Chapter 27
Lucas
Lucas was reviewing reports when he heard the familiar rhythm of Sia’s footsteps in the corridor. Before the door even opened, something in the cadence told him something was wrong.
He looked up from the desk just as she stepped into their bedroom, her brow creased in a way that instantly tightened his chest.
“What happened?” he asked, rising.
She shut the door behind her and leaned against it for a second as though collecting herself. “I went to pick Celeste up from her dance lesson today.”
Lucas crossed the room toward her. “And?”
“There was a man there.”
The words were quiet, but they carried weight.
Lucas’s jaw tightened. “What kind of man?”
“I don’t know who he was.” Sia pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “He was just Strange. He spoke to me as if he already knew me. Said he always knew the important royals.”
Lucas felt the familiar protective heat surge through him. “What else did he say?”
“Not anything that was really out of line,” she said, frustration flickering across her face. “It was just… odd. It was more the really creepy feeling he gave me.”
Lucas reached her and pulled her into his arms without another word. She melted against him immediately. For a moment neither of them spoke. The quiet of the castle bedroom wrapped around them, but Lucas’s mind was racing.
Crystafalls had always been safe, safe enough that guards felt ceremonial rather than necessary.
Until now.
“We can’t ignore this,” Lucas said finally.
“I know.”
His arms tightened around her. “From now on, if either you or the girls leave the castle walls, there will be guards.”
Sia groaned softly into his shoulder.
“I hate it,” she murmured.
“So do I.”
They had always walked through town freely, whether shopping or Celeste’s dance lessons, with no escort, no problems. But Lucas had ruled long enough to know when instinct demanded caution.
“This changes things,” he said.
Sia leaned back slightly to look up at him. “You think it’s that serious?”
Lucas brushed his thumb gently across her cheek. “I think you were unsettled enough to tell me,” he said. “That means something.”
She smiled faintly, then reached up and kissed him. His hands slid around her waist, drawing her closer. But then he paused.
“The girls are all safe and sound?”
“They’re in their room doing their studies.”
The tension that had wound itself through Lucas’s chest loosened just slightly as he kissed her back, slow and warm. The world outside the room faded for a moment as he held her. She rested her cheek against his chest.
“You make everything better,” she whispered.
Lucas brushed his lips against hers again. “And you remind me why it all matters.”
He lifted her easily and carried her toward the bed, her soft laugh filling the room. She reached up and traced his face, all the while the same desire he felt reflected in her eyes.
His hand fondled her breast, and he felt the nipple harden under his thumb. Their clothes disappeared as passion flared, and he kissed her again, her mouth warm and needy.
Sia returned his kisses with the same urgency and need that he felt. Her legs wrapped around him and pulled their bodies together without breaking contact. He was already hard against her, and instinct took over at her insistence.
This time wasn’t consummating a marriage. This time was all about lust and sensations. At her insistence, he didn't have to bother with all the foreplay and slower pace. He could just get what he wanted and give her what she demanded.
She was hot and wet as he entered her, and he didn't waste a second. She moaned as he thrust in and out, and she bucked her hips to give greater access.
Their kisses became more hot and needy, and she clung to him like a woman drowning. Faster and deeper he plunged until they climaxed together, and the chamber echoed with their cries of pleasure.
When their breathing finally calmed, he pulled her close and held her. He couldn't remember sex ever being better or so fulfilling as he buried his face in her hair. She mumbled something but he couldn’t make it out.
He pulled back slightly. “What was that?”
Her head rested on his shoulder as they cuddled. "I said I love you." Her voice was quiet as she said the words he felt but had never said.
He kissed the top of her head. "Oh, Sia.” He tightened his arms. “I’ve waited to hear that. I love you, too."
The evening faded into quiet warmth and closeness, the kind only they could give each other as the worries of the day disappeared.
The next afternoon, Sia brought tea and biscuits to Lucas. “You need a break.”
He pulled her close and kissed her soundly. “You’re the only snack I need.”
She looked up at him with a spark in her eye. “Celeste is at dance. The other two are napping.”
“Is that an invitation, my little minx?”
The shrill ring of his phone shattered the moment.
