Chapter 4

"She wore love like perfume… and betrayal like skin."

---

The next morning was too quiet.

Lucien awoke to golden light filtering through the window, casting warmth on a bed that should have been cold.

Velra slept beside him, lips parted, fingers still wrapped in the strands of his silver hair. Her body… soft against his side, her mark… still glowing faintly from the night's storm.

But Lucien couldn't sleep anymore.

Something in the air had changed.

Something wrong.

---

Elsewhere – In the Tower Library

Seris stood with Kaela. Both had arrived early—called not by words, but by instinct.

They were not friends.

But for once… they stood together.

Because both of them had felt it.

The shift.

---

Kaela broke the silence.

"She's not just some seductress, is she?"

Seris clenched her jaw. "No."

"She's something worse."

---

Then the doors opened.

The Queen entered.

And behind her—an ancient tome, bound in dark ice, floating at her side.

Without waiting for permission, she dropped it onto the table between them. The sigil burned: Royal Bloodlines of the Forbidden Houses.

She opened it.

Flipped.

Stopped.

And pointed.

There—etched in ancient ink—was the truth.

Velra Noctis.

Daughter of the Pale King.

Born of death. Bound in shadow. Cursed to betray the one she loves.

---

Lucien sat on the edge of the balcony, Velra's kiss still lingering on his lips.

He stared at his own reflection in the icy glass—haunted, half-dressed, unsure whether he was rising or unraveling.

Then—

"Lucien," Seris's voice broke through the door.

He turned as she stormed in, book in hand.

She stopped when she saw Velra, still asleep in the bed, bare skin exposed to sunlight and sin.

"You slept with her again?" Seris whispered.

Lucien's eyes narrowed. "Seris, don't—"

She threw the book at his feet.

The page landed open. The name screamed off it.

Velra Noctis. Daughter of the Pale King.

Lucien froze.

Velra stirred, slowly sitting up. Her sleepy smile faded as her gaze dropped to the open book.

"...You weren't supposed to find that yet."

Seris backed away, heart breaking.

Lucien stood.

His voice was cold now. "Is it true?"

Velra didn't lie.

She didn't cry.

She simply nodded.

"Yes. I am his daughter."

---

Silence fell.

Then:

"I didn't want to be," she added.

Lucien's voice cracked. "But you are."

Velra stood slowly, the sheets slipping down her body—but she didn't flinch. "I was born into his shadow, not by choice. I didn't come to hurt you—"

"You seduced me," Lucien growled. "You lied to me. And now you're saying it wasn't your plan?"

"It wasn't."

He stepped forward, magic flaring in his hands.

"I should destroy you."

Velra stepped even closer—bare, unafraid, and whispering.

"Then do it."

Lucien's hands trembled at her throat.

Seris screamed, "Lucien, stop!"

But he couldn't.

Because deep inside...

He didn't know what scared him more—

That she was the enemy.

Or that despite everything...

He still wanted her.

---

Meanwhile – Far Beyond the Ice Lands

The Pale King stood on a cliff of bone and shadow, eyes closed.

"She told him," he whispered to the wind. "She gave him the truth."

The shadows stirred beside him.

"Is it over?"

The Pale King grinned.

"No. Now… it truly begins."

---

"Love is cruel. Especially when it wants to save the one who should be destroyed."

---

The frost in the room was thick.

Lucien's hands still hovered around Velra's neck.

Seris's breath was hitched, her magic glowing at her fingertips—ready to strike.

Velra?

She didn't flinch.

She looked into Lucien's eyes and whispered:

"If killing me will give you peace… I'll let you do it."

Lucien's jaw clenched. "Don't play the martyr."

Velra leaned in, breath brushing his lips.

"I'm not. I'm just... tired of pretending I don't care about you."

---

Seris snapped.

Her hand shot forward, magic bursting into a beam of holy frostlight, straight at Velra.

Lucien stepped in front of it.

The spell shattered across his back, burning cold into his skin.

He didn't move.

Seris stood frozen, horrified. "I didn't mean—"

Lucien turned slowly. "That's enough."

Seris's eyes welled. "She'll destroy you—"

Lucien's voice was like steel.

"No. You almost did."

---

Silence.

Velra pulled the sheet tighter around her chest, shaken, but not smiling anymore. There was no victory in this.

Just tragedy.

Lucien turned back to her. "You want to prove you're not your father's tool?"

She nodded.

"Then swear yourself to me. In blood."

Velra hesitated… then reached for the dagger beside the bed.

She cut her palm, not once—but deep. Letting the blood spill onto the floor, sizzle into the frost.

"I swear," she said, voice trembling, "to never harm you.

To never betray you.

And to love you even if it kills me."

---

The blood-mark sealed in the air like a glyph.

Magic pulsed through the room.

The pact was binding.

Seris watched, heart shattering, knowing what this meant.

