He's exactly who I thought he was.
1243 Words
Anara.
Darius suggested we have breakfast together. So after training I freshened up and met him at the dining hall.
Darius sat beside me, close enough for his shoulder to brush mine when he leaned an elbow on the table.
The servants had just set down steaming platters of eggs, fresh bread, and fruit when he glanced at me with a faint, teasing grin.
“So… you and Lucien, huh?”
I nearly choked on my water. I set the cup down with a sharp clink. “Oh, please.”
He didn’t flinch. Just raised a brow, still grinning. “What? I’m genuinely interested.”
“There’s nothing to be interested in,” I said flatly, stabbing at a piece of bread as if it had personally offended me.
Darius hummed, giving me a knowing look that made me want to shove my plate at him.
“Your cousin is weird,” i muttered after a minute, shaking my head.
“I thought we were actually… getting along. I mean, yesterday he actually spoke to me like a person. And today? Well. You saw.”
Darius chuckled under his breath, picking up a slice of apple. “No one ever understands Lucien. Not even us. I was honestly surprised when I heard about the whole bonding shit.”
He leaned back slightly, his eyes growing a little more serious.
“I don’t usually pay attention to this kind of thing — that’s more Silas’s role. But when Lucien was sealed… no one knew what to do. We all knew eventually a witch would be the key, but…”
He trailed off, his smile faint. “I didn’t exactly expect Lucien to care for the witch after.”
I froze, my fork halfway to my mouth. I set it down.
“Who says he cares about me?”
Darius’s gaze sharpened, cutting through me like a blade. “You’d have to be stupid not to see it.”
I felt my cheeks burn, but i forced myself to scoff. “Well, I don’t. I don’t see anything. And anyway, that hybrid is… a lot.”
His lips twitched, clearly amused. Then his head tilted slightly. “Do you like him?”
I stared at him for half a second before shoving a piece of bread in my mouth.
“I’m not having this conversation,” I mumbled around it.
His low laugh followed me as I chewed angrily, refusing to meet his gaze.
Thankfully, I found my opening to change the subject. I set my bread down and leaned back, my tone cooler now.
“You know,” i said, “it’s hard to even figure out what I think about him when I’m… caged here. I can’t even see what’s beyond these walls.”
Darius’s grin faded just slightly. He didn’t answer right away.
Finally, he murmured, “Yeah. I get that. But… I doubt Lucien would ever allow it. At least not yet.”
I looked down at my plate, my appetite suddenly gone.
Darius spoke up as if reading my mind “don't tell me you've lost appetite because of that hybrid”
I didn't reply.
“He's not even here”his tone laced with mockery
"Of course not”I said taking a bite from my bread, Darius just chuckled.
At least I had a little company here, maybe even a friend.
*********
I decided to look for Lucien after breakfast. It wasn't exactly like him to just skip, or maybe I was just getting fond of us eating together. Maybe.
I found him outside, leaning against one of the balcony pillars overlooking the training grounds. His tousled hair caught the sunlight, his arms folded, his expression unreadable.
For a moment, i just stood there, watching him. He hadn’t noticed me yet. Or maybe he had — he was always good at pretending.
Finally, I stepped forward, my voice quiet but firm. “You didn’t come to breakfast.”
He didn’t turn his head. “Didn’t feel like it.”
I crossed my arms, biting my lip. “Why are you like this?”
That made him glance at me. His dark eyes were sharp, his jaw tense. “Like what?”
I took a breath, lifting my chin. “Cold. Distant. As if… I’ve done something to you.”
He gave a low, humorless chuckle. Then, finally, he pushed off the pillar and faced me fully. “I hope you’re not starting to care about me.”
The words hit me like a slap.
“I— what?” I stammered, frowning.
He stepped closer, his gaze pinning mine . “Tell me, Anara. Is that what this is? You’re hoping for some… softer version of me hiding underneath all this? Some hybrid who’ll be better just for you?”
My heart thudded painfully in my chest, but i forced my voice to stay even. “Would that be so bad?”
That made him laugh again — but it was cold this time. “There’s no point in all this,” he said bitterly.
“These conversations, this… whatever it is you’re trying to do. What exactly do you think you’re achieving, Anara? Where do you think this will lead?”
My hands curled into fists at my sides.
“You were just meant to wake me. That’s all fate wanted from you. Nothing more.”
My cheeks burned, anger and hurt bubbling up, I couldn't help but scoff
“Well,” i said finally, my voice cutting through the silence. “I thought you might even be a little better than what you’re supposed to be. But I was wrong.”
His lips parted, but he remained silent.
I spun on my heel, storming back toward the castle, my shadows trailing behind me like smoke.
Lucien.
I watched her walk away, her hair swinging behind her like a whip and those cursed shadows curling at her heels.
Every part of me wanted to stop her.
Call her back.
But I didn’t move.
I stayed rooted to the spot, my hands curling into fists at my sides as the sound of her footsteps faded down the corridor.
Damn her.
Damn that fire in her, that defiance that kept shining through no matter how many walls I threw up.
She didn’t see it.
She didn’t see how hard it was to keep her at arm’s length.
She didn’t see that every time she stood in front of me like that, eyes bright and challenging, she chipped away at something I’d spent centuries burying.
And she had the nerve to look at me like I could be better.
Better than this.
Better than what I was made to be.
She was wrong.
I wasn’t better.
And I couldn’t let her believe otherwise.
Because the second she let herself care, the second she thought there was something more to this bond, I’d destroy her.
That’s what hybrids like me did.
We destroyed everything we touched.
I dragged a hand through my hair, forcing in a breath I didn’t feel.
And yet…
Even as she disappeared from sight, I couldn’t stop my eyes from following the faint trail her shadows left behind.
Even as she slammed the door to her chambers, I stood there still — listening.
And that damnable little whisper at the back of my mind asked me:
If she’s wrong…
Why does it hurt like she’s right?
- Writer
