Lucien’s POV
The nights had grown colder, as if the land itself anticipated war.
I stood at the balcony of our chambers, arms folded over the rail, watching the trees bow under the weight of the wind. The moon—waning, crimson-edged—hovered low in the sky like a bloody eye, watching all.
In three nights, it would be full. Blood Moon. The old prophecies whispered of that night with a reverence I once dismissed as superstition. Now, I felt the truth of it humming beneath my skin.
Something was coming.
Behind me, Elena slept. Or pretended to. Her breaths were steady, but her mind never rested anymore. Since the awakening, she had grown into something no prophecy could have predicted. She didn’t just carry strength—she wore it.
But tonight, I didn’t want her to be strong. I wanted her saf
