Chapter 3

"She came with perfume and poison. And he let her in anyway."

---

Two days later.

The air had shifted.

It wasn't just the temperature—it was presence.

Something foreign. Alluring. Dangerous.

Lucien felt it before he saw her.

A pulse beneath the ice. A whisper in his mind. As though the snow itself warned him: She has come.

---

She arrived with the twilight.

A black carriage, pulled by horned frostbeasts, stopped just beyond the palace gates. The guards approached cautiously—but she stepped out before they could ask.

Tall. Pale. With long, obsidian hair trailing like silk in the wind. Her cloak shimmered like midnight and blood. Her eyes—amethyst. Unnaturally bright.

Every man who looked at her held his breath.

Every woman felt threatened by her silence.

She walked straight into the palace.

Not a single snowflake dared touch her.

---

Throne Hall – Moments Later

Lucien sat on the crystal steps, deep in thought, when she entered.

He felt her before he turned.

When he did—his heart stuttered.

She was the most dangerous woman he'd ever seen.

And she was smiling.

"You're not what I expected," she said softly.

Lucien stood, cautious. "And you are?"

She curtsied, deeply… mockingly.

"Velra Noctis. Of House Nocturne. Cursed royalty. Exiled enchantress. And perhaps…"

Her voice dropped as she approached, "...your most interesting mistake yet."

---

Queen's Tower

The Snow Queen watched from above.

Her lips barely moved. "She's here."

Seris stood behind her, tense. "We should send her away."

"No," the Queen said.

She turned slowly. Cold magic gathered in her eyes.

"We let her try. And when she fails… Lucien will see what love without loyalty becomes."

---

Back at the Hall

Velra stepped close—almost too close.

Lucien didn't move.

Her fingers ghosted across his collarbone. "You've already kissed fire, haven't you? And ice. And prophecy."

He grabbed her wrist. "What are you?"

She smiled sweetly. "A girl who dreams of breaking you... with kisses."

Lucien's grip didn't loosen. "Try it, and I'll break you first."

Velra grinned. "Good."

---

That night – Lucien's private quarters

She appeared again.

Without invitation.

Without shame.

Leaning against the wall like a living sin.

"Kaela leaves bite marks. Seris cries your name in her sleep. And the Queen?"

She licked her lips. "You're under her skin now."

Lucien stood in silence.

"I know your path," she whispered, circling him. "You're the Sovereign of Frost. You'll rule the ashes of this world. But before then… you'll fall."

She stood before him, pupils dilated, skin glowing faintly with shadow-magic.

"And I want to be the reason why."

---

Lucien should've banished her.

Instead, he kissed her.

Hard.

Because in her darkness, he saw his own.

They collided like curses—tongues, teeth, fury. Her nails clawed his back. His hand pinned her throat softly, dangerously, as she gasped against his mouth.

Their moans tangled. Her legs wrapped around him. He carried her to the wall—pressed between desire and defiance.

She whispered against his lips, "You're already mine."

He whispered back, "Not yet."

And he made sure of it.

---

Later – Hours into midnight

They lay entwined in black silk.

Velra's hair spilled over his chest. Her breath was slow. Her spell... cast.

But Lucien didn't sleep.

Because deep down, he knew—she wasn't just here to seduce him.

She was here to destroy someone.

And he just hadn't figured out who yet.

---

Meanwhile – The Pale King's War Tent

"She's touched him," said the dark priestess beside the Pale King.

"She's gone too far."

"No," he rasped. "She's done perfectly."

He raised a frozen rose from the table—one petal fell.

"Let him fall for her. Let him fall for all of them."

He smiled beneath bone.

"Because when he rises again… he will be alone."

"It only takes one kiss to claim a soul… and one lie to break it."

---

Morning shattered with tension.

Not from war.

Not from an invasion.

But from something far more volatile—

A woman's silence.

Seris hadn't spoken to Lucien since dawn.

She hadn't smiled. Hadn't looked at him the way she used to—as if he were the warmth in a frozen world.

No.

Now, her eyes were distant.

Cold.

---

Lucien stood by the frost-laced window, cloak undone, shirtless, the mark on his chest flickering softly like a failing heartbeat.

He sensed her approach before she knocked.

Seris entered quietly, her priestess gown swaying like snowfall.

"We need to talk."

Lucien turned.

He braced for it.

But nothing could've prepared him for what came next.

"I know you were with her."

He didn't deny it.

Didn't lie.

Seris bit her lip—hard enough to bleed. "Velra… she's not like the others."

"I know."

"Then why let her touch you?"

Lucien stepped closer. "Because I wanted to see what broke inside me when I did."

Her breath caught.

"And did something break?"

Lucien's eyes met hers.

Haunted. Honest.

"…Yes."

---

The silence between them became a scream.

She slapped him.

Not hard. But enough to crack the air between them.

And then she kissed him.

Desperately.

With trembling hands, tears in her lashes, and breath like prayer.

"You make me feel like I'm enough… until I'm not."

Lucien wrapped his arms around her.

