Chapter 34
Lucien
As soon as Cece gets home from work, we dive right back into testing her abilities, pushing to sharpen her skills.
Xan had to follow up with one of the decoys, so it’s just the two of us.
We start with sensitivity perception again.
She’s definitely sharper now. Almost as soon as I release a controlled pulse of energy, she zeroes in on the target zone without delay.
Telepathy isn’t an issue anymore. She’s quick, precise, and strong enough to block the connection or shove me out whenever she decides she’s done. Her sense of breaches has improved too, becoming more refined every day. But there’s still nothing. No internal current. No spark to draw from.
I was sure by now she’d have developed some kind of internal charge or light-bending ability, something to build toward warping, since pulling from the braqui isn’t an option in this realm. But there’s nothing. Not even a flicker.
We stop for a break, and she walks into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge. She grabs a bottle of water, but there’s a change in her expression. Just a hint of disappointment she doesn’t bother hiding.
I know exactly what she’s thinking, because I’m thinking it too.
“Hey,” I say. “Your abilities are getting stronger. It’s honestly incredible how far you’ve come in such a short time.”
She gives me a small nod, grateful but muted. Still, I know her. I know what’s running through her head.
Is it enough? Will it keep me safe?
I move in behind her, wrap my arms around her waist, and pull her close until her back presses against my chest. She leans into me without hesitation. I hold her for a moment, then gently turn her to face me.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell her, looking into the same hazel eyes that made me risk everything that night in the subway station.
I can’t help it. I reach for her face, and our lips meet.
The kiss starts soft, but it deepens fast. My hand slides to the back of her neck, pulling her closer. Her breath catches, then she lets out a soft moan that sends heat straight through me. I lose whatever control I had left.
I’ve never felt this way about anyone. Never wanted someone like this. Not just physically. It’s her. All of her.
We move together, backing toward the living room, hands everywhere. Clothes fall away one by one, forgotten on the floor, as we make our way to the couch. Wrapped up in each other, like nothing else exists.
She pulls me with her into the soft flow of the living room, both of us moving without thinking, breathless, as if we’ve both been holding back for too long. I sit down on the couch, and she climbs onto my lap without hesitation, offering herself to me completely.
For a moment, I just gaze up at her. Beyond the desire and urgency flooding through me, there’s something deeper. Pure, unfiltered adoration.
She looks down, and I capture her mouth in a deep, urgent kiss, tasting every breath, every sound she gives. I’m obsessed. She’s my weakness, and I’m completely at her mercy.
My hands wrap around her waist until she catches them, guiding them above my head on the couch, her fingers threading through mine.
The feeling hits like a jolt. Like being dragged back from the dead and flooded with a life I didn’t know I’d lost.
I may be gifted, nearly immortal, but it’s being in this woman’s presence that makes me feel divine. It’s electric without a current, nothing between us but the charge we create.
I kiss her harder, hungrier, as her hands trace slow paths across my skin, searching, relearning.
And there it is again. That raw, electric spark.
“You feel it too,” she whispers, like saying it louder might shatter what we have.
I press my forehead to hers, lungs burning. “Yes,” I breathe. “Every time I touch you, everything else disappears. Like you’re pure electricity, and it rips straight through me.”
She kisses me again, and this time it’s different. Slower. Less frantic. More careful.
It’s not just desire or comfort we’re chasing. We’re choosing each other.
No magic. And not simply desire either. It’s far past that. It’s trust, and it scares the shit out of me. But it’s the fear of no longer having this that keeps me addicted anyway. It’s the pull. My soul orbiting hers. Something that rarely happens once in a lifetime.
I don’t just want her. I don’t just need her.
I love her.
And there’s no denying it. Not anymore.
Her lips brush my ear. “Don’t let me go, Luc.”
“I won’t.”
I wrap my arms around her tighter, like I can shield her from everything. And honestly, I’d die trying.
And then we slip into it together, limbs intertwined, our bodies speaking everything our words haven’t.
I shift the tempo between slow and punishing and wild and desperate.
Watching her, admiring her, our hearts pounding, not giving a damn about anything else, as if we could escape everything waiting beyond this moment.
Outside, the city keeps moving. But in here, it’s only her and me, and the promises our bodies are making in the middle of this madness.
