DOTD Chapter 22

Fluer wakes in Lucien's cabin. A moment of vulnerability. A plan of action unfolds.

My eyes slowly cracked open. Pain. Pain was everywhere. Etched into the fibers of every muscle, throbbing along my wounds, pinned to the scars on my chest. A limp groan left my lips.

Where am I?

Candles, wooden walls, a stiff mattress.
A familiar, warm musk filled the air, wrapping around me like a wool blanket.

Lucien’s cabin.

I blinked hard, my heart beginning to race as tonight's event came rushing back.

The Veil Mother.
The necklace.
The trail of smoke underneath my skin…

Oh my God.
What had happened?
What happen–

I tried to sit up, the motion sending a wave of pain through me and causing me to whimper.

“ Hey, hey, easy Slayer.”

Him.
He was here.

His strong, concerned face hovered over me, golden eyes finding my own and calming my nerves. I relaxed back into the mattress. One of his warm hands found my cheek.

“ Hi,” I whispered weakly.

A faint smile caught his mouth.
“ Hi,” he replied softly.

I allowed myself a long inhale, filling my lungs with safety.
If he were here, I would be safe.

“ What happened?” I rasped.

“ I saved your ass…again.” The humor in his tone was unmistakable.
“ Is it your life’s mission to get yourself into trouble?”

A silly, fatigued grin spread across my face.
“Only when I know a certain hunter will come to my rescue.”

A low rumble. The corners of those molten eyes pinched, shaking his head at me.
“ You scared the shit out of me.”

“ Impossible,” I purred. “ Not my Lucien.”
The words left my lips before I could catch them. Maybe it was the trauma, maybe the disorientation…either way, they’d slipped past my walls.

His cheeks pinked slightly, a softness settling over his features like falling snow. His eyes held mine. That look, like he was soaking up the setting of a dying star. It didn’t waver. Neither did mine.

Maybe it was the warmth of the cabin…
Maybe I imagined it…
No… he was looking at me like…
Like he…

I broke the silence. “ The Viel Mother? I threw her into the hearth… After that I– I can’t remember.”

“ She’s dead. I killed her,” he replied plainly.

Holy shit.
He’d actually done it.

I cleared my throat. “ Ahem…thank you.”

“ You’re welcome,” he replied with sincerity.

I wasn’t used to this side of Lucien, the softer side. I knew he was protective, but right now, there was more than possession present, more than obligation. No, this was his choice, a choice I think he was… eager to make.

I looked away, examining the cut trailing along my wrist where the witch had made her mark. Bringing a shaky finger up, I brushed the balmy mark. As my fingertip met the tender skin, a spark nipped at the back of my mind, like something was trying to swim to the forefronts. I squeezed my temples hard. My eyes shut tight as it crawled forward. It was a memory… a foggy, distant one. Warm and full of love and…grief. God, there was so much grief. It surged forward all at once and flew out of my mouth.

“ Lyra,” I said, the unknown name jumping off my tongue.

Lucien went rigid. A dark cloud brewed over his brow, eyes flashing with confusion.
“ What did you just say?”

“ Lyra,” I repeated, my tone just as perplexed.

Lucien stood. All the warmth that had filled his face just moments ago…was gone. Completely drained, his features returning to cold, hard stone. He gaped slightly at me, a mix of what looked like pain and anger fighting for center stage. He stepped back.

“ How– How do you know that? I’ve never told you that! I’ve never told you her name,” he was rambling, fumes pouring off him.

I was so confused. This name, this cloud of emotions, was not mine, and yet somehow I knew them. Like, somehow, they had been absorbed into my mind.

“ I– I don’t know. It’s just there. It just came to me,” I stammered, fumbling over my words.

“ Don’t lie to me!” he boomed. “ Who told you her name?!”

He was angry. Surprised, furious, and in agony.
Had it been her name?
Surely, not.
But then why was he…?
Oh my God.

“ Lucien, I’m not lying to you! I swear! No one told me. I don't know how I know this, I just do,” I pleaded with him.

He scoffed. “ That’s impossible–That’s–”
His words halted. I watched as his eyes widened and trailed down at the cut on his hand. The expression that followed, I could not read.

“ What is it? What did I say?”


He backed into the door frame.
“ I can’t….I need a minute,” he mumbled, eyes filled with emptiness.

“ Lucien, wait!”

Damn these stupid injuries!
I couldn’t get up!

He slipped from the room, and at that, I was left alone, full of bewilderment.

What the hell just happened?
How did I know the name of his dead mate?
Lyra…
Was it the necklace?
Did it have to do with what had entered my body?

