally shaking on your sword hilt."
She glared at him. For a long moment, he thought she might actually draw the blade anyway.
Then she exhaled sharply through her nose and released her grip.
"Fine. FINE. We wait. We investigate. We do this smart."
"But when we find who's behind this, I'm the one who deals with him."
"Seraphina—"
"Non-negotiable."
[AFFECTION INCREASED]
Seraphina Ashenblade: 63 → 65
Trigger: Claiming the right to protect you. Even if she won't admit that's what this is.
---
And then suddenly the temperature dropped.
Just... dropped.
Lucian's breath misted in the suddenly cold air.
No. Not again. Please not again.
"Lucian Valemont."
His ribs throbbed—the voice reminded him of last night's pain and bruises.
"Do you feel that?" Seraphina's hand moved to her sword.
"Yeah." Lucian's voice was tighter than he intended. "We need to leave. Now."
"What? Why—"
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
Just stepped.
Like he'd been standing there the whole time.
Shit. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.—
The entity's attention shifted to her.
"Seraphina Ashenblade. Of course." Something that might have been amusement colored his tone. "You really can't follow simple instructions, can you, Valemont?"
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The assassin tilted his head slightly.
Studied her.
Seraphina stepped in front of Lucian on pure instinct.
Sword drawn in one fluid motion. She didn't think about it. Just moved.
She's protecting me. Again.
"Stay behind me," she ordered.
"Sera—"
"I said BEHIND ME."
The assassin laughed. Low. Mocking.
"Protective. How sweet." He took a step forward, and his tone shifted—cruder now, deliberately trying to provoke.
"Did he tell you about our last meeting? How I broke him like a fucking twig?"
Lucian's jaw clenched.
He's baiting her. Don't react. Don't—
Seraphina glanced back at him. "LUCIAN?"
"Hehhh, yes, he attacked me last night," Lucian said quickly. "After you left."
Her eyes widened. "WHAT?"
The assassin continued advancing.
"I gave him clear instructions to stay away from you. Keep his distance. Instead, here you both are. Together. Making my job so much harder."
Seraphina's grip tightened on her sword. "And he ignored you. Good."
Reckless. She doesn't even know what she's facing.
"Brave words. Let's see if you can back them up."
Seraphina tightened her grip.
"Try me."
He moved.
Fast.
Inhumanly fast.
A blade of pure shadow materialized, its edge racing toward Lucian's exposed neck with murderous intent. Seraphina's blade flashed upward to block—catching the strike well before it could close the distance.
The moment steel should have met shadow, everything went wrong.
Her sword passed straight through the dark blade as if cutting empty air. The shadow weapon continued its trajectory unimpeded, still aimed directly at Lucian's throat.
Shadow. It's made of actual shadow. Normal steel is useless.
Seraphina's eyes widened in horror. Without thinking, she grabbed Lucian's collar and yanked him backward with all her strength.
They both stumbled, barely clearing the blade's path as it carved through the space where his neck had been a heartbeat before.
What the fuck—
In that instant, she understood why Lucian had suggested avoiding this fight entirely. She braced herself, adjusted her hold on the sword, and shouted toward Lucian.
"RUN!"
Like hell.