Lucian's POV
I didn’t plan to die tonight.
Not because I feared death—I’d danced too close to its lips too many times for that—but because she was still out there. Alone. And I had no intention of leaving Victoria in this cruel world with no one to stand between her and the monsters.
So yeah. I wasn’t planning on getting caught.
And that meant I needed help.
I stepped through the fog-laced clearing, the air humming with forbidden magic. The scent hit before I saw her—sage, crushed bones, blood. The witch stood barefoot in a circle of salt, pale eyes glowing, robes billowing around her even though the wind didn’t touch the trees.
"I need a masking charm," I said, voice low, teeth clenched.
She turned slowly. "You want to cross the wolves’ border, vampire prince?" Her lips curled. "Y
