Tension stirrs within.
1193 Words
Anara.
I lay still on the mattress, staring at nothing.
I hadn’t meant to fall asleep.
Not with him sitting there.
Not with his hand still on mine when my eyelids finally betrayed me.
But when i woke… he was gone.
The sheets beside me were still warm, like he’d lingered longer than he should have. The faintest trace of his scent clung to the air — dark and smoky and unshakable — and I hated that it made my chest tighten.
You asked him to stay.
My own voice, accused me in my head.
I sat up slowly, running my fingers over the crease in the sheets where he’d sat.
Even now, hours later, I swore I could still feel the weight of his touch against my cheek. The way it had burned my skin and soothed me at the same time.
I hated it.
I hated how much I didn’t hate it.
Pulling myself from the bed, I crossed to the window, pressing my hands to the cold glass. Outside, the castle grounds stretched wide and dark — cloaked in morning mist, the black spires cutting into the sky like claws.
Below, I thought I glimpsed movement — guards sparring, servants rushing, horses being led toward the gates. Everyone was busy with something. Everyone but me.
My reflection stared back from the glass.
A girl who had no control for what she does.
A witch who shouldn’t have let herself need him.
A knock at the door startled me.
Before i could answer, Eira’s calm voice called through:
“You’re needed in the hall. Don’t keep them waiting.”
The words carried something sharp — something that made my stomach twist. What am I needed for now?
I didn’t move. Yet.
I kept my hands against the glass a moment longer, watching the mist.
And in the back of my mind, I thought I felt him.
Not close. Not yet.
But watching.
Always watching.
Inside, the head maiden’s handiwork gleamed in shades of midnight and jewel tones — dresses meant to drape me in power I didn't yet feel I deserved. I chose the simplest one i could bear — deep purple silk, tight at the waist and loose where it fell to the floor.
By the time I opened the door, Eira was already gone — only two guards standing watch around me now, silent as they led me through the halls. Their boots clanged faintly on the stone floors, echoing off high arches and cold walls.
The further they walked, the more I felt it.
That pull.
That quiet, magnetic hum i couldn’t explain.
It coiled under my skin like a thread being tugged — faint at first, but growing stronger with every step. And though I didn't dare glance over my shoulder, I knew.
He was close.
Somewhere beyond the next set of doors, maybe even just out of sight already, watching me from the shadows he commanded so easily.
My pulse quickened.
By the time the guards stopped and opened the towering black doors to the great hall, the weight in my chest was unbearable. I stepped through alone, the air colder and thicker here, and the doors shut with a boom behind me.
And there he was.
Lucien stood at the far end, by the throne.
Leaning lazily against it, dressed in black like a blade waiting to be unsheathed. His eyes snapped to me the moment I entered, and though his expression stayed perfectly calm… the room seemed to darken just from the way he looked at me.
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved.
Then — his lips curled into something between a smirk and a snarl.
“Sleep well?”
The question was soft. Too soft.
But I could hear everything he wasn’t saying behind it.
And I hated how my heart answered.
My steps echoed as I walked forward, each one slower than the last. The space between us felt impossibly long, but I didn't waver.
Don’t let him see you flinch. My subconscious literally screamed at me.
I stopped halfway down the hall, lifting my chin.
“Well enough,” i said coolly. “Not that it’s any of your concern.”
Lucien tilted his head just slightly, like a predator amused by its prey’s defiance.
“Everything about you is my concern,” he replied, voice like velvet lined with steel.
The shadows at his feet seemed to ripple in agreement, curling along the floor toward me before snapping back as if leashed. His gaze raked over me — slowly, deliberately — and it sent heat prickling up my neck.
I forced myself to hold his stare.
“You’re awfully dramatic for someone who disappeared before dawn.”
“Better than suffocating you in your sleep,” he countered smoothly. “I thought you’d prefer to wake up in peace.”
That sharp smile never touched his eyes.
He pushed off the throne and strode toward me, his movements relaxed but full of restrained power.
Each step he took, the hum in my chest — that bond between them — thrummed harder.
When he finally stopped just in front of me , I had to tilt my head to meet his gaze. He was so close now i could see the faint carvings of ancient runes beneath his collar where his shirt gaped open.
“But I see now,” he murmured, voice low, “you don’t like peace, do you? You like this.”
The air thickened between us as his fingers came up — slow enough I could stop him if I wanted. But I didn’t.
His knuckles skimmed my jaw, then traced just under my chin, tilting my head up slightly.
My breath hitched, I couldn't help it.
“You like when I stay,” he said.
“You just don’t know how to ask yet.”
The flush that crept into my cheeks only made his smirk deepen.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, narrowing my eyes despite the way my pulse hammered.
“You’re insufferable.”
“Mm,” he hummed. “But you still want me here.”
The words hung there like smoke.
“oh please, you're so full of yourself”
“ouch”he feigns hurt and I just roll my eyes
“we both know I'm only stating the facts anara”
And though I wanted to shove his hand away — I didn't.
Instead, I simply glared at him, refusing to answer, though I felt his thumb brush lightly along my skin before he finally let his hand drop.
The faintest ghost of a laugh left his lips — low and dark.
“Keep glaring at me like that, little witch,” he murmured. “See where it gets you.”
I felt like screaming, he turns to leave
“wait — why was I called here”
“sorry I'm late, I called for you actually” silas. I turned Lucien was already gone.
“Let's sit,”he said, making way for me to walk so we could sit.
What's this gonna be about now?
- Writer