Lucas groaned softly but reached for it anyway. “I have to get that.”
Sia stayed tucked against him as he answered. “Yeah?”
What he heard on the other end wiped the smile clean off his face.
“What do you mean, missing?”
Sia stiffened.
He stood slowly, pulse hammering. “Since when? Who was supervising?”
A pause.
“No, I’m coming.”
He ended the call and looked at Sia. Dread pooled in his stomach.
“That was Bryce.”
“Your head guard?” Sia’s face was drained of color. “Celeste’s dance class?”
He nodded.
“The girls were rehearsing,” he said, already searching for keys. “The instructor stepped out for a minute to help the guard. When she came back…” He swallowed. “They’re gone.”
“Gone?” Sia’s voice cracked. She was on her feet in an instant. “We have to go.”
He caught her hands, steadying her before panic could take over completely. “We’re going,” he promised. “But listen to me. We don’t panic. Not yet.”
She planted her fists on his desk and held herself up while she gulped in air. All of a sudden, she straightened and he saw terror in her eyes. “Lucas…it’s him.”
“Who?” He watched as she picked up a sheet of paper and handed it to him. “Him.”
It was a photograph of Voilear.
“He’s the one that was outside the studio.”
Joy and fear collided violently inside him. All he could see was Celeste’s bright smile and the echoing space where she should be.
“You’re certain?” He had to ask even though he read the answer in her face.
She shook her head. “Who is he?”
“He’s the one who's been making our lives miserable.”
Understanding put a new wave of panic in her eyes. “He has our girl.”
He gripped her shoulders. “Whatever happens,” he said, voice steady despite the chaos in his veins, “we’ll get Celeste back. The entire class. Every single one of them.”
She stiffened. “I know you will. I have all the trust in the world, but I’m going with you.”
“I never doubted it.” He knew she’d be more stressed sitting there alone.
And as they rushed out the door, Lucas prayed he would get the chance to prove the trust she put in him.
The ride to the dance studio felt endless.
When they arrived, the street outside had already begun filling with concerned townspeople and guards.
The first thing Lucas noticed when they reached the dance school was the silence. Even from the sidewalk, he should have heard something, piano scales drifting unevenly through open windows or the sharp clap of the instructor’s hands correcting posture.
Lucas stopped Sia from rushing inside. He grabbed her shoulders and kept his voice low and controlled. “Stay behind me.”
The moment they crossed the threshold, the smell hit him, metallic and sharp, that cut through the faint scent of lemon cleaner and sweat that clung to the walls.
Copper. The scent of blood.
Fear climbed his spine slowly, vertebra by vertebra, as they moved into the main studio where the mirrors reflected only their distorted silhouettes and the empty barre stretched along the wall.
One small ballet shoe lay abandoned in the center of the floor as though its owner had simply vanished mid-step.
Then he saw the instructor.
She sat crumpled near the office doorway, her silver hair streaked dark with blood, one arm bent at an angle so wrong it made his stomach lurch. He heard Sia suck in her breath as she caught sight of the gruesome scene.
A man was on his knees beside her, his hands steady and precise despite the tension that pulled tight across his shoulders.
“I’m the butcher from across the way. She’s alive,” he said quietly, though there was a strain beneath the words that he could not fully conceal.
“But pretty beat up. I’ve triaged her the best I can.
We’re waiting for a healer. Your guard has been taken to the clinic, Your Majesty. He was in a worse way.”
The injured woman pointed at Lucas. “The guard you sent with Celeste,” she said, her voice shaking. “He came inside the studio injured. Covered in blood.”
Lucas’s heart dropped.
“He was attacked outside,” the instructor continued. “I stepped away for a moment to help him. I only meant to be gone for a second.”
Her voice broke.
“When I came back, I was attacked and then the girls were just gone.”
The words hit Lucas like a physical blow.
Sia knelt down and showed the photograph she still clutched in her hands. “Is this him?”
The instructor sobbed and nodded. “I’ll never forget that face. That’s him.”
Voilear.
Lucas closed his eyes for a single heartbeat, and when he opened them again the storm behind them was controlled but unmistakable.