He let the blood fall. One drop, two, then a little more. The red soaked into the white sheets, spreading like a bloom.
Then he laid back.
Aria didn't move for a long while . Her breath was coming out in little puffs.Lucien's arm was still outstretched, his palm marked red, eyes closed as if it were nothing more than an afternoon nap.
She stepped back once then a little more again.
Then stating firmly: "I'm not sleeping in that bed."
Lucien cracked an one eye open. "It's a very large bed."
"I don't care if it's carved from moonstone and scented with lavender. I want a separate room."
He exhaled. Not a laugh, not quite a sigh just breath escaping between his teeth. Then he sat up slowly, hand trailing red along the white silk before reaching for a linen wrap on the sideboard and binding his palm. His voice was calm when he spoke again.
"We can't leave the room tonight. They're watching."
Aria stiffened. "Who's they?"
"The ones who need to believe what just happened." He stood fully now, jacketless, sleeves rolled. "Guards outside. A few family retainers. Possibly a curious family member with poor boundaries. If we open that door before dawn, they'll think something went wrong."
"Something did go wrong," Aria muttered.
Lucien gave her a slow, sideways glance. "They don't know that Lena"
She looked at the bed, now bloodied and too neat otherwise. Then to the rest of the room. Her gaze settled on a large sofa at the end of the bed wide enough for two,
"Fine," she muttered.
Crossing the room, she yanked several pillows from the bed some with embroidered corners, others smooth and heavy and dragged them in a small huff toward the sofa. She took her time stacking them like barricades. When that didn't feel sufficient, she pulled one of the lighter coverlets from the foot of the bed and carried it over her shoulder like a surrender flag dipped in contempt.
Lucien said nothing just casually watched her
Under her breath, as she wrestled with a stubborn corner of the blanket, she added, "Tyrant-ass ceremonial hostage…"
He didn't reply. But when she glanced back, she caught the ghost of a smirk tugging at the edge of his mouth before it vanished into neutrality again.
Once she'd made her awkward nest, she crawled into it, giving her bavk to him.
Lucien's voice came soft, just above the candle crackle. "You really intend to sleep there?
"Yes," she said, and closed her eyes
The silence that followed was absolute. Not uncomfortable or anything just there just still. The kind of quiet that knew how to listen.
She didn't dare fall asleep yet.
But she didn't dare open her eyes either.
The first thing Aria felt was wrongness when she came to was the sheets beneath her they were warm, silk like and felt really soft. The pillow smelled like someone else's skin.
Her eyes flew open , She was in a bed. The bed.
The same one that lucien had slept in the night before, the one she'd very deliberately refused not to fallen asleep i, She sat up very fast, heartbeat stammering like it had somewhere to be. Her hands found the edge of the bedsheet , fingers curling into the same fabric she'd thrown across the sofa. No sign of her pillow barricade. No dented cushions. The couch was untouched like her protest hadn't even happened.
The knock came soft and aria froze
A beat passed, then the door opened. A woman entered tall, older than Aria but not too old, her auburn hair pulled back in a twist, her expression one of polite detachment. She carried a folded towel over one arm.
"Good afternoon, my lady," she said, as if Aria hadn't just looked. "Your bath is drawn."
Aria blinked. "Afternoon?"
"Just past the noon bell, yes." The woman's tone didn't shift. "Mr Lucien woke early and is attending to morning visitors."
Aria pushed the covers aside and swung her legs over the edge. The floor was cool stone veined with something pale. "Where is he now?"
"I'm afraid I wasn't told, my lady." She paused, then added as if it were a weather update, "He dismissed the visitors after the first hour. He's not been seen since."
Aria narrowed her eyes. "You said my bath is drawn.
"Yes, my lady. If you'll follow me."
The woman turned, walking back through the double doors like this wasn't the strangest morning after in the history of weddings.
Aria hesitated. She looked at the bed once more. It was too neat. Someone had made it up again. Someone who wasn't her.
She didn't remember moving. She should have remembered moving, but nothing came to mind
She followed the older lady.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The hallway outside was quiet in that curated and strange way . The stone beneath her feet was polished to a soft sheen, interrupted by narrow rugs with complex, hand-woven sigils that might have been floral patterns… or might have been something older.
They entered the bathing chamber through an arch flanked by carved wood.
Inside, warm mist curled like breath. The scent hit Aria immediately something spiced and sharp. A copper basin the size of a small pond sat recessed into the floor, filled with steaming water darkened by petals and pale oils. Several delicate brushes sat in lacquered bowls beside a bench, beside an ivory comb, beside a robe that looked older than Aria's entire house.
"I'll remain outside," Sophia said, already turning to leave. "Clean linens are there, and your day attire has been laid out."
"Wait," Aria said. "Where's Sophia?"
The woman smiled faintly, like someone indulging a child. "You should take your bath before the water cools my lady."
Then she was gone, the door shutting with a finality.
Aria stood there, suspended between defiance and the strange desire to submerge herself in something warm
After a moment, she sighed through her teeth, stripped, and stepped in the water
The water took her in gently. It was deep enough that she could sink to the chin. Beneath the water, the petals brushed against her like hands too soft to be threatening.
For the first time in hours, her muscles began to unclench.
But even here, something felt off. The robe was her size exactly. Her day dress deep green, embroidered at the collar and sleeves sat folded on a chair. Too formal for lounging. Too elegant for coincidence.
Someone had planned this morning before she'd even opened her eyes.
Managed.
Aria's mouth thinned. She dunked under, scrubbed hard, and came up with her hair plastered to her neck wet
By the time she toweled dry and dressed, her skin felt over scrubbed and too aware of itself. Sophia re entered the moment she left the bathroom.
"My lady wishes to remain in her quarters, or…?"
"I want to see the house," Aria said. "All of it."
"Of course. Shall I alert Mr Lucien?"
"No," Aria said, faster than she meant. "I'll go on my own."
The woman bowed slightly. "As you wish."
Aria stepped out of the room with her jaw set and her spine straight. She didn't have a plan but she had questions lots of them .
And sometimes that was enough to find answers.