CHAPTER 102: SOMETHING WRONG

None.

There was nothing there.

Lucian’s gaze lingered on Seraphina’s bare neck and then his expression shifted sharply, as if something had struck him all at once.

Hadn’t he...?

He had never given her another piece of jewelry.

No necklace.

No pendant.

Nothing.

Only the ring, their wedding ring.

His eyes dropped instantly to her hand.

Empty.

His heart slammed against his ribs.

"Where is it?" Lucian grabbed her wrist before she could even react.

Elyndra blinked in surprise, clearly caught off guard by the sudden movement.

"What?" she scoffed. "I told you I wouldn’t give things away that easily."

Lucian’s grip tightened, his glare locking onto hers like ice sealing over fire.

"I said," he growled, voice low and dangerous, "where is her wedding ring?"

"I threw it away," she said casually, like there was nothing wrong with her action. "Not really my style. Too plain."

She smiled with her eyes, slow and deliberate.

"Pick me a new one after this, hmm?"

The air in the room dropped ten degrees.

Lucian didn’t breathe.

For a moment, the world shrank to that single sentence.

"That ring," he said quietly, every word sharpened with something far colder than anger, "was never yours to touch."

In a blink of a second, his hand flung towards her neck, fingers wrapping around her throat.

Not hard enough to choke.

Hard enough to warn.

Ice crept along the wall behind her, cracking the stone, but his grip faltered the moment his eyes actually focused on her face.

Seraphina’s face.

The one he woke up beside.

The one that smiled at him in the morning just a few days ago.

The one that had looked at him with quiet trust.

His fingers trembled.

For one unbearable second, his control nearly shattered.

Elyndra felt it and smiled.

"Go on," she whispered lightly. "If you can."

Lucian’s jaw clenched, his hand twitching between instinct and restraint.

Then he released her like she was burned.

Stepping back as if touching her at all might destroy something he could never fix.

His chest heaved as he turned his face away.

"Please... let her go," he said hoarsely.

Elyndra cupped a hand behind her ear with exaggerated innocence. "Sorry? I couldn’t hear you..."

Auren stood motionless a few steps away, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe, jaw tight with restraint.

Then Vaylen suddenly stirred.

"M–my lord..." he hurried closer and whispered frantically into Auren’s ear, his voice barely a thread.

Auren froze.

Then his eyes snapped downward... To her ankle.

A thin anklet gleamed there in the bathroom light.

And hanging from it... A tiny marble sphere.

His breath hitched.

"Lucian," he said sharply, "hold her. Now!"

Lucian didn’t ask questions.

He moved in the same instant the words left Auren’s mouth.

He stepped in behind Elyndra and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, the other steadying her waist just enough to keep her from pulling away. His hold was firm, controlled, more restraint than force.

Elyndra laughed under her breath, struggling half-heartedly. "Oh? This is supposed to be a romantic gesture, right?"

Lucian didn’t answer.

Auren crouched, his attention already fixed on Elyndra’s ankle. His fingers slid beneath the hem of her gown and found the thin anklet hidden there. He hesitated only a breath before reaching for the small marble sphere hanging from it.

The moment his fingers closed around it.

Elyndra’s breath caught, her body went rigid.

"Don’t," she snapped sharply, the mockery in her voice cracking for the first time.

Auren didn’t stop, his grip steadied.

And at that exact moment, Elyndra screamed.

But after a few seconds of silence...

Nothing shattered.

Nothing flared.

There was no dramatic burst of light.

Nothing happened at all.

Elyndra stilled in Lucian’s arms, her mocking smile carving deeper instead of breaking.

"Puff..." she laughed under her breath. "Are you expecting her to magically poof out just because you’re holding that thing?"

Auren didn’t answer.

Because the marble was warm... Too warm.

"Hold her... let me try again," Auren murmured, his brows knitting as he drew a slow breath, forcing the chaos in his chest into something quieter, sharper.

Lucian adjusted his grip, not tighter, just steady enough to stop Elyndra from twisting away.

Auren closed his eyes.

This time, he didn’t push his feathers into the marble.

He listened.

He let the faint warmth guide him instead of thinking about it, following the subtle irregularity beneath the surface, the way it pulsed once... then hesitated... then pulsed again, like a hesitant heartbeat unsure if it was allowed to exist.

Elyndra’s smile thinned.

"Still playing pretend?" she murmured. "It’s just a container—"

"Found them," Auren said.

The room felt tighter instantly, as if the air had drawn in around that single word.

Auren didn’t move his hand away from the marble. His touch stayed careful, almost reverent, and his voice lowered into something quieter than speech.

"Seraphina," he said.

For a heartbeat, the warmth under his fingers answered.

Elyndra was ready to flick her fingers, to take out her wand, to cast another spell when suddenly blood burst from her mouth.

She froze in shock. Her fingers shook as she touched her lips, and when she looked at her hand, it was stained red.

"What—" her voice came out hoarse, broken. "What did you do?"

Lucian stiffened behind her, feeling her body falter in his hold. For the first time, she wasn’t laughing. She wasn’t mocking.

Her breathing turned uneven.

Auren’s hand was still wrapped around the marble sphere, his brows drawn together in confusion and focus.

"I didn’t," he answered quietly, "I really didn’t do it." His eyes shook from fear.

Elyndra swayed slightly, coughing again as more blood spilled between her fingers.

"No..." she whispered, shaking her head. "That can’t be..."

Her voice dropped, barely a sound.

"Do you know how long I waited for this body...?"

Lucian’s heart jolted, his head snapping to the door where he knew his maid was still waiting there.

"Call Darian," he commanded sharply. "Now!"