I wake that night to the sound of voices.
My body tenses as I sit up sharply, eyes darting to Cece in the bed beside me. But no one’s here. It’s not voices. It’s her. She’s talking in her sleep. Dreaming.
I shift closer, ready to pull her into my arms, when I hear her murmur a name.
Vael.
And then Selian.
Did she just say Selian?
Vael she’s heard before, but Selian? I’ve never spoken that name in her presence. Not once.
I lean in, heart pounding, trying to make out the words. But they slip between her lips in fragments, lost to the dream. Her voice grows louder, more frantic, until she’s nearly shouting.
Panic grips me.
“Cece,” I say gently, reaching for her shoulder, just to wake her.
The instant my fingers brush her skin, a jolt erupts from her. Like lightning striking the center of my chest. I’m flung clear across the room.
My back slams into the wall, pain flashing sharp and immediate. And then suddenly, I’m not on the ground at all.
I’m suspended.
Hovering in a current that grips me like a vice, impossible to fight.
Waves of energy crash over me, through me, each one hotter, faster, and more unrelenting than the last. It’s chaotic. Untamed. Like she’s a storm, and I’m trapped inside the heart of it. Powerless and exhilarated, watching something far beyond human control pour through her.
“Cece!” I choke out, fighting to keep my voice steady, my power pinned back by whatever force she’s projecting. “Cece, it’s me. It’s Luc. Stop.”
She jolts awake.
The power drops instantly, and I crash to the floor, gasping as the charge fades from my body. She scrambles toward me, eyes wide with horror.
“Oh God. Oh God. I’m so sorry, Luc. What’s happening? Did I . . . did I do that to you?”
I look at her. She’s shaken to her core, tears welling in her eyes, frozen by what just happened. By what she might have done.
Terrified of herself.
And so am I.
I collapse onto the edge of the bed, dragging in sharp breaths, trying to ease the current inside me. She’s beside me, tense and hesitant, her eyes wide with confusion. I hate that I can’t reach across and calm her. I can barely control myself, afraid even a touch might set my energy loose again.
Her leg bounces, fingers twisting together, nervous energy practically vibrating off her.
“I’m so sorry, Luc,” she says. “I can’t believe that happened. That I did that. Did I hurt you?”
Her voice is hoarse, thick with remorse.
“I’ll be fine, Cece,” I manage, still wrestling my own charge back under control. “I just need a few minutes now that it’s been forced to the surface. I’m not upset with you. I’m just . . . surprised.”
After a few minutes, we both throw on clothes and shuffle toward the kitchen. Cece moves on instinct, filling the kettle for chamomile tea, her fingers still shaking. Part adrenaline, part fear.
I watch her, caught between wanting to calm her and knowing I could ignite her with the slightest misstep.
The current might be gone, but its echo still lingers in the air between us.
“Talk to me,” I breathe. “Are you doing okay with all this?”
She doesn’t answer right away. She just stares at the steam rising from the kettle, like she’s trying to find herself in it.
I’ve been a Warper for so long, it’s easy to forget how terrifying the beginning is. When the current first finds you, raw and unpredictable. When it tears through your body like it owns you, not the other way around. When you don’t yet know how to hold it. Or what it might cost.
“I think so,” she says. “I mean . . . hell, I don’t know anymore.” She lets out a shaky breath. “Part of me wants to be brave. Like you. Like Xan. And I know that part of me is in there somewhere. But the other part? The part that’s screaming inside? She’s scared out of her damn mind.”
She swallows. “This is all just . . . it’s fucking nuts. And I can’t pretend it’s not. It’s scary, Luc. Really scary.”
She looks up at me, eyes glassy, and I wish more than anything I could take that fear away.
“It is,” I say softly, meeting her gaze. “I know. It is crazy. And it is scary. I won’t pretend otherwise.”
I pause, then take a breath. “Cece, you’re way more powerful than you realize. And I don’t just think that. I know it. Because you hit me with about a hundred thousand volts.”
I manage a faint smile. “Trust me, I felt every single one. So yes, consider me your very shocked, very qualified witness.”
A flash of a smile tugs at her mouth. “Ha-ha. Funny guy.” But the look in her eyes tells me the joke landed, at least enough to ease some of the fear.