My head spun with questions.
I was still so weak. I wanted to run after him, wanted to ask him a million questions, wanted to comfort him but body would not allow it. It begged for rest, begged me to close my eyes. I stared vacantly at the flickering flame of a taper candle, mind wandering as time passed.

I waited for him to come back.
He never did.

My brain fought the last few heavy waves of sleep falling over my lids as I slipped from consciousness.


(BREAK IN TEXT).





I jolted from sleep, hand shooting instinctively to my wrist.
It was morning, sunlight peeping through the foggy window. My eyes scanned the room. The candles had burned to their wicks and—

There was a pallet. A jumbled mess of blankets and one flimsy pillow spread out on the hard floor. Lucien.

He’d slept in here.
And from the looks of it, had gotten up early.
Something strange deepened within my heart.

Despite the absolute hell of last night, I felt…okay. It was strange. The scars were still there, but the pain… the pain was gone. I eased myself up, swung my legs over the edge of the mattress. I needed to find him.

My bare feet met the chilled wood, the cold temperature seeping into my bones. I wrapped both arms around myself, my white cami failing to provide much warmth. One wobbly step at a time, I eased my way to the water basin and splashed my face. Cupping a small puddle, I brought to my lips and swished it around in my mouth. After slightly freshening my breath, I crudely raked my fingers through my black mess of waves.

It was good enough.

Deciding to wrap a scratchy blanket around my shoulders, I shuffled down the hall to the main room. Empty. No sign of the brooding Hallowbane. A maple smell hung in the air, causing my stomach to rumble like a wild beast. I followed my nose eagerly. On the edge of the kitchen countertop was a plate of eggs, some kind of breakfast meat, and, to my delight, a sticky pool of maple syrup.

Lucien… cooked?
It made me giggle thinking about it. I glance around the stuffy kitchen. Another dish, covered in leftover smears, was sitting idly in a tin washbin.

This plate was for me…

I snatched it eagerly and brought the delicious smells to meet my tongue. A small moan left my lips as I chewed, sweet and savory notes melting in my mouth. It was cold, but I didn’t care. I was starving. Finishing off the plate, rather savagely, I let it join Lucien’s plate in the washbin.

A series of grunts came from outside. I followed them. The door to the cabin was slightly ajar. I peeked through the crack to find Lucien outside, swinging his blade at a tree. He was soaked in sweat, face beet-red with exhaustion.

How long had he been out here?

He stood alone in the clearing, continuing to chop aimlessly at the bark. I pushed the door open farther, stepping outside to meet the morning air.

“ You should be in bed,” he huffed, refusing to look at me. He didn't even pause, just continued to slice away.

“ What’d that tree ever do to you?” I replied, ignoring his command.
It was a poor attempt at humor, but I wasn’t sure what I was walking into after his sudden leave last night. I had to test the waters somehow.

“ I have to stay strong.” Another grunt as he swung. “ For the next time you decide to be a complete idiot and almost get yourself killed.”

He was angry…

“ Well, I had to get answers,” I started listing off. “ Edwin told me to go to–”

He threw the sword at the ground with force, fixing me with a fierce stare. I flinched slightly at the sudden violent movement.

“ Why don't you just cut the bullshit! Don’t waste my time, Fleur," he fumed, interrupting me.
“ What the hell were you thinking? You could have died! Shit, you almost did! And this…”

He looked down at his wrist again.
“ I know something's going on here. I know you’re hiding things from me…”

Damn.
How was I going to explain this…

I cleared my throat. “ I know…I haven’t been completely honest with you..”
He cut me off again. “ Completely? What about those scars, huh? When were you going to tell me about those? I can’t protect you if you keep me in the dark! God, I just—”

He was pacing, running his fingers roughly through his sandy hair.

He’d seen them…
He was right, I hadn’t been honest with him, but neither had he. He knew something about the killer’s words and, for some selfish reason, wasn’t letting me in on it.

“ Okay, pause! You mean to tell me you've been honest with me?” I shot back. “ What about yesterday. I'm not a fool. I saw the way you seized up when I told you about Edwin. Don’t come at me about lies when you haven’t been truthful yourself!”

He growled. “ I haven’t lived two hundred, tiresome years on this filthy planet, to owe some courtier an explanation. Maybe it’s none of your damn business! ”

The words slapped me across the face.
“ Some courtier…is that all I am to you? After all we've been through, I’m just supposed to mind my damn business but still spill my guts to you? Trust goes both ways!”

