Lucian stood beside the sleek black car, crossing his arms, watching as Sebastian’s patience rapidly disintegrated in front of the Caelora Gardens’ manager.
The Sylvan attendant was already sweating, his leafy insignia trembling slightly as he tried to hold his ground. "I’m terribly sorry, Sir Sebastian, but the Gardens are closed to all visitors today... No exceptions, not even for Lord Drake."
Sebastian’s jaw tightened. "My lord doesn’t wait for exceptions."
Lucian didn’t intervene, probably because his attention, though seemingly elsewhere, was divided half on the conversation, half on the quiet figure sitting inside the car. Through the tinted glass, he could see Seraphina leaning slightly against the window, her expression soft, tired.
She had tried to pretend she wasn’t exhausted, of course. He’d seen the way her eyes kept drifting earlier, how she tried to hide the weight in them behind forced curiosity.
How could she not be tired? He’d pushed her to the limit again last night until her voice ca out breathless and muffled against the pillow.
"Lucian, I swear... if you keep going, I’ll burn you."
He’d only laughed then, kissed her temple, and whispered, "You wouldn’t dare."
Now, watching her sleep against the car window, he smiled again, without aning to.
For a fleeting mont, sothing warm and unfamiliar stirred in him, softening the edge of his usual composure.
He caught himself a second later and tore his gaze back to the garden gates, schooling his expression into calm once more.
Sebastian was still arguing. "We’ll compensate your establishnt tenfold. Just give us ten minutes inside."
"The Heart is unstable!" the Sylvan exclaid, exasperated. "No one can enter. The flora have started rejecting mana flow... it’s dangerous for anyone, even dragons."
Lucian’s eyes narrowed. ’Rejecting mana flow?’
That shouldn’t be possible. Not in Caelora Gardens. Not unless sothing or soone had interfered with the celestial core itself.
Sebastian turned toward him, frustrated. "My lord—"
"Enough. We’re not forcing it." Lucian’s voice cut the air and, for a heartbeat, the argunt died.
A sudden, sharp cry tore through the air. One of the gardeners shouting from inside the do.
Everyone turned just as a thin silver mist began to leak from out of nowhere. It slithered through the gate like so kind of a life form, curling and twisting before hitting the nearest keeper full on.
He gasped, choking, his hands clawing at his throat as his eyes rolled back. Soone scread. Footsteps echoed in panic. Then ca the crash of splintering wood and shattering glass as flowers started to react, scattering jeweled pollen into the air uncontrollably.
"Get back!" the manager shouted, but no one listened fast enough.
A young guard rushed forward to help the fallen keeper and the mont he reached out, a vine snapped. The stinging bloom burst, spraying him with glowing dust. He stumbled back with a cry, the sleeve of his uniform burning away. His skin turned pale, his breathing ragged. Blood speckled his lips as he tried to stand, then collapsed to his knees.
Lucian moved before anyone else.
"Everyone back!" His voice cut through the noise like thunder. The temperature dropped instantly, frost spreading across the stone tiles beneath his feet.
The panicking workers froze mid-step. The silver mist coiled around the ground, trying to push toward the crowd again, but Lucian raised a hand and a sharp gust of cold pushed it back, holding it at the gate.
"Seal the entrance!" he ordered.
Sebastian rushed forward, his serpent-like pupils narrowing as a faint, green shimr appeared in his eyes. Basilisk magic... deadly to most, but perfectly under his control.
Seal.
Sebastian then crouched beside the fallen guard, quickly brushing glowing dust from the man’s sleeve. The injured keeper coughed weakly, still shaking.
"My lord," Sebastian called out, his voice tight. "They’re poisoned. It’s not fatal yet, but this pollen’s laced with unstable mana."
"Can you neutralize it?"
Sebastian nodded once, pressing two fingers against the guard’s neck. A faint hiss escaped his lips as he whispered a spell. The air shimred with a soft green glow, coiling around the man’s chest.
For a mont, it seed to work as the guard’s breathing steadied and faint color returned to his face. But it wouldn’t even last for even a minute, when he vomited blood, and his pulse weakened again.
"Damn it," Sebastian muttered, frustration edging into his voice. "It’s not just poison, my lord. It’s draining his mana directly... like it’s feeding on him."
Lucian’s expression darkened. "Pull back before it takes yours too."
Reluctantly, Sebastian stepped away, the green shimr fading completely. The guard’s chest rose and fell weakly. It was unsteady and his life barely hanging on.
The Heart in the centre of the garden pulsed again. The silver mist swirled inside the do, pressing against the transparent barrier that Sebastian had raised earlier. It didn’t strike this ti, instead, it moved in slow, deliberate waves, as if sniffing the air for sothing.
Inside the car, Seraphina stirred. The faint glow outside caught her eye, and she blinked, confused until she saw the fallen guard, the frantic attendants, and the strange, shifting light beyond the gate.
Without thinking, she opened the door and stepped out. "Lucian?" she called softly, her voice breaking the tension. "What’s happening?"
Lucian turned sharply. "Seraphina, get back in the car—"
But Seraphina didn’t hear him as she stepped closer and everything began to shift.
The mist which earlier was wild suddenly beca calm and flowing smoothly, rolling along the inside of the barrier like water following gravity. Every strand of light curved toward her direction, as if magnetized by her presence.
Sebastian’s eyes widened. "It’s... reacting to her?"
Lucian’s breath hitched. He glanced at the mist... now glowing brighter, pulsing faster, as though alive and calling for her. Even the dying flora within the do began to flicker faintly, petals twitching back to life.
The guard on the ground suddenly gasped, taking a deep, ragged breath. His color returned, the faint blue frost on his skin lting away.
Lucian’s jaw tightened. "No... this isn’t healing," he said quietly. "It’s drawing power."
He stepped in front of Seraphina, the air around him dropping several degrees. "Don’t move."
"But it’s—"
"Don’t," he said again, sharper this ti. His eyes never left the mist as it pressed harder against the barrier, desperate to reach her.
For a long mont, neither of them moved. The silver glow reflected in Lucian’s eyes like fire against ice.
Then, in a voice low enough for only her to hear, he said, "Sotis, what reaches for you doesn’t want to be saved. It just wants to keep you."
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