“I mean it,” I say, quieter now. “Once you learn to control it, to channel it? You’re going to be unstoppable. And until then, I’m right here. Every step of the way.”
Xan walks into the apartment like he owns the place, a box of glazed donuts in one hand and zero awareness in the other. Typical.
“Did I miss something?” he asks immediately, picking up on the vibe radiating from Cece and me.
I gesture vaguely between us. “Let’s just say I learned Cece has a pretty serious internal charge. Nearly fried me with it.”
Xan grins, completely unfazed. “Well damn, girl. Proud of you. Someone had to give this golden boy a love tap.”
Cece lets out a small laugh, and for a second, everything feels lighter.
Then she stiffens.
“Wait. What is that?”
Before I can respond, I feel it too. A ripple in the air. A breach. Someone warped in. But I know the signature. Familiar. Controlled.
I move to the door before a knock can land.
It opens, and there he is.
“Lucien. Xanther.” Fazen nods once, his tone unreadable. Then his gaze shifts to her. “And Cece. We finally meet officially.”
She gives a polite but wary nod. I can see her muscles tighten again, reading the room, picking up on the shift.
“Fazen,” I say, keeping my voice calm. “What brings you here?”
His face darkens. “I wish I came with better news. Things are getting dire back home.”
Here it comes.
“Aris has become obsessed with bringing Cece to Pomerium. And he no longer trusts you, Luc.”
A cold weight settles in my gut.
“He speaks your name with malice. Tells the Elders you’ve turned your back on our beings. That you think yourself above the High Laws.”
I clench my jaw. Lies. But damaging ones.
“I know it’s all bullshit,” Fazen adds. “But he has the ears of many. I’m fearing for you, Luc. I’m fearing for all of us.”
He glances at Xan, who gives him a look. They’re holding something back.
“What?” I snap. “Say it. One of you.”
Xan sighs and sets down the donut box, as this conversation suddenly requires both hands. “Luc . . . you know what you have to do. If there’s no other way, then being the Seventh is the way.”
I narrow my eyes. “Who said there’s no other way?”
Xan throws his hands in the air, dramatic as ever. “You’re being na?ve, Luc! And I know you’re no fool.”
Fazen’s voice cuts in, lower and heavier. “He’s preparing the army, Luc. Soldiers have been ordered to stand ready.”
He doesn’t need to say it. I already know.
“They’re preparing for war,” he says anyway. “For her. That’s how badly Aris wants Cece.”
Heat rises in my chest, that painful mix of rage and dread.
“War is imminent,” Fazen continues, his voice cutting through the living room, low and grim. “The High Order has approved his plans. Whatever they are.”
Fuck. I thought we had more time.
Cece steps forward from where she was leaning against the back of the couch, clearly trying to keep up. “I don’t understand,” she says, glancing between us. “Someone please just fill me in. What’s going on? Luc, what do you need to do? And what is the Seventh?”
Fazen’s eyes go wide, surprised she doesn’t know. I shoot him and Xan a warning look.
Don’t.
She needs to hear it from me.
“The High Order,” I begin, “is made up of those who govern each territory in our realm. They are the law. Just one step below the gods.”
She listens intently, trying to piece it all together.
“There’s no hierarchy within the Order,” I continue. “But there is a Gatekeeper. A tiebreaker. The one who leads sessions and casts deciding votes when needed. Not above the rest, but still a guiding voice. A very strong one.”
Cece tilts her head, frowning. “Aris, right? He’s the Gatekeeper?”
I shake my head. “No. He’s the eldest, yes, but he’s not the Gatekeeper. He wishes he were. That role hasn’t been filled for centuries. It’s also known as the Seventh. The seventh seat in the High Order’s circle.”
I pause. The words don’t come easily.
“You have to be of royal blood to be Gatekeeper.”
Her eyes search mine.
“It was held by my mother.”
Silence floods the room.
“It’s now my right by blood,” I say quietly. “My destiny. I am the Seventh. I’m the Gatekeeper.”
The silence that follows says everything.
Fazen steps forward. “Luc, you need to take your seat. If you want to protect her. Truly protect her. Then do it from within.”
His gaze doesn’t waver.
“You can’t fight this from the outside anymore.”