Calla's POV
Bitterly laughing, he ran a hand through his hair. "She wants you, Calla. You're her last opportunity at fixing the mess she created millennia ago. And if she has to destroy you to fix it, she won't hesitate."
"Destroy me?" The words caught my throat, the weight of them settling heavily in my chest.
His silver eyes locked onto mine, fierce and unrelenting. "Yes. And if you think I'm going to let that happen, you're wrong."
The intensity in his gaze was almost too much to handle, but I refused to look away. For weeks now, I'd been trapped in the tornado of his world—his secrets, his curses, his struggles.
"Maybe you don't have a choice," I murmured gently, my voice shaking with a mixture of dread and defiance.
"There's always a choice," he said, his tone gentler now but no less adamant. "And I've made mine."
I gulped hard, my thoughts racing with questions and doubts. Lucian's world was dark and perilous, a maze of half-truths and buried betrayals. But it was also the only location where I'd ever felt completely alive.
"Then tell me," I urged, coming closer to him. "Who is she? What does she have to do with us?"
Lucian's countenance stiffened, and for a second, I thought he wouldn't answer. But then he sighed, the weight of his load engraved into every line of his face.
"Her name is Selene," he continued, his voice low. "Calla, she is not some haphazard rescuer. It was she who first cursed my bloodline.
"Selene?," asked? I repeated, incredulous lacing of my words. "The lady who pulled us from underdevelopment? She is the one who"
Indeed, he said, cutting sharply. "I am like this because of her. The cause my family vanished from. I have spent decades battling to defend those who do not even know what is seeking them.
"Centuries?," My voice broke on the word, the weight of it striking me like a goods train. " Lucian, what are you saying?"
He moved aside, his shoulders stiff. Calla, I have lived more incarnations than I would want to count. The curse ties me to this planet and makes me a pawn in a battle I never asked to fight.
My thoughts whirled as I worked through his remarks. And me too? Where amongst all of this do I fit?
Lucian turned back to face me, his countenance insensible. "Only you can call it off. All of it, the curse, the conflict. You would have to give everything up, though, to do that.
His comments sat there, weighty and oppressive. My heart thumping in my chest, I staggered toward him. "Why did you not tell me this before?"
His voice raw, he said, "Because I wanted you to not have to make that decision." "I considered myself able to keep you out of it and safe. But now, though.
I said, "Now it's too late," just above a whisper for him.
He nodded and tightened his jaw. indeed.
Neither of us talked for a minute. Unspoken sentiments and emotions we both were too terrified to express filled the quiet.
Finally reaching out to touch his arm, I murmured, "You don't have to do this alone."
Lucian hesitated at the touch but did not withdraw. "Calla, you have no idea what you are presenting. You will start to be targeted if you stand by me. They will come for you; they will not stop until they have wrecked you.
Then let them come, I murmured, my voice firm despite the terror running through me. " Lucian, I am not terrified. Not if it means being at your side.
His eyes softened, and I spotted hope flickering for the first time. "You should be scared," he said, his hand rising to cup my cheek. Since I am.
His gentle touch made me shiver down my spine, and I started slinking toward him, yearning for his warmth and comfort.
The sound of breaking glass filled the chapel before any of us could say another word. Lucian pressed me behind him, his body acting as a shield and moved quickly.
His voice a low growl, he said, "Stay close."
The air grew heavy, infused with a dark energy that caused my back of the neck's hair to stand on edge. From the shadows came a black figure whose face was hidden but whose presence was unquestionably frightening.
"Lucian Grey," the man stated with a venomous voice. Still playing the hero, I note.
"What do you wish for?" Lucian demanded, his body poised for attack.
The apparition laughed—a hollow, icy sound that chilled my spine. Obviously the female. Turn her over; I might let you survive.
Lucian hissed, his eyes ablaze with a wild light over his dead body.
"That can be set up," the man said, approaching.
Lucian lunged for the creature, his motions a blur; the air around us buzzed with vitality. Their force of impact rocked the ground under us in a conflict of power.
Heart pounding, I staggered back as the fight continued. Then I sensed it—a stinging, searing anguish in my chest.
Downward, I saw a brilliant mark—complex and ancient—like a brand seared into my soul spreading across my skin.
"Call" Lucian spoke with a far-off, terrified quality.
The person turned to look at me, triumph shining in their eyes. "It's begun," they said, their voice nearly respectful. She is waking.
"Why didn't you tell me this could kill me?"
I stumbled into the clearing, gripping my chest,chest where the luminous symbol still pulsed weakly under my skin. The jungle was eerily still, save for the sound of my strained breathing. Lucian was close behind me, his voice sharp and strained.
"Because I didn't know it would happen this soon."
"That's not good enough!" I whirled on him, my rage spilling out. "I deserve the truth, Lucian. You keep telling me to trust you, but you've done nothing but keep me in the dark!"
He paused in his tracks, his hands clenched at his sides. "You think I like this? Watching you suffer because of something I couldn't stop? I've spent centuries attempting to break this curse, Calla. Centuries! And now you're tangled in it because of me."
"Then twist me!" I broke off in a snapping voice. "Change it, Lucian." I object to being involved in this!