BOUND BY ROYALTY

CHAPTER 10

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"Lucian"
he called out softly, his voice a low, honeyed murmur that slid through the air like silk. That single word hung between us, heavy with history. My name on his lips felt like a weapon, sharp and deliberate, reminding me of every moment we had shared.

I stood frozen, unable to move or speak, my thoughts spinning out of control. How many nights had I heard him whisper my name like that? How many times had I fallen under his spell, blind to the poison laced beneath that voice?

He stepped closer, his movements as graceful and fluid as ever, closing the distance between us with a predator's ease. My throat tightened as he drew nearer, his gaze never leaving mine, his smile deepening with each step.

"It's been too long, hasn't it?" K said, stopping just a few feet away, his eyes gleaming with something dark and familiar. "You look well, Lucian. Better than I expected."

I clenched my fists at my sides, forcing myself to breathe. The sick feeling in my stomach grew stronger with every word he spoke. I wanted to lash out, to tell him to leave, to demand he explain why he was here. But I knew K. He thrived on confrontation, on stirring chaos and watching the pieces fall where they may.

"K," I finally managed, my voice strained, "what are you doing here?"

He tilted his head, feigning innocence. "You didn't think I'd miss the empire's grand anniversary, did you? It wouldn't feel right without me. And... I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see you again."

His eyes flickered with amusement, as if he was savoring every second of my discomfort. It took everything in me to keep my composure, to not let him see how much his presence unnerved me.

"You shouldn't be here," I said, my voice firmer this time. "You know what this means. Aleron—"

"Aleron doesn't have to know," K interrupted smoothly, his smile never faltering. "He doesn't need to be part of this, Lucian. This is between you and me. Isn't that how it's always been?"

I swallowed hard, my heart racing. His words were laced with that same old charm, that seductive pull I had once fallen for. But I wasn't the same person I had been back then. I wasn't going to let him drag me back into that darkness.

"You're wrong," I said, shaking my head. "Everything's changed. I've changed."

K's smile faltered for a brief second, but it quickly returned, sharper than before. He stepped even closer, and I could feel the heat of his presence, the way it seemed to suffocate the air around us.

"People don't change that easily, Lucian," he whispered, his voice low and dangerous. "You might think you've moved on, but I know you. I know what you hide behind that perfect little façade. You can't erase who we were."

My chest tightened as his words cut deeper than I wanted to admit. There was a time when I had believed him, when I had thought that no one could know me better than K. But now, standing in the garden with the weight of my new life bearing down on me, I realized just how wrong he had been all along.

I took a step back, putting distance between us. "I'm not that person anymore," I said, my voice steady

As K's gaze lingered on me, that familiar tension coiling between us like an unspoken threat, I forced myself to break the moment. I turned on my heel, each step away from him feeling like an escape from a suffocating trap. The air was cooler the farther I moved from the garden, the scent of the roses no longer cloying my senses as they had when K was so close. My heart pounded in my chest, my skin tingling with unease.

I didn't look back, though I could feel K's eyes on me, watching me leave. His presence weighed heavily in the back of my mind, his words echoing like a curse I couldn't shake. It took everything in me to keep moving, to put as much distance between myself and that part of my past as possible.