“ Fluer—that’s not what I …”

“ Then what, Lucien? Why the hell are you helping me then? What is it? Pity? Obligation? If you can honestly stand here and say this relationship is only transactional, then you need to look in the mirror because you’re the one lying…and you’re lying to yourself!”

My words cut through the air with heavy truths I would no longer hold. He needed to be challenged. In his two hundred wise years, I was convinced no one had ever stood up to him. That wasn’t going to fly here…not with me.

He shook his head furiously and kicked the dirt. Plopping down on a stump, elbows braced on his knees, he ran both hands down his face. A heated silence hung in the air, full of hurt, full of pride. Neither one of us would ever admit how much we cared for the other, and both were too stubborn to share the secrets we were clinging to.

Finally, looked at me. “ You’re right. Trust goes both ways. So from here on out, no more secrets. No more lies. And you can start by telling where you got those scars.”

A compromise.
“From here on out…”
I could work with that.

“ Fine,” I spat. “ I…”

He looked on expectantly, waiting for me to answer his painful question. This was a test, a test of our new agreement. If I failed, he would never open up to me. Now was my chance to start trusting…a practice I was not well versed in. Trust was vulnerable. Vulnerability usually meant getting hurt or worse…betrayed. But here it was. A chance, right in front of me.
And…. I wanted… to try, but the words were frozen on my tongue. The Duke, the years of bruises, beatings, and the shame that shrouded it. The same scripts that had been hounded continuously into my mind, written into my identity, over and over and over. I hated myself for staying in it, hated myself for being weak when it came to him. The horrifying memories flashed before my eyes.

I can’t do this…
My body twisted into knots, flashes of hot and cold flying all over me. Tears threatened to fall.
Lucien was still waiting for an answer, one I wasn’t sure I could physically get out without splintering into a million pieces.

He stormed closer to me, his frame casting an enormous shadow. One of his hands found my jaw, pulling my face to look at him. Confliction flashed across his features. He looked…tormented. I could feel the heat pouring off him like mighty waves crashing into me. His jaw feathered, eyes holding my own with a severity that I’d never seen before.

“ Who did this to you?” he growled.

I averted his gaze, salt stinging the corners of my eyes.

“ Look at me, damn it! Fluer, who did this to you?”

I glanced up at him through wet lashes. My bottom lip trembled. I couldn’t hide it anymore. A tear fell and rolled silently down my cheek. His rough thumb caught it and smeared the drop away tenderly.

“ Please tell me,” he whispered, the softness returning.

I broke. “ My Father– he’s always beaten me, but…” Another tear fell. Lucien tucked a stray hair behind my ear, the small touch eliciting more streams.

“ He found out I have this…ability.” My words were broken, voice shaky. “ I– I dont even understand what it is, but…he found out and he hates me for it.”

“ Fluer, why didn’t you—”

“ I know! I know I should have told you, but I was scared! Scared of him, of what he would do, scared of myself. I didn’t know what to do, and no one knew about it, and— he took a knife to my chest. He wanted me to have a permanent reminder of what I am…”

His hands dropped from my face. I glanced up at him, my words trailing off. A calm had settled on his features, a calm that felt…wrong. I could see the gears turning in his mind, his mouth tightening into a hard line.

“ No! Lucien, whatever you’re thinking, no!”

“ I’ll kill him,” he seethed.
He stepped away and stormed past me, heading towards the cabin to do God knows what.

“ Lucien, stop!” I yelled after him.

He ignored me, barrelling through the door with so much strength I thought it would blow completely off the hinges. I chased after him. He was at the armory already, flinging the doors wide and rifling through the weapons.

“ Lucien, you can’t! He means to kill me!!”

His hands stilled, his back still turned to me.

“ He has money and power and a list of slimy noblemen in high places that could put you away for life just for setting a boot on his grounds! He’s killed before…I think he might’ve killed Ed….” My sentence broke off, drowned by tears. “You would never even get the chance. We have to be smart about this!”

He spun around.
“ You underestimate me. I won’t let that happen. If he lays one finger on you, I’ll gladly sever all ten.”

I rushed to him, grabbing desperately onto his forearm.
“ Lucien, you can’t! Not right now. Too much hangs in the balance. There are still things I need from him… things about my past, about my future.”

“ What does that mean, Fluer? What things? That filth should burn. There’s no debate!”

“ He has a safe! There a things inside that might explain what is happening to me. I’m not giving that up so you can go on a killing spree! Trust me, I want him dead just as much as you do, but like I said, we have to be smart about this.”

He set down the Bowie knife he’d been holding in a death grip, mulling over my response with a reddened face.

