Aeliana exhaled, her fingers absently tightening against her knees.
Her mother’s words drifted through her mind once again.
“My daughter… one day, you will meet someone who will be the sole reason for you to live… Never let go of that person.”
And she knew.
It was him.
Lucavion.
The way he had stood in front of her. The way he hadn’t backed down. The way he had fought, even when his body was barely holding together.
Even now, she could see it.
His injuries.
Some of them had healed, but not completely. There were patches of torn skin, faint remnants of gashes that had been deep enough to cut to the bone. His breathing was steady, but every now and then, it hitched—just slightly, just enough to tell her that his body was still recovering.
And back then—
Back when he had fought the Kraken—
He had been in far worse shape.
Aeliana clenched her jaw.
She knew.
Luca could have let her die.
He could have fought differently. He could have avoided injury, could have fought more efficiently if he hadn’t—
If he hadn’t stood there.
If he hadn’t chosen to shield her.
“Not on my watch.”
“LITTLE EMBER!”
“WATCH CLOSELY!”
“I PREPARED THIS SOLELY FOR YOU!”
Those were the things he had said.
And he had been smiling.
That damned smile.
It hadn’t been his usual smirk, the one dripping with arrogance, the one that masked every intention, every thought.
No.
It had been real.
Aeliana knew.
She had gotten better at reading people over the years. Her illness had forced her into a life of observation, into noticing the smallest shifts in expression, the tiny hesitations in people’s voices.
She had always known that Luca’s smiles were fake.
Most of them, at least.
But that one…
That one had been genuine.
“This guy…” she muttered under her breath, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Her gaze drifted over him again, taking in the way he was curled up on the ground, his usually sharp features softened by unconsciousness.
For someone so ridiculous, so insufferable, he looked almost…
Innocent.
Aeliana hesitated.
Then, slowly, she reached out—
And poked his cheek.
Soft.
Smooth.
Luca didn’t stir.
She poked again.
Nothing.
A small huff of air left her nose, something dangerously close to amusement.
“He can’t lie at all,” she murmured.
Not with his words.
Not with his face.
Not with his actions.
Even though he tried.
Even though he was so convinced that he could.
She sat there for a moment, staring at him.
Then, without really thinking, she muttered—
“Idiot.”
And for the first time in a long time—
She didn’t say it with hatred.
“Stupid.”
Aeliana narrowed her eyes at him, her fingers absently curling against the cool stone beneath her.
Lucavion’s words echoed in her head again.
“In the end, you’re nothing but bait.”
“Was this always your plan?! Was I just a tool to you?!”
She had screamed those words at him, her entire body writhing with pain and fury. And his response had been just as sharp, just as cruel.
“I indeed used you. And? Can you do anything about it?”
At the time, she had barely registered anything beyond those words. The raw betrayal had drowned out all reason, all logic. She had wanted to kill him. She still wanted to kill him.
But now—
Now that she was calm. Now that she could actually think—
She replayed the words in her mind.
I used you. That much was true. She was bait. That Kraken had come for her. Luca had forced her into a situation where she would act as the trigger.
But—
“Was I just a tool to you?!”
That was the real question.
And had he actually said ‘yes’ to that?
No.
He hadn’t.
He had evaded it.
Not a confirmation. Not a denial.
Just his usual way of avoiding things.
And then there was—
“All the things… all the things you said… about being different… They were just lies, weren’t they?”
She had asked him that. Begged for an answer.
And his response?
“What do you think?”
He hadn’t said yes.
He hadn’t even said no.
He had just thrown the question back at her.
Aeliana clenched her jaw.
‘This stupid, doglike bastard…’
She knew now.
He had been trying to make her hate him.
All of it—the cruel words, the indifference, the smirk that had looked so mocking—
It was a lie.
A shitty, pathetic attempt at deception.
And she had fallen for it.
“You’re so stupid,” she muttered under her breath.
Her fingers twitched.
And then—
She pinched his cheek.
Hard.
The soft skin squished slightly under her grip, his face still completely relaxed in sleep.
Still unconscious.
Still looking way too innocent for the bastard he truly was.
Aeliana exhaled sharply, shaking her head.
“Idiot,” she mumbled again.
And yet—
Even as she insulted him, she didn’t pull away.
Aeliana’s fingers twitched.
“Cold?”
Lucavion’s skin was unexpectedly cold to the touch. Not just cool—cold.
Her brows furrowed. That wasn’t normal. Most Awakened carried a certain warmth in their bodies, especially after a battle like that. Their mana alone would generate enough heat to stave off the cold.
But him?
His cheek, his neck, his entire body—cold.
Incredibly cold.
Almost unnatural.
“Why?”
Her thoughts flickered.
Lucavion was strong. Beyond strong. The kind of monster that could stand against impossible odds, that could wield forces beyond human comprehension.
So why did he feel like this?
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Was it a condition? Some side effect of his power?
Her fingers absently trailed lower, brushing against his wrist, then his hand.
Cold.
Even colder.
For some reason, something inside her twisted.
It felt… familiar.
A long-buried memory surfaced, unbidden.
“Mother, your hands are cold.”
A soft voice from her past. A fleeting moment. Her mother’s hand resting against her forehead, gentle yet chilling.
Her mother’s hands had always been cold.
Just like this.
Aeliana’s breath hitched.
Before she could dwell on it further, she felt movement beneath her fingertips.
And then—
“Mother.”
A whisper.
Low. Faint.
Barely audible.
But she was sure, that she had heard it. It came from Luca, who is lying there like this.
“Am I still a disappointment?”
Aeliana froze.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
Her breath caught in her throat.
‘What?’
Her grip on his hand instinctively tightened.
Her mind raced, trying to process what she had just heard.
Had he…?
No—he was unconscious.
But that voice—
That voice.
It wasn’t the usual Luca. Not the arrogant, teasing bastard she had fought beside. Not the smug, insufferable menace who smirked at everything.
It was something else.
Something raw.
Something—small.
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
What…
What the hell had she just heard?