Lucien didn't walk out of the shadows.
He bled out of them.
His body flickered at the edges, like the darkness hadn't fully let him go. His eyes glowed with a colour that wasn't natural — not gold, not silver, not anything belonging to the Ridge.
It was Hollow.
Cold.
Empty.
Endless.
Rylan's entire body went rigid beside me. "Lucien…"
Lucien lifted his head slowly, like the movement hurt. His gaze locked onto Rylan first — and for a moment, something human flickered.
Pain.
Recognition.
Regret.
Then his eyes slid to me.
The Hollow inside me surged so violently I gasped, clutching my chest.
Rylan grabbed me instantly. "Lyra—"
Lucien's voice cut through the air.
"Don't touch her."
The arena froze.
Rylan's head snapped toward him, eyes blazing. "You don't get to tell me—"
Lucien stepped forward.
The shadows followed him like a cloak.
"She's not stable," he said, voice low, rough, wrong. "You're provoking it."
Rylan growled. "I'm not provoking anything."
Lucien's gaze sharpened. "You're provoking me."
The Hollow inside me pulsed again — a deep, resonant thrum that made the stone beneath us vibrate. My breath hitched. The shadow curled under my skin like a living thing.
Rowan swore under his breath. "This is bad."
Kade muttered, "This is worse than bad."
Lucien ignored them.
His eyes stayed on me.
"Lyra," he said softly, "you shouldn't have taken it."
Rylan stepped in front of me instantly. "She didn't take anything. It tried to kill her."
Lucien tilted his head. "It didn't try to kill her."
His gaze slid to me again.
"It tried to choose her."
My stomach twisted. "Choose me for what?"
Lucien's expression softened — painfully, heartbreakingly — like he was looking at someone he'd already lost.
"For what it chose me for."
Rylan stiffened. "You're lying."
Lucien didn't look away from me. "You feel it, don't you?"
The Hollow pulsed.
I flinched.
Lucien nodded slowly. "There it is."
Rylan snarled. "Stay away from her."
Lucien's eyes flickered — not with anger.
With sorrow.
"I can't."
The Hollow inside me surged again, shadows rippling across my skin. Rylan grabbed my shoulders, trying to steady me, but the darkness pushed against him like a warning.
Lucien took another step forward.
The Hollow reacted instantly.
A ring of shadow burst outward from me, slamming into the ground between us. The stone cracked. Wolves stumbled back. Rowan cursed. Kade reached for his blade again.
Lucien didn't flinch.
He stepped into the shadow like it was water.
Rylan's voice broke. "Lucien, stop—"
Lucien's gaze locked onto mine.
"You bound it," he said quietly. "But you didn't bind all of it."
My breath caught. "What does that mean?"
Lucien's eyes softened.
"It means the rest of it is still looking for me."
The Hollow inside me pulsed violently — a sharp, painful thrum that made my vision blur.
Lucien stepped closer.
And the Hollow whispered inside my chest:
Mine.
Rylan's roar shook the arena.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Lucien stopped.
Not because of Rylan.
Because of me.
Because the Hollow inside me reached for him.
Lucien's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Lyra… you didn't bind a monster."
He stepped into the light.
"You bound half of a whole."
The world tilted.
Rylan froze.
Rowan swore.
Kade whispered, "Oh, hell…"
Lucien lifted his hand — not in threat, but in recognition.
And the Hollow inside me answered.
Brother.