Seraphina's POV
She can feel something wrong the moment Lucien comes back.
It's not in his body language. He holds her, kisses her forehead, pulls her close the same way he always does. But through the blood bond, she feels it. A shadow. A secret.
Fear.
"What happened?" she asks, pulling back to look at him.
"Nothing," he says, but his silver eyes won't meet hers.
"Liar."
He closes his eyes. "I talked to Morgana. But it doesn't change anything. We're still doing the transformation at sunset."
Seraphina studies his face. He's hiding something big. Something that terrifies him. But she's learned not to push. Sometimes love means letting someone have their secrets.
She nods and settles back against him.
They don't sleep that night. Instead, they hold each other and pretend this isn't the last night they'll have like this. Human and vampire. Mortal and immortal. Two people running out of time.
