SERAPHINA’S POV
I turned, and there he was, emerging from the other end of the hallway almost like a scene from a movie.
His eyes swept over our own scene—a flushed Celeste clawing against Kieran’s hold, shrieking like a banshee, Kieran himself caught between restraint and agitation, and me standing apart, my pulse racing, my chest heaving.
And then those eyes landed fully on me. Sharp. Shielding. Protective in a way that almost made my knees weak.
Without hesitation, he closed the distance and placed himself squarely in front of me. The air around us shifted like a storm rolling in, adding a different kind of tension I wasn’t sure I minded.
I instinctively shifted closer and let myself lean into the solace and safety Lucian’s presence promised.
I took a deep breath, an
