To Burn Again

Time is cruel.

Even when you bend it.

I once thought love was weakness, Sentimental, Soft, Foolish. That was before Katerina. Before her laughter curved through a garden I wasn't supposed to be near. Before the girl with ink stained fingers and beautiful eyes shattered every rule I'd built for myself.

I wasn't supposed to be watching her.

And yet, I did. Every chance I got.

The first time I saw her, she was crouched beside a dying bird, whispering something like a prayer. Her black hair swaying with the wind, Her fingers delicately tracing the petals of a rose. She wasn't smiling, not exactly. It was that look she had soft, focused, quiet strength simmering just beneath the surface. Even then, she looked like she didn't belong in this wretched world. Too pure for the filth of court. Too brilliant to be chained by its rules. She didn't even see me.

But I saw her.

The girl with too much heart.

And I was already a blade wrapped in velvet. A weapon dressed in silk. I shouldn't have cared.

But that wild, Untouched fire in her... It drew me in. Not like a moth to flame.

Like a man to ruin.

I was just a shadow then. A weapon honed by the Emperor's will. Meant to kill, Not to feel. But something about her cracked through my armor. The way she tilted her head when speaking to a maid. The way she always carried herself like royalty, even though she was mocked by the very court that should've bowed to her. She never once looked at me. Why would she? I was nothing more than a ghost, Hovering in corners, drenched in blood.

She didn't belong in my world of shadow deals and blood stained oaths. And yet, I couldn't help but watched. From afar. In silence. I learned her habits, The way her nose scrunched when she read, the skip in her step, the way she plucked rose petals and whispered truths she thought no one would hear.

I never dared touch her.

And when I left for war, I carried her image with me. Through the snow, through fire, through screams. I remembered her. She became the only soft thing in my cursed life.

Then I returned.

And they told me she was dead.

She was gone.

Treason they said. As if Katerina could ever betray the Empire. As if the girl who once wept when a bird broke its wing could ever raise a hand against her people. They accused her of poisoning the prince, Of conspiring with the rebels. Of every rubbish which was impossible for her to do.

Lies.

Lies, all of it.

And the court? They celebrated. The same people who once smiled at her now smiled at her ashes.

They laughed.

They cheered.

They celebrated.

And there I was. I stood in the ashes of her pyre and watched the flicker of her soul rise into the sky. And I swore. Swore I'd make them pay.

So I did.

So I made them never forget her again.

I tore he whole capital down that night.

I took off the mask of a duke and became the monster they feared. I hunted them. Every noble who snickered at her name. Every witness who stood silent as she begged for mercy. Every servant who grinned when she was dragged to her death.

I tortured them.

They screamed, oh how they screamed. I made them bleed, made them beg. I watched their eyes go wide with fear, watched them soil themselves. I burned estates. Dragged traitors from their beds. Made them choke on their own blood, on their own laughter.

They begged for a quick death. They didn't deserve mercy. They deserved to feel what she felt. Fear. Betrayal. Agony. They deserved the worst.

I shattered them.

And still, it wasn't enough.

Because no matter how much blood I spilled, she was still gone.

My Katerina.

They thought her death was a spectacle.

I turned their pain into theater.

I couldn't unburn her. Couldn't hold her.

So I broke.

I went to the cliffs where she once watched the stars and pressed my dagger to my throat. I would follow her. No matter where is she.

But then the shadows whispered.

A figure stepped from the dark, black as ink, voice like honey poured over poison. A demon. A real one. Grinning with too many teeth. A voice thick with promise.

"I can give her back," he said, calm and sure. "But not for free. A few years of your life"

I didn't hesitate.

"Done."

He laughed.

"Fools always pay in love."

He grinned, and the world unraveled.

Time twisted.

And I woke up in a world where she was alive again. Where I could hear her laugh again.

I woke younger. Stronger. With a heart pounding like it remembered everything it had lost. I ran to her estate. Visited her as the Emperor's envoy, As an excuse. I trembled beneath my armor. I had faced kings, monsters, demons. But nothing compared to the ache in my chest when I met her eyes again.

"The Emperor wishes to ensure your health."

But really...I just needed to see her. Alive.

And she was.

Smaller. Softer. But with that different fire in her eyes.

She didn't know me. Of course not. We never spoken before.

But I knew her. Her laugh. Her voice. Her scent. Her soul.

She remembered her past. I could see it in her eyes.

Not all of it.

But enough.

She wasn't the girl from before. She was steel now. She was rage sharpened into elegance. A viper wrapped in silk.

I laughed like a madman. I cried. I kissed the floor.

And then I watched again. But this time, not from afar.

