The air was cooler than usual as dusk crept over the northern courtyard.
Elena sat alone on the stone steps near the sparring grounds, her sword resting across her lap, fingertips idly tracing the edge of the scabbard. She hadn't been summoned again after the spar. No notes. No glances. Not even Mira's knock.
But still, she came.
Not because she expected him.Because something had changed in her.And he was at the center of it.
Lucien.
She hadn't forgotten how his aura had wrapped around hers—controlled it, stilled it—without hesitation. Not out of kindness. Not even protection, really. Just pure, precise strength.
But in that moment, something had shifted.He'd saved her. Again.Without saying a word.
Elena closed her eyes briefly, feeling the faint memory of the warmth that had surged through her earlier that day.
She'd never seen anyone wield power the way he had—calm, refined, and utterly overwhelming. And though he remained cold, unreadable, even harsh… she had started to feel something toward him that frightened her more than any duel.
Respect.Gratitude.And something far softer, creeping in around the edges.
She didn't want to name it.
Footsteps echoed against stone.
She opened her eyes and stood as Lucien approached from the far end of the courtyard, arms folded, face unreadable as ever.
"You're here," he said simply.
"You didn't say not to be."
He didn't respond to that. Just walked past her and toward the center of the yard.
Elena followed after a moment, keeping her sword at her side. She didn't expect warmth or thanks. She didn't expect anything.
Lucien glanced at her briefly. "You're recovering well."
"I wasn't injured," she said.
"You were shaken."
Elena held his gaze. "Wouldn't anyone be?"
Lucien's expression didn't shift. "Not everyone loses control of their aura the first time it appears. You nearly lost yourself."
The words were blunt, but not cruel. He wasn't mocking her. Just observing.
"I didn't even know I had one," she said quietly. "Until you forced it out of me."
A faint pause.
"Most people spend years before reaching that point."
"So I'm… ahead?"
"You're unstable." His voice was calm. "Power like that can destroy you if you don't learn how to hold it."
Something about the way he said it made her chest tighten. Not because he cared—not openly—but because he was still speaking to her at all.
That meant something. Even now.
"I want to learn," she said. "How to control it."
Lucien gave the slightest nod, then turned away. "We'll train again in two days. Rest until then."
He started to walk off again, and Elena hesitated.
She knew she shouldn't speak. She knew he didn't want small talk or warmth. But the words were already on her lips.
"Why did you save me?" she asked suddenly.
Lucien stopped.
The wind rustled the trees nearby, but he didn't turn around.
"…You're part of this house," he said after a long pause. "I don't let things I'm responsible for fall apart."
Then he walked away.
Elena stood alone in the growing twilight, sword still in hand, heart beating a little too fast.
She knew he didn't say it for her. He hadn't meant it to be anything more than duty. But even so…
Something inside her ached.
She had fallen for the one person who might never look at her the same way.And yet… she didn't regret it.
Not one bit.