"I am... Julian Von Astrea."
With that, his head lolled to the side, and he fell back into a deep, motionless sleep.
Alaric sat back, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He stared at the sleeping form; nothing had prepared him for this.
The name was correct, the face and voice were the same, but it was a personality that did not belong to the Julian he knew.
He remained awake for the rest of the night, his hand resting on his sword, watching to see if the man would return, but he never came back, and just like that, the first light of dawn seeped through the balcony, and then Julian bolted out of sleep. His chest tight, his body breaking out in cold sweat, and his head ringing.
Alaric watched the whole thing, startled, and his heart was shaking. Was this a result of the sedative? He was breaking out in cold sweat and looked like he was suffocating.
"Lucien— I… I can't breathe." He heaved heavily.
