CHAPTER 24
Lucien
She thinks she understands the Syndicate. She doesn’t. She cannot, and yet, she’s learning faster than I anticipated.
Tonight, I walked beside her through the eastern terrace. The rain had slowed to a drizzle. Lamps cast golden reflections on wet cobblestones. Her dress clung slightly to her form, darkened by moisture, and I couldn’t stop noticing. I wouldn’t let myself.
“You are more dangerous than you realize,” I said, testing her, watching her reaction.
She looked at me, storm grey eyes unflinching. “I’m not fragile,” she said.
No. She was not, but she was still young. Still human. Still capable of being broken.
I wanted her in ways that went far beyond protection. But I restrained myself. She would learn the hard way what it meant to exist in my world.