Aria stood before the king's desk, her back straight despite the ache in her limbs. The study was quiet, heavy with the scent of old parchment and burning oil
I want to know everything that happened while you were in the lower halls."
I don't like repeating myself, Lucien spoke a look of annoyance graced his features.
Aria lowered her eyes immediately, unsure of how to answer the king's question.
"There was nothing dramatic, my king," Aria replied carefully. "Only darkness. Cold stone.
Lucien's eyes narrowed slightly. "That room is designed to break discipline into obedience."
"It teaches silence," she said. "And patience."
That answer caught his attention.
Lucien leaned back in his chair, studying her as though she were a puzzle that refused to fit neatly into place.
"Did you fear it?" he asked.
"Yes," Aria answered honestly. "But fear loses power when you don't fight it."
"Is that so?" he replied, his tone light too light. "Most servants come back broken. You returned… intact."
Aria said nothing. She kept her hands folded, her breathing steady, her face carefully blank not giving anything.
Inside, her nerves screamed at her to remain invisible.
Lucien rose from his chair.
The sound of his boots against the stone floor was unhurried, deliberate. Each step brought him closer until Aria became painfully aware of how little space remained between them.
He stopped directly in front of her.
Too close.
She could feel the cold radiating from him, could hear her own heart pounding far louder than it should have been. She focused on the floor, refusing to look up.
"That silence," Lucien murmured, amused, "is very disciplined."
Aria swallowed.
"Mm." He tilted his head slightly. "Pity. I rather liked the sharper version of you."
For a moment, the silence stretched.
Lucien's gaze lingered on her face, tracing the quiet determination there, the exhaustion she refused to show. His hand lifted slightly, stopping just short of touching her an instinct checked at the last moment.
"Be careful," he said. "Resolve attracts notice. And notice invites danger."
Her heart skipped, but she did not react.
Lucien moved again one step towards her, then another until her back met the wall. He did not touch her, but his arm came to rest beside her, caging her in without effort.
Aria's breath hitched before she could stop it.
Lucien noticed.
Of course he did.
He leaned in just enough for his shadow to fall over her face.
Aria's heart beat faster and louder than before as she feared it would come out of her chest, as she has never been this close to a man before,a faint blush gracing her cheeks .
Her fingers tightened in her sleeves.
His gaze drifted slowly, deliberately to the smooth skin of her exposed neck
Aria felt it hot, heat rushing to her neck, she held her breath.
The way his attention sharpened. The way the air seemed to still.
Her pulse betrayed her.
Lucien inhaled.
Just once.
The scent of her blood reached him warm, human, alive. For a brief, dangerous moment, instinct surged, his fangs ached as he became extremely thirsty the urge to bite becoming stronger, his control slipping. He could end this tension with a single bite.
His jaw tightened.
Amused restraint flickered across his face. "Your heart is loud," he said quietly. "You'd make a terrible liar."
She pressed herself further into the wall, fear coiling tight in her chest, but she did not move. Did not plead. Did not cry.
That, more than anything, tested him.
Lucien straightened abruptly, stepping away as though distance were necessary.
"You may go," he said, voice cool once more. "Before I decide you're more trouble than you're worth."
Aria bowed deeply, relief and unease tangling in her chest.
"Yes, my king."
She left without looking back.
Lucien remained where he was, staring at the empty space she had occupied. The faint humor faded from his expression, replaced by something darker.
Sharp mouth or not, he thought, she had learned quickly.
And that made her dangerous.