I became the shadow.

A hooded figure. No name. No face. I fed her the idea of vengeance. Lit the flame. Fanned it. But I never said why. Never told her it was me. She'd never recognize. Whispering warnings and half truths. Planting seeds without ever revealing why.

It had to be her choice.

She had to rise on her own.

She had to burn them herself.

And God, how she did.

The masquerade was a masterpiece.

She descended those stairs like a curse wrapped in silk. A gown of midnight, stitched in blood. Divine. Dangerous. Mine.

and I fell ever harder

I couldn't breathe

Everyone looked at her and saw a woman reborn. But I? I saw the grave she'd clawed her way out of.

And then some low life fool dared put his hands on her.

I moved before I could think. The words spilled out before I could stop them.

"Unhand her."

My voice didn't need to be loud. That pathetic excuse of a man flinched, retreating like a rat. I took his place, sliding my hand into hers.

Mine, my mind screamed. Mine, mine, mine.

"Lady Katerina," I said, bowing low.

"May I?"

"Please."

That one word made the years I gave up worth it.

When our hands touched, it was like time froze.

When she looked at me with those black eyes, lashes dusted with darkness, lips painted with sin

I knew.

She was no damsel.

She was a dagger.

And I? The sheath. The shadow that would burn the world twice over just to see her smile.

She danced with me like she owned me. And she did. She always did. Her scent, Roses and poison. Her body fit into mine perfectly. Like a half remembered dream.

Her voice. That mocking little smirk. And when she whispered about her plans, about destruction and revenge. I wanted to fall to my knees and worship.

She's brilliant.

She's cruel.

She's everything.

"You're quite the star tonight," I murmured.

"Are you surprised? I thought you knew everything."

God, her mouth.

"So it was you who planted the rumors about Kael," I said.

She didn't deny it.

"You've stirred the water beautifully."

"Will you tell anyone?"

"No," I said. "I'm enjoying this far too much."

And I was.

Kael was unraveling.

He watched her like a man watching his kingdom crumble.

Because she was never his.

She was never anyone's.

But in that moment, when I pulled her close, when our masks nearly touched, I almost told her.

Almost.

Instead, I leaned in, loud enough for Kael to hear:

"He never deserved to touch you."

The way Kael's face cracked?

I'll replay that for the rest of my cursed life.

She humiliated Kael like a queen wielding a guillotine. Let him squirm. Let him suffer. I wanted to thank the demon who brought her back.

Because this woman, This fire, This fury, This queen. She was mine.

She didn't need me.

But I needed her.

Then Sylenne.

The traitor cousin. The trembling hands. The note.

I already knew what it said. Her venom, her poetry:

"Does Kael still call you "His little dove" when you sneak into his chambers? Or has he moved on to sweeter lies? Don't worry, I remember everything. Even the bruises you asked him to hide. I know what you did. Enjoy the night. Before it becomes your last."

"Cruel," I whispered.

"She deserves worse," she whispered back. And she was right.

And Kael?

"I'll let him destroy himself," she said.

And he did.

The second mistress entered like a blade. Sylenne crumbled. Kael panicked. Nobles whispered. Sophie stirred the pot.

It all fell apart.

It was art.

I leaned in, My voice meant only for her:

"Your move Lady Katerina"

Katerina stepped forward, Voice cold as winter.

"If you are innocent, then you have nothing to fear. But if you're guilty…"

Her voice sliced the air.

"…you'll be audited. And tried."

He stared at her like she was a ghost.

Maybe she was.

The girl he'd killed?

Gone.

What stood before him was something else.

Something untouchable.

And God help me

I've never wanted anyone more.

This was her moment.

Her rebirth.

And I will give her the empire if she wants it.

No, not just give. I'll burn it down and build a new one from the ashes for her to stand on.

Because this love, What I feel for her is not soft.

It's not gentle.

It is obsession. It is devotion. It is madness wrapped in velvet and sealed with blood.

And I will wait.

She doesn't know yet.

Doesn't know that I was the one who turned back time.

Doesn't know I bargained my life just to see her breathe again.

Doesn't know that the man in the shadows, The one who warned her, Helped her, Protected her...is me.

But one day, she will.

And when she looks at me with those eyes again, When she realizes that every step she's taken has been watched with reverence and love.

Maybe she'll forgive me.

Maybe she'll hate me.

But I'll still be here.

Always watching.

Always wanting.

Because she is the only light I've ever known.

And I, Lucien. The Empire's secret, The devil's bargain, The killer and the duke who was reborn for her.

For my beloved Katerina.

And I would make the same deal a thousand times over.