“ The thought of him hurting you…of anyone…. I just can’t sit here and do nothing while you put yourself in another life-threatening situation! Do you even have a plan? What happens if you get caught? How am I supposed to protect you from him?”

“ Yes, I have a plan. I’m not incompetent! If anyone knows him, it’s me. I know the way he thinks, his patterns, what sets him off. There is going to be a celebration in four days, a masquerade to commemorate the engagement of my eldest sister to her fiancé James. Everyone will be masked, and anonymity will be expected. I can sneak down there when he’s distracted and break into the safe,” I rambled on.

“ And how do you plan on breaking into a damn safe? Have you thought about that?”

I hesitated, clearing my throat. What I was about to tell him could change everything. I could lose him. He might look at me differently. He might look at me as if I were….a monster. The thought was overwhelming. I could make up some excuse, say I knew the combination code, but I was tired of lying to him. This was part of trust, the most terrifying, transparent part.

“ Lucien,” I said quietly. His eyes fell to mine, his body stilling. “ My ability… it–it allows me to open things.”

He watched me quietly as the world-shattering words left my lips. Brows drawn together, golden eyes analyzing, he waited intently for me to continue.

I reached within myself and pulled up all the courage I had. This was who I was, who my mother wanted me to be. I was made for something, a purpose I wasn’t aware of yet, but something…more. I couldn't hide that any longer. I wouldn't cower and run from this. This ability: powerful, dark, freeing, consuming, perplexing… all of it made up me. This was the first step to accepting that, to claiming it.

I cleared my throat. “ My blood can unlock things…”

My words, my secret, it shattered the silence. Like a bullet shot through glass, I laid myself in front of him. This was me… all of me.

Please don't leave me.

I watched his face for anything, a twitch, a blink, a breath…but nothing came. He just… froze, like his body had to make room for my words. He studied me, like he was trying to read the truth in the lines of my face, in the shape of the silence that followed it. Shoulder tense, he looked on as if he was no longer seeing me, as if he was staring through me into a place only he could see. Whether he saw his friend or a nightmare, I didn’t know which.

I stood, heart thundering, barely breathing, waiting for him to respond.

His mouth parted, like he was going to say something.
“ Show me.” His voice was low, contemplative.

Was he disgusted? Threatened? Okay with it?
His face gave me nothing. His response gave me nothing.

I hesitated. “ What? How?”

He pulled a strange-looking lock from his pocket.
The new lock he’d bought yesterday…

He closed the armory doors and secured the metal piece, the sound of it clicking shut sentencing me to my fate. Taking a couple of steps to the side, he motioned to the lock with his head.

“ Lucien, I don’t know if it will work. After last night, I feel drained. I don’t–”

“ Just show me,” he interrupted.

My pulse began to race.
He wanted to see it.
God, this was either the best or worst decision of my life.
I should have lied.

Clearing my throat, I dropped the blanket to the floor and looked at him nervously. “ I’ll need something sharp. Something I can draw blood with.”

He pulled a dagger from his belt and shoved it in my hands. His face was blank, his words none. My chest tightened as I took the blade, dread running rampant through me.
Here goes nothing.

Propping my fingertip to the point, I pressed down, wincing as the cold steel pinched through. A singular drop of navy welled obediently.
Thank the gods…
It wasn’t black.

I glanced up at him, biting the inside of my cheek.

His features were still stone.
God, this was such a bad idea.

Friendship be dammed, he had made an oath to Nymiriel to purge the filth. I had the feeling Lucien was man who followed orders before he followed his heart.

Closing my eyes, I pulled my focus to what was in front of me. I listened to the blood rushing through my veins, tuned into the swelling pressure trailing to the incision like clockwork. Taking a long, shaky breath in, I pressed the inky pad to the lock.

A second flew by.
Then another.

My eyes opened, staring in puzzlement.
What?
It didn’t work?

“ Well, was that it?” he asked from beside me.

“ I–I don’t understand. It usually happens immediately. I don’t know why it’s not..”
My words trailed off, my face twisted with confusion.

“ Fluer, I swear if you think this is some kind of joke, I—”

Clink.

The lock fell open.
I turned to him, palm facing the ceiling, shoulders bracing for impact.
This was it. This was the moment where he’d look at me for what I truly was…a curse. This was the part where everything fell apart, and I ended up alone…again.

Eyes squeezed shut, I started to ramble, uncomfortable with the growing silence. “ I don’t know what this means, Lucien. I don’t know what's happening to me. I’m scared, okay? I’m scared of all of it. Of what I am.”