Lucien had chosen her.

---

Later – The War Council Room

Kaela leaned against the wall, chewing a dried snowfruit. "Well. That escalated fast."

The Queen stared at the ice-window, back turned to them all.

"Let them choose," she said calmly. "And let them suffer for it."

Seris slammed her fist into the table. "You knew who she was. Why didn't you kill her before?!"

"Because I wanted to see if he'd fall for her even after knowing."

Kaela snorted. "And what's the verdict, your Frostiness?"

The Queen turned her gaze—piercing, unreadable.

"He did."

---

That night – Lucien's chamber

Velra lay curled in his bed, pale from blood loss, hand bandaged, cheeks flushed.

Lucien sat beside her, wordless.

She reached for him—slowly.

But this time, he didn't move.

"Why aren't you touching me?" she whispered.

Lucien stared at the window. "Because I don't know if it's desire anymore… or destruction."

Velra's lip quivered. "Then let it be both."

---

They kissed again.

But this time, it wasn't hot or fierce.

It was slow. Painful. Heavy.

Lucien ran his hand across her back, as if mapping the scars he couldn't yet see.

And when they made love that night… it wasn't pleasure.

It was punishment.

It was need.

It was forgiveness offered in moans and gasps and fingers gripping tighter than truth ever could.

---

Far away – The Pale King

He stood on a mountain of black ice, eyes closed, smile growing wider.

"She bleeds for him now," he whispered. "Good."

He raised his hand.

In the distance, the sound of warhorns shattered the night.

"The storm begins."

---

"A kingdom ruled by silence will fall to the loudest lie."

---

The palace was on edge.

Word had spread—the Pale King's army had crossed the glacier line.

They were marching fast.

Faster than expected.

And Lucien?

Still tangled in a web of scars and lips and promises that meant both too much… and maybe nothing at all.

---

Training Yard – That Morning

Kaela's fists cracked against the frost-dummies—one by one, harder, faster.

She wasn't training.

She was purging.

The sound of steel echoed, sweat clinging to her bare collarbones as her leather vest tightened with each swing.

She hadn't seen Lucien in two nights.

And every part of her hated that.

Seris approached, her voice hesitant. "You're going to tear your arm out."

Kaela turned, breathing heavy. "Maybe I need to."

"She's in his bed again."

"I know."

"…And you still haven't said anything."

Kaela tossed her blade into the snow.

"Because if I do, I won't stop until I've ripped her heart out."

---

Meanwhile – Lucien's War Room

He stood hunched over the frost-map, his mark glowing like molten silver on his chest.

Velra stood at his side, her bandaged hand clutching a scroll of intelligence.

"Seventeen battalions. Four siege beasts. And he's reawakened a Wraithcaller."

Lucien's jaw tensed. "He's not just attacking… he's sending a message."

Velra looked up at him. "Then what do we send back?"

Lucien's eyes darkened. "A blood-soaked letter of regret."

---

Before anything else—

The doors slammed open.

And the Queen walked in.

Not with elegance.

With power.

Snow spun around her gown like blades. Her crown had been replaced by a long white hood. And her eyes?

No longer cold.

Now… they burned.

She stepped between Lucien and Velra.

And slapped him across the face.

---

Everyone froze.

Lucien didn't even blink.

The Queen's voice was calm. Deadly.

"You've disgraced your role."

Velra moved to speak.

"Silence."

The Queen turned on her.

"I told you what would happen."

Lucien narrowed his eyes. "If you touch her again—"

"You'll do what, Lucien?" the Queen snapped. "Sleep with another traitor? Trade loyalty for lust again?"

His jaw tightened.

She wasn't finished.

"I built this kingdom on restraint. On silence. On blood and sacrifice. And you—" she pointed at him, "—have nearly destroyed it because your heart can't close its legs."

The room went ice cold.

Lucien stepped forward. "Then strip me of title. Of prophecy. Of fate."

The Queen exhaled sharply.

"You think I don't want to?"

"But you won't."

"Why not?"

Lucien's voice dropped.

"Because you love me."

---

Silence.

Everyone waited.

Even Velra stopped breathing.

The Queen's lips trembled. Just slightly.

Then… she turned.

"No. I don't."

And walked out.

But as she passed him, she whispered so only he could hear:

"And that's the lie I'll take to my grave."

---

Later That Night – Lucien's Chamber

He stood alone.

No Velra.

No Seris.

No Kaela.

Only him.

And the storm on the horizon.

---

Far Beyond – Pale King's March

Snow thundered beneath undead hooves.

The Pale King held out his hand, and black lightning arced through the skies.

"Break his kingdom."

A shadow rider appeared beside him.

"The Wraithcaller hungers."

"Then feed him." The Pale King's grin widened.

"Start with the girl who bleeds for him."

---

To Be Continued…