LUCIAN’S POV
Shame.
It crashed over me in violent, relentless waves, stealing the air from my lungs, driving me to my knees in the shattered earth, hollowing me out from the inside.
My hands trembled uncontrollably.
They were human hands again—fingers instead of claws—but I could still feel the memory of them, the way they had hovered over Sera’s throat only moments ago.
The way I had almost—
‘That wasn’t me.’
I swallowed hard.
The truth landed with unbearable weight.
It was me.
I had hurt her. I had almost killed her.
Sera knelt next to me, still breathing unevenly, her gaze fixed on me with something that cut deeper than anger.
It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t even pain.
It was understanding. Sympathy.
And that was somehow worse.
“I…didn’t stop,” I rasped, my voice breaking before it could form properly. “I almost—Sera, I almost killed you.”
