CHAPTER 16: (3RD POV) REACH ITS LIMIT

The room was buried under white. Frost clung to every surface, the floor, the walls, even the ceiling had turned to glassy ice. At the center of it all, Lucian knelt on the frozen floor, his arms wrapped around Seraphina’s trembling body.

He had covered her completely, cocooning her in layers of his own frost. It was the only way he knew to stop her from burning alive... or from burning everything else.

Thin wisps of steam rose where her skin met the ice. Her warmth pulsed faintly beneath his hands—alive, but unstable, like a flame trapped beneath glass.

"Stay with me..." Lucian’s breath came out as mist, his voice tight with something dangerously close to fear. He’d pushed his power to its limit to contain hers, and now even the air itself seemed to hold its breath.

Outside the sealed door, Sebastian, Dr. Alden, and the guards waited in uneasy silence. The corridor was warm, barely, thanks to the protective flame Dr. Alden kept alive to prevent them all from freezing solid. None of them dared move, not even when the building lights flickered and the sound of cracking ice echoed from within.

A faint crack echoed through the frozen silence. The frost around them began to web with fractures, spidering across the floor. Then came the snap. Heat surged from her chest in a pulse of gold, melting through his ice with a hiss.

Lucian reacted instantly, tightening his hold around her to keep the flames from flaring outward. The temperature swung wildly, blistering heat and piercing cold colliding until both forces stilled. Only then did he move, scooping her into his arms, her skin still faintly glowing beneath the shirt.

"Unfreeze the door!" His voice thundered through the corridor.

Outside, Dr. Alden startled but obeyed, summoning controlled tongues of flame that ate away at the frost. The door groaned, the ice receding enough for Lucian to push it open with his shoulder.

The moment Dr. Alden’s gaze fell on Seraphina, his expression changed. Wonder. Recognition. The glint of someone who had just stumbled upon a legend thought extinct.

"By the stars... the heat signature—she’s—"

Lucian’s glare cut him off, colder than the ice that had sealed the room moments ago. "Keep that thought to yourself," he said evenly, voice sharp enough to slice through the lingering frost. "You’ll report everything about her condition... only to me. Not a word leaves this floor. Understood?"

Dr. Alden froze, then nodded quickly. "Y–Yes, Lord Drake. I’ll keep it off the record."

Lucian’s gaze softened just enough to betray a flicker of relief as he looked down at Seraphina in his arms, her faint glow still pulsing beneath the shirt. "Good. Then start preparing whatever you need. She’s burning from the inside."

Everyone in the hallway stilled the moment Lucian stepped out. Guards, attendants, and aides, all caught off guard by the sight of their cold, untouchable lord carrying a woman in his arms. It was the kind of sight that didn’t belong in their reality, like watching frost cradle fire.

Lucian’s voice sliced through the silence, cold and imperious. "Eyes down."

Every head lowered instantly. No one dared to breathe too loudly.

The suit jacket that had once covered her had fallen somewhere in the chaos, leaving her only in his oversized white shirt, its fabric clinging to her skin, faint traces of steam still rising from her body. Her hair, slightly damp and tousled, framed her face like the last ember refusing to die.

"Not a word," Lucian added, his tone darker now, dangerous. "What you saw tonight never happened."

"Understood, Lord!" Their voices echoed down the hallway in unison.

Lucian said nothing more. He walked past them without slowing, his every step deliberate, the faint frost trailing from his shoes marking the marble floor.

Sebastian moved quickly ahead, opening the path while keeping the others at bay. The air was thick with tension, no one daring to glance up.

Behind them, Dr. Alden followed, still trying to process what he had just seen. He could feel the heat coming from the woman in Lucian’s arms, even from a distance. It was unreal. He mumbled something under his breath, unable to stop his curiosity.

He didn’t notice how close he had gotten until he almost bumped into Lucian’s back.

Lucian stopped suddenly. The impact made Dr. Alden stumbled, his heart jumping into his throat.

Without turning fully, Lucian glanced over his shoulder, his voice cold and sharp.

"You seem a little too excited," Lucian said quietly, his tone edged with warning. "Should I erase your existence right now?"

Dr. Alden froze. "N-No, my lord! Forgive me... it’s just... the flames she created. I’ve only ever read about them in old texts."

Lucian’s gaze lingered on him for a beat longer, cold and sharp. Then his voice dropped lower but infinitely more dangerous.

"Don’t even think about whatever you’re imagining," he said. "Because the moment your mind starts treating her like a test subject, that brain of yours might freeze before you get the chance to finish the thought."

Dr. Alden swallowed hard, his excitement instantly replaced by fear. "U–Understood, Lord Drake."

Lucian said nothing more and continued walking, his steps steady but heavy with exhaustion. The frost beneath his shoes trailed faintly behind him until they reached the car waiting outside.

The door swung open, and he carefully eased Seraphina into the back seat before climbing in himself. Her skin still radiated faint heat, her breathing shallow but steady. Lucian adjusted her gently, letting her head rest on his lap. For the first time since it happened, he let out a long, uneven breath, a sound caught between relief and fatigue.

Sebastian slipped into the front passenger seat, glancing at them through the mirror. Before he could say a word, Lucian’s voice came low and strained.

"Sebastian... call that damn phoenix. The one who calls himself a dragon specialist."

Sebastian stiffened, his expression shifting with worry. He hesitated, gripping his phone but not dialing yet. "My lord... are you—"

Lucian’s reply never came. He turned his head slightly, as if to respond, but instead a harsh cough tore from his throat, deep and wet. Dark blood splattered against the white cuff of his sleeve.

"Lord Lucian!" Sebastian spun around, eyes wide.

Lucian pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, his breathing uneven. The cold that once filled the car began to thin, the air losing its bite. "I—am okay. Just drive back to the manor."

Sebastian hesitated, the worry plain in his eyes, but one sharp glance from Lucian silenced him.

Lucian leaned back, resting Seraphina’s head gently on his lap. His palm lingered over her chest, feeling the faint, unsteady warmth that pulsed beneath her skin.

The car was silent except for the low hum of the engine and the ragged sound of his breathing.

Outside, frost bloomed along the window edges, then melted away just as quickly, like his control slipping through his fingers.

And before Sebastian could say another word, another cough came, wet, sharp, and laced with blood.

The air in the car stilled.

Lucian’s voice was barely a whisper this time.

"Just... drive."