A single tear fell. My heart thumping, my head spinning. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.
“ I was afraid to tell you. I– I didn’t want you to look at me the way I’m sure you are now. To– to look at me like I’m a…”

A warm, calloused hand met my wet cheek, halting my words completely. I refused to open my eyes. I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t witness the way he now saw me changing on his face.

“ Look at me,” he murmured softly.

“ I can’t.”

“ Open your eyes, Fleur."
The softness in his tone had me easing them open one lid at a time.

Seas of gold and amber crashed into me like waves breaking on stone. Everything else disappeared. The world around me fell away, my body relaxing into his reverent touch. The jagged mountainside had grown a bed of wild flowers—soft, beautiful, nothing like the man I knew him to be. There was a flicker of awe dancing across his features.

“ Okay,” he stated.

…Okay?
‘Okay, I’m going to lock you away and never speak to you again,’ or ‘ Okay, I accept this.’
WHAT?
Of course, this would be his response. As minimal and confusing as he was.

“ Wha– what do you mean?” I started.

“ Okay,” he repeated, his tone full of resolve.

He dropped his hand from my face and cleared his throat.
“ Yes, well, we better handle this asshole soon. I need my bed back.”

What? That was it?
No shock? No fear? No anger?
Just…okay?

I wiped my eyes, fully perplexed.
“ What? No yelling? I just revealed to you that I am…I am this thing,” I exclaimed, motioning to myself with exasperated hands. “ And you have nothing to say?”

“ What do you want me to say?” he asked casually, walking towards the kitchen.

“ I don’t know! Scream! Lock me in chains and throw me in a dungeon! I’m a curse…whatever this is, it could ruin me, ruin others!” I trilled, throwing my arms in the air desperately.

“ Maybe. Maybe not.”

That really was it.
I paused, my brows coming to their center and then relaxing.
“ Well, okay then. I guess that's settled.”

A confirming grunt was all I received as he continued to mosey around the kitchen.

I shook my head in disbelief. “ I guess you'd better take me home now.”

“ Yeah, no. Like hell I’m gonna let you out of my sight. You’re not going near him. Besides, you need to keep training.”

Stubborn bastard.
“ Lucien, I can’t stay here. He will suspect. What if he comes looking?”

He reached for a large gun propped by the back door and cocked it. “ Then I’ll invite him in for some… tea.”

“ I can’t—”

“ There is absolutely no point in you arguing with me. You know you won't win, I’m five times your size, and there’s no way I’m letting you ride Nightmaw,” he spun around, a hint of a smile dancing on his mouth as he leaned against the counter. “ I’ll pin you down if I have to.”

Heat bloomed on my cheeks.
He definitely hadn’t meant it that way…right?

I blew out a frustrated breath.
This was one fight I wouldn’t win. Besides, it might be nice to be away from the chaos of the manor for a couple of days. I needed to get stronger. Lucien and I would need to iron out the plans thoroughly.

“ Okay, well, what about my clothes? No offense, but you don’t have the best taste in fashion. I mean you could venture from the color black every now and then. Maybe a nice shade of grey or if you’re feeling really crazy, navy.”

He scoffed, snatching his satchel off the table. “ I kill shit. Why would I give one about the color of my shirt?”

I wrapped my arms around myself and strutted towards him. “ Because it might bring out those pretty eyes. Oh, you would look so dashing, my Lord!” I teased.

“ Yeah, I definitely should have let you die last night.”

A small laugh rumbled out of me. “ But then what on earth would you do with yourself? You wouldn’t get to worry about me all the time.”

He returned the gesture, the low vibration buzzing my ears. “ Keep it up. It’s just adding minutes to the time you spend blindfolded holding that sword. Practice makes perfect… and sometimes humility.”

Andddddd he was back.
Same old, smart–ass Lucien.

“ We can make a trip into town today. I need a few things myself. Until then…” his voice wavered a tiny bit. “Check my closet.”

Town.
That was actually perfect.
I’d never gotten the chance to send the letter to Lys.
We could afford a small detour.
But in Lucien’s enormous shirt? Yeah, no…

“ Your closet? Lucien, I can’t wear your clothes into the market. Are you crazy?”

He glanced at me over his shoulder. “ Do you ever just shut up and do what your told? Go look.”

“Asshole,” I mumbled, sticking out my tongue at his back as he turned around.

“ That’s real cute.”

I crossed my arms.
Damn his keen eyesight.

“ Yeah, yeah, yeah…a lady doesn’t do that shit. I know,” I said sweetly.

“ Ladies don’t usually say shit or slap their hosts across the face either. But I’m a man, what do I know?”

“ Nothing!” I sang. “ You know absolutely nothing.”

That deep rumble was back. “ Just go change.”