The assassination attempt happened during lunch.
Heidi was in the middle of arguing with herself over whether a third bowl of chilled fruit soup counted as dedication or gluttony when the air in the Inner Garden snapped.
She felt it first.
A sharp, icy pressure brushed the back of her neck—like invisible fingers testing her spine.
Heidi paused mid-spoon.
"…Huh."
The world slowed.
Lucian, seated across from her beneath the shade of a silver-leaf tree, stiffened. His eyes went black—not metaphorically, but literally, pupils swallowing iris as something ancient surged forward.
"Down," he said.
Heidi obeyed on instinct, dropping off the stone bench just as a black bolt tore through the space where her head had been.
Stone exploded.
Screams erupted.
The garden dissolved into chaos.
Lucian moved.
Not like a man.
Like a shadow unleashed.
The air around him warped as he rose, robes snapping violently, power bleeding from him in dark waves. The black bolt reversed midair—ripped backward—and slammed into the marble wall with a sound like thunder.
Hidden assassins screamed as unseen force crushed them against the columns.
Heidi stared from the ground, eyes wide.
"…Wow."
Lucian was beside her in an instant, one hand gripping her arm, the other pressed flat against her back.
"Are you hurt?"
She blinked up at him. "Only emotionally."
His jaw tightened. "This is not funny."
She looked past him at the shattered stone, the blood seeping between tiles, the guards dragging broken bodies into the light.
"…Okay," she said softly. "Maybe a little not funny."
Lucian lifted her.
The way he did it—one arm under her knees, the other at her back—was intimate and unmistakable.
A claim.
The court nobles who had rushed in froze.
Whispers ignited like wildfire.
The emperor carries her.
With his own hands.
In daylight.
Lucian did not care.
"Seal the palace," he ordered coldly. "No one leaves."
Heidi leaned closer to his chest, voice low. "Am I… in trouble?"
"Yes," he said. "But not from me."
They locked her in his private chambers.
"Hey," she protested as the doors slammed shut. "This feels like kidnapping."
Lucian turned, eyes still burning. "This feels like survival."
She crossed her arms. "Someone tried to kill me."
"Yes."
"And you threw lightning with your face."
"Yes."
"…Are you going to explain?"
"No."
She waited.
Nothing.
Heidi sighed. "This is why people fear you. Poor communication."
Lucian stared at her, chest rising slowly as he forced the power back into himself. The shadows in the room retreated reluctantly, curling into the corners like displeased beasts.
"They will try again," he said.
Her brows furrowed. "Because of you?"
"Because of you."
She absorbed that quietly.
Then: "Wow. I've been important for three days and already have enemies. Record time."
Lucian stepped closer. "They will not touch you."
"Because you'll glare them to death?"
"Because I will burn the world first."
Something dangerous and warm spread through her chest.
She swallowed. "That's… excessive."
"You are mine," he said.
The words fell into the room like a vow.
Silence followed.
Heidi laughed nervously. "You can't just say things like that."
Lucian's gaze dropped to her mouth.
"I can."
The space between them throbbed.
Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her throat.
"This is the part," she said, "where I'm supposed to panic, right?"
"Yes."
"I seem to be malfunctioning."
Lucian reached out—stopped inches from her cheek.
"If you tell me to stop," he said hoarsely, "I will."
She looked up at him.
At the man who terrified an empire.
At the power coiled barely under his skin.
At the loneliness in his eyes.
"…Don't," she whispered.
His hand cupped her cheek.
Heat surged.
Not a kiss.
Not yet.
But something deeper.
Binding.
Outside the doors, the palace erupted.
By nightfall, the truth was everywhere.
An attempt on Lady Heidi Brooks' life.
A forbidden display of imperial power.
And the emperor's fury.
The court convened in emergency session.
Lucian stood before them, Heidi at his side—very deliberately at his side.
The ministers bowed, trembling.
"This incident," Lucian said coldly, "was not an accident."
Silence.
"I will find who ordered it," he continued. "And I will end their line."
A noble rose, voice shaking. "Your Majesty—this danger exists because of Lady Brooks. She draws attention. Resentment. Perhaps it would be safer if—"
"If what?" Lucian asked softly.
"If she were… removed from consideration."
Heidi blinked. "I don't remember applying."
Lucian's gaze turned lethal.
"There is no consideration," he said. "There is only my will."
A ripple of outrage spread.
"Your Majesty," another minister argued, "the throne cannot be swayed by personal desire—"
Lucian raised a hand.
The air broke.
Power slammed through the hall, forcing every single person to their knees.
"I am the throne."
Heidi stared at him, breath caught.
This wasn't just authority.
This was something else.
Something old.
Lucian turned to her then, voice gentler—but no less absolute.
"They will oppose you," he said. "They will test you. They will try to break you."
She met his gaze.
Lazy.
Unbothered.
Bright.
"Good," Heidi said. "I was getting bored."
A flicker of something like awe crossed his face.
The court watched in horror as the emperor smiled.
That night, as Heidi lay awake in his chambers, heart racing, she realized the truth—
The palace hadn't tried to kill her.
It had tried to warn her.
Because once the emperor had claimed her, there would be no turning back.
And the war for the crown had just begun