~3rd POV~
"What is it?" Lucian frowned, turning to the man who had appeared in the middle of the night. His voice was flat, the edge in it ice-cold. "Make sure this is important, or I will freeze you to death."
Sebastian didn't flinch. He stood with the casual composure of someone who'd learned to deliver bad news without theatrics. "Miss Seraphina Vale," he said, voice even, "the adopted daughter of the Blaze. She was an orphan until a year ago, when she discovered a living relative, who is her grandmother, she decided to take her into her care."
Lucian's eyes narrowed. "And…?"
"She made a deal with The Blaze," Sebastian continued, as if reading from a ledger. "She agreed to take Lady Celeste's place… to act as the family's representative, in exchange for funding and medical treatment for her grandmother. They covered the costs, and she accepted the terms."
The words landed in the room like stones. For a heartbeat the only sound was the quiet crackle of the hearth. Lucian's jaw tightened, his expression betrayed nothing, but his fingers flexed at his sides.
The words landed in the room like stones. For a heartbeat, the only sound was the quiet crackle of the hearth. Lucian's jaw tightened; his expression betrayed nothing, but his fingers flexed at his sides.
"I know until that part…" His eyes flickered up, sharp and cold. "Where is she? Celeste…"
Sebastian's expression faltered for the first time. "That's… what we can't confirm, sir."
Lucian's head turned slowly, his gaze narrowing. "Can't confirm?" His voice dropped, dangerously quiet. "Or won't tell me?"
Sebastian exhaled softly, steady but cautious. "The Blaze made sure no record remains. The original Lady Celeste was hidden the moment Miss Seraphina took her place. They feared you'd come for her."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees. Frost began to creep along the edge of the desk, delicate but deadly. Lucian's lips suddenly formed the barest trace of a smirk.
"They think they could hide her forever from me…?"
Sebastian didn't move. He knew better than to answer when Lucian's voice took that tone, quiet and composed, the kind of calm that usually came before something, or someone, broke.
"They might have thought that I'd never met her before," Lucian murmured, almost to himself. "And now they've taken her away, replaced her with another person, another face… thinking that I am a fool who'd fall for such a lousy trick."
He turned then, eyes glinting with that cold, draconic gleam that seemed to freeze the very air around him. "No one erases what's mine."
The frost thickened, crawling farther across the marble floor, but when it reached Sebastian's boots, it simply stilled. For anyone else, the chill would have bitten deep by now. Yet faint, iridescent lines pulsed beneath his skin—his kind's quiet defense. Years beside Lucian had taught his body to adapt, to turn the cold into something almost natural, flowing in his veins like a second heartbeat made of frost.
Sebastian exhaled slowly, a thin wisp of vapor escaping his lips. "I will continue searching for her and report back to you, my Lord," he said at last, voice even, cautious.
Lucian's gaze stayed fixed on the frost creeping across the floor, the silence between them stretching thin. "No," he said finally, the word quiet but absolute. "Let her come to me… naturally."
His eyes lifted then, faint light glinting off the icy blue of his irises. The thin curve of his lips wasn't quite a smile, sharp, restrained and dangerous. And in that moment, if the cold couldn't freeze Sebastian, the look in Lucian's eyes did.
"Understood, my Lord." Sebastian lowered his gaze, bowing slightly before turning to leave… only to pause when Lucian's voice cut through the air again, low and deliberate.
"What about that woman?" Lucian asked, the calm in his tone laced with quiet curiosity. "How did she end up in the office?"
Sebastian straightened, hesitation flickering across his face. "You mean… Miss Vale?"
Sebastian straightened, the memory still too strange to explain cleanly. "No one knows, my Lord. The security team swears she wasn't on the morning roster. Cameras show nothing unusual until… she was simply there… asleep on the dispatch's table."
Lucian's eyes narrowed. "Simply there?"
"Yes." Sebastian's tone was careful, measured. "No sign of forced entry, no digital record, no trace of energy residue. It's as if she appeared out of thin air."
For a long, cold moment, Lucian said nothing. The frost along the desk thickened, crackling faintly under the weight of his silence.
"Impossible," he murmured, voice low and dangerous. "Even a phoenix can't just appear in my office out of nowhere." His words were quiet, but each one cut through the air like shards of ice.
"What kind of nonsense…" His gaze flicked up, sharp enough to make the air tremble. "Check every detail, Sebastian. Someone must've tampered with it." His tone darkened, colder. "Haven't you learned by now? Nothing just happens."
Sebastian gave a small nod. "Understood, my lord."
But before he could step back, the air in the room plummeted. The temperature dropped so suddenly that his breath misted in front of him. Frost crept along the edges of the floor, crawling up the metal legs of the desk. Even the lights flickered under the sudden chill.
Lucian's eyes gleamed faintly, the ancient power within him stirring, a reminder that he was never mortal to begin with. "If this is another one of their tricks," he said quietly, "they'll regret testing me."
The silence that followed was heavy. Sebastian didn't wait for further orders, he bowed and left quickly, shutting the glass door behind him.
Lucian stayed still for a moment, then exhaled slowly. The window beside him was frosted white, blurring the scenery beyond. Below, he could see the household staff moving about the grounds, bundled in coats, breath visible in the night air.
He frowned. He hadn't even realized how far the cold had spread this time.
And then a thought hit him—sharp and sudden.
That Phoenix.
His mind flashed to her. His pulse skipped. 'Don't tell me, she is taking a bath.'
"Damn it," he muttered, spinning toward the door.
He moved fast down the hall, boots echoing against the tiles. The temperature dipped a few more degrees with every step, but he barely noticed, his focus tunneled in one direction. He pushed into their room, the door slamming open.
"Celeste?" His voice was rough, cutting through the cold.
No answer.
A sinking feeling hit him. He crossed the room in a few strides and yanked open the bathroom door and froze.
The mirror was fogged over from the clash of steam and ice. The bathtub's surface was glazed with a thin layer of frost, the water cloudy and still. And there she was, half-submerged, motionless, her skin pale against the porcelain.
For a second, even his ancient heart stopped.
Then the frost cracked sharply, and a surge of warmth burst from him, the air shifting violently as the temperature began to rise.
"Celeste," he breathed, rushing forward, the ice around him melting with every step. He knelt by the tub and pulled her out carefully, her body limp and frighteningly cold.
"Hey—" His voice broke, something desperate threading through it. "Hey, open your eyes."
Her head rested against his arm, lashes dusted with frost, lips pale as snow. The faint shimmer of gold beneath her skin flickered weakly, like a dying ember struggling against the storm.
"No," Lucian muttered, shaking his head, the fear almost foreign in his tone. "No, no…"
The air around them trembled. Frost and heat collided violently, steam rising in thick waves as his power fought itself, ice against something far older, something instinctive. His hand cupped her cheek, thumb brushing against her chilled skin.
Then…
A single spark.
It started at her collarbone, a soft pulse of light that spread like wildfire beneath her skin. Gold threads bloomed across her body, glowing brighter, hotter, until the light swallowed the cold entirely.
Lucian's eyes widened. "No—wait—"
Before he could release her, the warmth became unbearable. Fire burst from her in a sudden flare, wild and searing, engulfing his hands, his arms, everything. The scent of ash filled the air.
And then… silence.
When the light finally dimmed, she was gone. All that remained in his arms was a scatter of golden ash, warm against his palms before dissolving into thin air.