BORN FOR LUCIAN DRAVEN

Claimed by Darkness

POV: Aria

The world tilted beneath Aria's feet.

Rain. Fire. Blood. And one impossible sentence still ringing in her ears.

You're Heaven's daughter.

Her chest rose sharply. "What?"

Lucian Draven's golden eyes remained fixed on her face, dark, intense, and full of something that made her skin burn hotter than the flames around them. Not fear. Not anger. Recognition. Possession. As if he had searched centuries for something and suddenly found it standing before him in the rain.

Aria stumbled back. "No." Her voice shook. "No, I don't know what game this is, but I'm human. I'm just human."

Lucian's gaze dropped to the glowing golden mark on her wrist. The symbol pulsed once. Heat shot up her arm. She gasped.

His jaw tightened. "That mark says otherwise."

"What mark?"

Aria looked down and her breath caught. A strange glowing symbol burned into her skin, ancient, beautiful, and terrifying all at once. Golden lines twisted together like fire and wings wrapped around a dark crown. It was moving. Alive beneath her flesh.

Panic clawed at her throat. "What did you do to me?"

Lucian stepped closer. The air around him was power, dark, seductive, dangerous. "I touched what fate hid from heaven and hell." His voice lowered. "And now they know where you are."

A sharp laugh echoed through the burning night. Cold. Female. Cruel.

Flames twisted high above the shattered road and a woman slowly descended from the darkness. Aria's breath stopped.

She was breathtakingly beautiful. Long silver, black hair. Red lips curved in quiet amusement. Eyes glowing crimson. A black gown that clung to her body like liquid shadow. She looked elegant enough to be a queen and deadly enough to be death itself.

Her gaze landed on Aria. Instant hatred flashed across her face.

"So this is the little thing that broke your curse."

Lucian moved in front of Aria instantly, shielding her. His voice turned ice cold. "Leave."

The woman smiled darkly. "After a thousand years, you finally feel warmth, and it comes from her?" Her eyes narrowed viciously toward Aria. "A mortal girl?"

"I said leave, Seraphina."

Queen Seraphina. The name itself felt heavy. Powerful. Ancient.

Seraphina ignored him entirely and looked at Aria like she was already imagining her dead. "You have no idea what you are carrying inside you, child." Her smile sharpened. "Or how many kingdoms will burn because of your existence."

Aria swallowed hard. "What is happening to me?"

Seraphina's eyes glowed brighter. Then she said softly "The blood of Heaven's ruler flows in your veins."

Aria's whole body went cold.

Impossible. Her parents. Her life. Everything. A lie?

"No…" she whispered.

Lucian's voice came low behind her. "It's true."

Pain hit harder than fear. Her eyes stung.

Then a memory flashed through her mind. Not hers. A woman dressed in white fire, holding a newborn baby, crying as wings of light spread behind her. And a voice whispering through the vision like smoke.

Hide her. If Heaven finds her, they will kill her. If Hell finds her, they will claim her.

The vision vanished.

Aria staggered. Lucian caught her waist. The moment his hand touched her, heat exploded between them. A sharp breath left both of them at the same instant. His golden eyes darkened with something raw and dangerous. Aria's skin tingled everywhere he touched her. Her heartbeat raced wildly. Something deep inside her body recognized him and responded before her mind could stop it.

Lucian's voice dropped into a rough whisper. "You feel it too."

Aria jerked away. "No."

He stepped closer. "You're shaking."

"I'm cold."

His mouth curved slowly. "No, little flame." His eyes moved over her face. "You're burning."

Ll

Before she could answer, the ground violently shook.

A giant circle of white light tore open in the sky above them. Thunder cracked like heaven splitting apart. And figures descended, massive white wings, armor made of pure light, eyes glowing silver. Angels. Dozens of them, dropping through the opening like a falling army.

At their center stood a tall warrior with silver hair and cruel beauty. His gaze swept the burning road and landed on Aria. Shock flashed over his face. Then rage.

He raised a glowing sword and pointed it directly at Lucian.

"Release the princess of Heaven."

Princess.

Aria's breath caught entirely.

Lucian laughed softly, dark and dangerous. Then he pulled Aria tightly against his chest. The word came not as sound but as sensation, pressing through her mind like a brand.

Mine.

His mouth brushed near her ear. "Now you understand why everyone wants you."

His grip tightened. Golden fire exploded outward around them. Darkness rose beneath his feet. And then, from his back, huge black wings burst open, vast and powerful and breathtaking in the way that only truly terrifying things could be breathtaking.

Aria stared.

Beautiful. Terrifying. Magnificent.

Lucian looked at the army of angels descending from the sky and smiled like war itself had been waiting patiently inside him for exactly this moment.

Then his voice rolled outward like thunder across the burning road.

"Touch what is mine… and Heaven burns tonight.