Held her. Tight.

"Seris—"

"No," she whispered. "Don't say my name unless you mean to keep it."

She pulled him to the bed, trembling with need, her touch frantic—not for lust, but for reassurance.

Her robes fell first.

Then his guilt.

And their bodies tangled like ice vines—desperate to melt, to cling, to remember what was real.

---

Afterglow – Minutes Later

She lay curled against him, the covers high, her skin flushed, but her heart—fragile.

"Promise me something," she said softly.

Lucien stroked her back. "Anything."

"If she ever makes you choose…"

Her voice cracked.

"…don't let it be her."

---

Elsewhere – Kaela watched from the shadows.

She saw them from across the corridor window—entwined, vulnerable, too raw to hide it.

She exhaled slowly.

And for the first time in her life…

She didn't know if she was the predator, or the prey.

---

That night – The Queen's War Table

Velra stood alone with the Queen.

Tension thicker than snow hung in the air.

The Queen poured wine but didn't sip.

"You touched him," she said.

Velra smiled. "He touched me first."

The Queen stepped close.

"Let me be clear. I let you stay because I wanted Lucien to understand danger. But if you corrupt him—"

"I already have," Velra whispered.

"And you can't undo it."

The Queen's eyes narrowed. "Then you've made your final mistake."

Velra leaned in.

"Have I?"

---

Later – Lucien's Tower

He stood alone now, by candlelight.

Haunted.

Three women…

All burning for him.

All bleeding because of him.

He didn't want this harem.

He wanted peace.

But peace wasn't his fate.

He closed his eyes—and felt every heartbeat… every memory… every touch.

Then, from the shadows—

Velra appeared again.

But this time, she wasn't seductive.

She was bleeding.

Her hand clutched her side.

"Lucien," she gasped. "The Queen… she tried to kill me."

---

"When a heart breaks in silence, the world only hears the scream too late."

---

She collapsed into his arms.

Velra's skin was cold—colder than ever before—and not from the frost.

Blood soaked through her silk gown, seeping into Lucien's chest.

He held her tightly. "Who did this?"

Her lips trembled. "She did. The Queen. She said I crossed a line…"

Lucien clenched his jaw. "Where?"

"East wing. Garden stairs."

He didn't wait.

He wrapped her in his cloak, magic crackling through his hands, and vanished in a burst of icy light.

---

Snow Queen's Garden – Moments Later

The Queen stood among silver roses, hands clasped, calm as snowfall.

Lucien appeared before her like a storm.

His blade was half-drawn.

"You tried to kill her."

She didn't flinch.

"I warned her."

"She's bleeding out."

The Queen's voice dropped to a whisper laced with venom.

"Good."

Lucien stepped forward. "You dare—"

"She's manipulating you, Lucien." Her voice cracked. For the first time in years… the Queen wasn't composed. "She's here to twist you into something else. She's not one of us."

"She's part of my harem," he growled.

"She's part of your downfall."

---

Their stares locked—ice and fire beneath moonlight.

But then, the Queen's voice softened. Pained. Real.

"…Is she worth losing me?"

Lucien's heart hesitated.

And for a second…

He saw her.

Not the monarch.

Not the frost-forged ruler.

Just a woman.

A woman who'd burned her heart out to protect him.

---

He stepped back.

"She came to me bleeding," Lucien said quietly. "If she lied, I'll know."

"And if she didn't?" the Queen asked, her voice barely audible.

He looked away.

"…Then I'll bleed too."

---

Back in his chamber – Velra lay across his bed, half-naked, cloak soaked with crimson.

Seris stood at the door, wide-eyed.

"Lucien… what happened?"

Lucien looked broken. "The Queen did this."

Seris's eyes widened. "No. She wouldn't."

"She did."

Velra coughed softly, reaching out. "You came for me…"

Lucien took her hand.

Seris's heart sank.

The way he touched her. The way she looked at him.

She realized something horrifying:

He was falling for her.

---

Later That Night – Alone

Lucien sat by the hearth, shirtless, bandaging Velra's wound.

She lay curled beside him, skin pale, breath slow.

"You saved me," she whispered.

"You manipulated me."

She didn't deny it.

She simply smiled. "And you still saved me."

Lucien's fingers hesitated.

Velra slowly sat up, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her bare chest to his back.

"I don't care about the Queen. Or Seris. Or Kaela," she breathed.

"I only care about you."

He didn't move.

Her lips brushed the back of his neck. "You can hate me tomorrow. But let me feel you tonight."

---

They gave in.

Not out of love.

Not even lust.

Need.

Pure, violent, aching need.

He took her on the carpet beside the fire—her cries muffled against his neck, her legs wrapped around his waist, his name like venom and prayer on her lips.

And for one night, Lucien forgot the world.

---

Elsewhere – In the Queen's chamber

She sat alone on her frozen throne.

A single tear carved down her cheek.

"He doesn't know yet," she whispered. "She's not just a liar…"

"…She's the Pale King's daughter."

---

To Be Continued…