**EPISODE 11 — *The First Breaking Point***
Isha didn't remember falling asleep.
She only remembered the rain.
Cold, sharp, relentless.
And Lucian's voice echoing through the storm.
When she finally opened her eyes, she wasn't in the abandoned library anymore. She was wrapped in warmth — thick blankets, dim candlelight, and the faint scent of cedar wood.
She blinked.
She was in a bed.
**Lucian's bed.**
Her breath caught.
Lucian sat in the chair beside her, elbows on his knees, head down as if he hadn't slept in hours. His wet clothes were still on, hair dripping slightly, knuckles scraped, and his eyes—red-rimmed from exhaustion.
She had never seen him this unguarded.
"Lucian…?" she whispered.
His head jerked up instantly.
A storm of emotions crossed his face — fear, anger, relief, worry — all tangled into one.
"You're awake."
He exhaled like he'd been holding his breath for hours.
"You scared me, Isha."
That last line slipped out before he could stop it.
---
## **"What happened to me…?"**
Lucian stood, walked closer, and sank to one knee beside her bed.
"You fainted," he admitted. "Your pulse dropped, your temperature shot up, and you wouldn't wake no matter what I did."
His voice broke on the last word.
He wasn't just worried.
He was terrified.
Her fingers twitched. Instinctively, Lucian reached for her hand — then hesitated, as if unsure he had the right.
She placed her hand on his first.
His breath stilled.
---
## **"Lucian… you stayed with me the whole night?"**
He looked away, jaw tightening.
"I wasn't going to leave you alone. Not when I didn't know what was happening to you."
His hand was warm, fingers tightening around hers.
"You were shaking," he continued quietly. "Calling my name in your sleep."
Her cheeks warmed. "I… was?"
Lucian's gaze softened, a rare warmth flickering beneath the darkness.
"Yes."
Then lower.
"And every time you did, I felt—"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
The air thickened between them.
Isha's heart thudded painfully, every beat echoing too loudly in the small room.
---
# **A Sudden Pain**
Before she could speak, a sharp pain stabbed her chest. It wasn't physical — this felt deeper, like something inside her was cracking open.
She gasped, gripping the blanket.
Lucian immediately held her shoulders.
"What's wrong?"
"I… I don't know—"
Her vision blurred.
Not darkness.
**Light.**
Blinding silver light.
A symbol flashed behind her eyelids — a crescent moon intertwined with a burning sun.
Lucian's eyes widened. "Isha—this is not normal. This symbol… it reacted to me. To my presence."
The pain surged again.
She cried out.
Lucian cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing away tears she didn't know she shed.
"Look at me," he whispered.
His voice deep — commanding — but trembling slightly.
"Breathe with me."
---
## **Their Foreheads Touched**
She didn't even realize when he pulled her close.
Forehead to forehead.
Breath mingling.
His heartbeat pounding against hers.
His hand rested at her waist, steadying her shaking body.
And suddenly the pain…
stopped.
Like he'd absorbed it.
Or balanced it.
Her eyes fluttered open, finding his so close — molten, soft, and burning with something she had never seen before.
"Lucian…" she whispered.
His breath ghosted over her lips.
"Are you okay now?" he asked softly, voice barely stable.
"Yes."
He didn't move.
Neither did she.
The tension grew electric — inevitable — their lips inches apart, breaths too synced, his hand still on her waist, her fingers gripping his shirt.
He swallowed hard.
"Isha… if I don't step back right now, I won't—"
She didn't let him finish.
She leaned in first.
---
# **Their First Kiss**
Soft.
Slow.
Uncertain at first.
A question—
He answered it fiercely.
Lucian's hand slid to the back of her neck, pulling her deeper into the kiss like he'd been holding himself back for far too long.
She melted against him.
His lips were warm, urgent, tracing hers like a man starved.
When he finally pulled away, both breathless, his forehead rested against hers.
"That…" he exhaled, voice husky, "…shouldn't have happened."
"Do you regret it?" she whispered.
Lucian closed his eyes.
"No."
His thumb brushed her lower lip.
"I'm terrified of how much I don't."
Her heart twisted.
But before either could say more—
A loud crash echoed from outside the room.
Lucian instantly shifted, placing himself in front of her.
His voice changed, deeper, colder.
"Stay behind me, Isha."
The candles flickered.
Footsteps approached.
And a familiar voice whispered from the shadows:
**"Found you."**
**Kael.**
Lucian's jaw clenched.
He pushed Isha behind him, fangs descending, eyes glowing with deadly intent.
The kiss warmth was gone.
Now—
there was only war.
---
**EPISODE 11 COMPLETE**