Seraphina woke with a sharp gasp.
For a moment, she didn’t know what had pulled her out of sleep.
The room was dark, and the curtains moved slightly from the cold air coming through the window.
Then she felt it.
A strange warmth in her left hand.
Seraphina slowly lifted it from beneath the blanket.
Her eyes widened.
The black cross was glowing.
Not brightly.
It was more like a faint pulse beneath her skin, appearing and disappearing like a heartbeat.
“What the…”
She sat upright.
The warmth grew stronger.
Seraphina quickly pushed the blanket aside and stepped out of bed.
She didn’t know what was happening, but something about the cross felt different from before.
She opened her bedroom door.
“Lucien?”
There was no answer.
She walked down the hallway.
“Lucien!”
A door opened downstairs.
Lucien appeared at the bottom of the stairs, his expression already serious.
“What happened?”
Seraphina raised her left hand.
His eyes immediately locked onto the cross.
For the first time since she had met him, Lucien looked genuinely shocked.
“Don’t move.”
Seraphina froze.
“Why?”
Lucien quickly walked toward her.
“The cross.”
“It started glowing.”
“I can see that.”
He reached for her hand.
The moment his fingers touched her palm, the strange warmth rushed through both of them.
Lucien’s eyes widened.
A dark glow spread briefly across his fingers.
Then everything stopped.
The cross returned to normal.
Seraphina stared at him.
“What just happened?”
Lucien slowly released her hand.
“I don’t know.”
She frowned.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“You’re the devil.”
Lucien looked at her.
“That doesn’t mean I know everything.”
Seraphina folded her arms.
“You always act like you do.”
“I was pretending.”
She stared at him for a moment.
Then she realized he was serious.
“You’ve never seen the cross do that before?”
Lucien shook his head.
“Never.”
Seraphina looked down at her palm.
“Then what’s happening to me?”
Lucien didn’t answer immediately.
He stared at the cross as though it were something he had once known very well but could no longer recognize.
“Something has changed,” he finally said.
“What changed?”
“I don’t know.”
“That answer is getting annoying.”
“I know.”
Seraphina looked at him.
For once, Lucien didn’t look mysterious.
He looked worried.
That frightened her more than the glowing cross.
They returned to the living room.
Seraphina sat on the sofa while Lucien stood near the window.
Finally, Seraphina broke the silence.
“Is this going to hurt me?”
Lucien turned around.
“I don’t know.”
She looked down.
“That wasn’t the answer I wanted.”
“I know.”
“What if this keeps happening?”
“We’ll find out why.”
“And if we can’t?”
Lucien walked toward her.
“Then I’ll protect you.”
Seraphina looked up.
“You couldn’t even protect yourself yesterday.”
Lucien went quiet.
She immediately regretted saying it.
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know.”
He sat in the chair opposite her.
“For centuries, I never needed anyone to protect me.”
“And now?”
His eyes moved toward her left hand.
“Now things are different.”
Seraphina looked at the cross.
She slowly closed her fingers around it.
“Maybe I should give it back.”
Lucien’s expression changed.
“If you could, I would take it.”
She looked at him.
“But you can’t.”
“No.”
“Then maybe I’m stuck with you.”
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
“You say that like it’s a punishment.”
Seraphina rolled her eyes.
“Sometimes it is.”
A small smile appeared on his face.
For a moment, the fear in the room disappeared.
By morning, neither of them had gotten much sleep.
Seraphina stood in the kitchen preparing breakfast while Lucien sat at the table.
She placed a plate in front of him.
“Eat.”
Lucien stared at the food.
“I don’t need this.”
“You’re eating it anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re recovering from being stabbed.”
“I healed.”
“I don’t care.”
Lucien looked at her.
“You’re very bossy.”
“And you’re very annoying.”
He picked up the fork.
Seraphina smiled.
“Good.”
Lucien took a bite.
He looked at her suspiciously.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“A little.”
At Alexandria Corporation, Seraphina tried to concentrate on work.
But every few minutes, she found herself looking at her left hand.
The cross hadn’t glowed again.
Maybe it had only happened because of the night.
Maybe it was nothing.
Or maybe something had awakened inside it.
She didn’t know.
Lucien stood near the window of her office, watching the street.
“You’re doing it again,” Seraphina said.
“Doing what?”
“Watching everyone.”
“I’m watching for anyone watching you.”
“Do you ever relax?”
“No.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
Before she could respond, Lucien’s phone rang.
He answered.
“Speak.”
Darius’s voice came through.
“We found something.”
Lucien’s expression immediately became serious.
“What?”
“The man who attacked you wasn’t alone.”
Lucien straightened.
“Explain.”
“We found evidence that someone was tracking your movements before the attack.”
“Who?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Lucien looked toward Seraphina.
“But we’re getting closer.”
The call ended.
Seraphina watched him.
“What did he say?”
Lucien hesitated.
“Someone is looking for me.”
“Because of the cross?”
“I don’t know.”
Seraphina slowly looked at her palm.
Neither of them noticed the man entering Alexandria Corporation through the main entrance.
He walked calmly through the lobby.
Then he stopped.
His eyes moved toward Seraphina’s office.
He couldn’t see the cross from that distance.
But something about her presence made him pause.
He had seen that feeling before.
Many years ago.
He continued walking.
That evening, Seraphina was leaving the building when she suddenly stopped.
Pain shot through her left hand.
She grabbed it.
“Ah!”
Lucien immediately turned.
“What happened?”
“The cross.”
He reached for her hand.
But before he could touch it, the black mark began glowing again.
This time, it was brighter.
Lucien stared at it.
Then a voice came from behind them.
“That mark…”
Seraphina turned.
A man stood several feet away.
He was staring directly at her hand.
His face had gone pale.
Lucien stepped in front of Seraphina.
“What did you say?”
The man didn’t answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the cross.
Finally, he whispered,
“That mark shouldn’t exist anymore.”
Seraphina’s heart began pounding.
Lucien’s expression became cold.
“How do you know about it?”
The man took one step backward.
Then another.
And before either of them could stop him, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Seraphina looked at Lucien.
“Who was he?”
Lucien stared after the stranger.
“I don’t know.”
Then he looked down at her glowing hand.
For the first time, something close to fear appeared in his eyes.
Because the cross had never behaved like this before.
And someone else knew exactly what it was.