Anna continued talking.
“And now, you want to protect her,” Anna said slowly, her voice no longer laced with mockery, but something far more dangerous—understanding.
“You stand there, baring your teeth, threatening death, dragging power from every dark place you’ve buried it, all for a girl you barely knew a year ago. A girl who cried for you under moonlight and you mistook her weakness for destiny. You think that’s love? You think that’s fate? No, Lucien. That’s desperation.”
She stepped forward as much as the chains allowed, dragging one bare foot along the blood-stained floor, her head tilted in eerie stillness as her gaze bored into him.
“You didn’t choose her because the Moon demanded it. You chose her because you couldn’t stand to be alone in your own madness. You were drownin
