The moment the dagger touched my neck, my entire body froze.
A thin line of pain spread across my skin.
I looked down slowly.
A drop of blood slid from the blade.
Then another.
And another.
Each crimson drop fell onto the kitchen floor with terrifying clarity.
My heart pounded violently against my chest.
I didn’t dare move.
I didn’t dare breathe.
For a brief moment, I was convinced it was Sylas.
Of course it’s Sylas, I thought.
Who else would it be?
After all, I had just slapped him across the face.
Honestly, now that I thought about it, I probably should have expected some kind of revenge.
Then again…
Why wouldn’t he be angry?
I had hit him pretty hard.
But in my defense—
He deserved it.
Every single bit of it.
The accusations.
The ridiculous theories.
The constant suspicion.
If anything, I should have slapped him twice.
Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to celebrate my decision.
Because there was still a dagger pressed against my throat.
And if it really was Sylas…
Then I was in serious trouble.
Slowly, I gathered the courage to turn around.
And froze.
It wasn’t Sylas.
It was someone else.
Someone I never expected.
“Adrian…?”
The name barely escaped my lips.
My voice was little more than a whisper.
The dagger remained pressed against my throat.
Adrian stood behind me, his expression unreadable.
Cold.
Silent.
Dangerously calm.
My mind immediately began racing.
When did Adrian get here?
How long has he been standing there?
And why is he holding a dagger against my neck?
A horrible thought suddenly entered my mind.
My stomach dropped.
No…
Don’t tell me he knows.
Don’t tell me he found out the truth.
My fingers trembled at my sides.
Slowly, I turned my head toward Sylas.
And what I saw shocked me almost as much as the dagger itself.
Sylas looked stunned.
Completely stunned.
His usual calm expression had vanished.
For the first time since I met him, he looked genuinely speechless.
I managed to force the words out loud, just enough for everyone to hear.
“Adrian… why?”
For a brief moment, silence swallowed the kitchen whole.
No movement.
No sound.
No breath.
It was as if everything around me had been erased at once.
The air felt heavy—unnaturally still.
I blinked, trying to focus, but even that felt difficult.
The edges of my vision blurred.
The light in the kitchen dimmed strangely, like reality itself had begun to fade.
I couldn’t see properly anymore.
And I couldn’t hear anything either.
Just emptiness.
I honestly thought maybe I was dead.
Or trapped inside some deep, strange sleep I couldn’t wake up from.
But slowly… my eyes opened.
I blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the light.
And then I realized where I was.
Lucien’s room.
My breath caught slightly as I pushed myself up.
Everything felt too real for it to be a dream.
I instinctively lifted my hand to my neck.
The place where the dagger had been pressed.
But to my shock—
There was nothing.
No wound.
No pain.
Not even a scar.
My fingers froze against my skin.
What…?
Before I could make sense of it, a door suddenly opened.
I turned sharply.
Lucien stepped inside.
My breath stalled for a moment.
He looked like he had just come out of a shower.
His hair was slightly damp, and his shirt wasn’t properly buttoned.
For a second, I couldn’t look away.
I didn’t even realize I was staring.
But the moment his eyes met mine—
He stopped.
Silence stretched between us.
Then, without saying a single word, he turned away and walked out again.
Just like that.
Leaving me confused in the middle of the room.
I frowned slightly, still trying to process everything.
But then—
My attention shifted to the window.
Outside, I could see two figures standing together.
Sylas.
And Adrian.
I leaned closer without thinking.
And what I saw… made my breath hitch.
They were arguing.
No—
Sylas was scolding him.
His expression was sharp, controlled, but undeniably angry.
And Adrian stood there silently, taking it.
My eyes widened slightly.
The words I heard next made everything inside me freeze.
Sylas was reprimanding Adrian… for what he did to me.
And I couldn’t understand it.
The same Sylas who accused me of being a spy.
The same Sylas who believed I was an imposter.
The same Sylas who I thought would be the first to celebrate if I disappeared.
But now…
He looked furious.
Protective, even.
And for the first time since all of this began—
I didn’t know what was real anymore.
I heard him say to Adrian,
“Why did you do that?”
For a moment, something inside me softened.
A ridiculous thought crossed my mind.
Maybe… he actually cares.
Maybe all those accusations… all that suspicion… was just his way of hiding it.
Maybe he had been watching me because he cared.
Maybe he just didn’t know how to show it properly.
My chest tightened slightly at the idea.
But then—
That thought shattered just as quickly as it came.
Because I heard what Sylas said next.
“I still don’t understand why you used a dagger on her.
