CHAPTER 41
Lucien
By morning, the estate was no longer calm. Security had been doubled. Surveillance feeds were running through every monitor in the control room. Ronan hadn’t slept. Neither had I.
She wasn’t safe and that changed everything.
I found her in the training wing barefoot, arms folded tightly across her chest, staring out the tall arched window like she hadn’t moved all night.
When she heard my footsteps, she didn’t turn.
“Who was he?” she asked quietly.
I walked up beside her.
“A man who should have stayed gone.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No,” I agreed. “It’s not.”
I reached into my jacket slowly.
She stiffened.
When I pulled my hand out, a blade caught the morning light.
A dagger. Slim. Balanced. Matte black with a leather-wrapped handle.
Her eyes shifted to it immediately.
“You’re giving me a weapon?” she asked.
“I’m giving you control,” I corrected.
I stepped closer and held it out to her.
She hesitated only a second before taking it.
It looked almost delicate in her hand, until she tested the weight of it. Adjusted her grip. Her jaw set.
“You will wear it strapped to your thigh. At all times,” I said. “Under your dresses. Under everything.”
She looked up at me.
“You think I can use this?”
“I know you can.”
There was no softness in my voice now. No seduction.
Only certainty.
“You are not fragile, Sera,” I continued. “And I will not allow you to remain unarmed.”
She studied the blade for a long moment before nodding once.
“What else?” she asked.
I didn’t hesitate. “Ronan will train you.”
Her brows lifted slightly.
“With what?”
“A 9mm.”
The silence between us shifted.
Not fear. Resolve.
She stepped closer to me then, not submissive, not uncertain. Stronger.
“Good,” she said quietly. “I’m done being the only one in the room without power.”
Something in my chest tightened.
I reached forward and brushed my thumb gently along her jaw, not possessive this time. Proud.
“You will learn to shoot. To disarm. To anticipate,” I said. “And you will never stand defenseless again.”
Behind us, Ronan entered silently.
He gave her a nod, respectful, not condescending.
“Range is ready,” he said.
She didn’t look at me when she spoke next.
“Let’s begin.” And for the first time, I saw it clearly. She wasn’t just mine. She was becoming dangerous.