It’s obvious you aren’t serious.
I mean… your beast mode is a serpent, and you used a dagger?”
I froze.
The warmth that had started building inside me vanished instantly.
I muttered to myself under my breath, disbelief laced in every word.
“Why am I not surprised…”
Before I could process anything further, my eavesdropping was suddenly interrupted.
The door opened.
Kael and Lucien stepped into the room.
My breath caught instantly.
I quickly straightened up, panic flashing across my face.
“I—uh—I can explain,” I started, already fumbling over my words.
But neither of them reacted.
No questions.
No anger.
No surprise.
Just silence.
Lucien barely glanced at me, his expression distant—like he couldn’t care less about anything I was saying.
Kael, on the other hand, simply stood there watching me quietly.
Observing.
Like he was trying to figure out something without speaking a single word.
And somehow, that silence felt worse than any accusation.
Just as I was about to try and explain myself—
“W…w…well, I… I was just—”
Kael interrupted me before I could finish.
“It’s okay,” he said calmly.
“There’s no need to explain.”
But the way he said it… made my face heat up instantly.
Not because I felt relieved.
But because it felt like he already knew exactly what I had been doing.
And somehow, that was even more embarrassing.
Before I could say anything else, the door opened again.
Sylas walked in.
And right behind him—Adrian.
My expression immediately hardened.
I wasn’t in the mood to see either of them.
But especially not Adrian.
Not after what he had done to me.
Adrian moved from behind Kael and stepped onto the bed.
The mattress dipped slightly under his weight.
Then he lowered himself, dropping his head down.
Silence filled the room.
His usual cold, unreadable expression was gone.
For once, he didn’t look intimidating.
He just looked… off.
Troubled.
And from the way he sat there, I could tell something was bothering him.
Something serious.
Something he wasn’t saying.
Adrian went down on one knee in front of me.
His head remained lowered.
“Master, I attacked you,” he said quietly.
“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”
His voice was steady, but there was guilt hidden beneath it.
“Please forgive me.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The room felt strangely silent.
Then Adrian continued.
“If you wish to punish me, I will accept it.”
My eyes widened slightly.
I looked at him, completely unsure of what to say.
Why was he acting like this?
Just a short while ago, he had held a dagger to my throat.
Now he was kneeling in front of me, asking for forgiveness.
None of it made sense.
Slowly, I turned toward the others for help.
Kael stood near the door with his arms crossed.
Lucien sat quietly, his expression unreadable.
Sylas leaned against the wall.
Cassian simply watched the scene unfold with interest.
Not a single one of them seemed eager to interfere.
“You’re all just going to stand there?” I asked.
No one answered.
I looked back at Adrian.
He still hadn’t moved.
Still hadn’t raised his head.
Still waiting for my response.
And somehow, that made me even more nervous than the dagger had.
Because I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
I stood up from the bed and walked over to Adrian.
“Sit down,” I said softly.
Adrian hesitated for a moment before obeying.
He sat on the edge of the bed, his hands resting on his knees.
The room fell silent.
I took a deep breath.
“Relax,” I told him.
“And tell me the truth.”
Adrian slowly raised his head.
“Why did you use the dagger on me?”
The moment the question left my mouth, the atmosphere in the room changed.
Kael stopped moving.
Lucien looked up.
Even Sylas became unusually quiet.
Adrian lowered his gaze once more.
For the first time since I had met him, he looked nervous.
“I…” he began.
His voice faltered.
“I didn’t want to do it.”
My eyebrows furrowed.
“Then why did you?”
Adrian clenched his fists.
“Aurora threatened me.”
The room instantly became silent.
I blinked.
“Aurora?”
Adrian nodded.
“Yes.”
Confusion spread across my face.
That didn’t make any sense.
Aurora had left with the Queen Mother.
Everyone knew that.
I stared at him.
“Are you sure?”
Adrian nodded immediately.
“Yes.”
“But that’s impossible,” I said.
“The Queen Mother and Aurora left town days ago.”
Again, Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
His answer came so quickly that it sent a chill through me.
“No?”
“Aurora may have left with the Queen Mother,” Adrian said quietly, “but she came back.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“What?”
Adrian slowly lifted his head.
His expression was completely serious.
“She’s here.”
Nobody spoke.
Not Lucien.
Not Kael.
Not Sylas.
Not even me.
The room felt colder than before.
I swallowed hard.
“What do you mean she’s here?”
Adrian’s eyes met mine.
And what he said next made my blood run cold.
Aurora is still around.”
His voice dropped lower.
“She’s been lurking in the shadows.”
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