Episode 24
The revelation of the Blackwood curse had shattered something inside Aria.
Everything Emerson had told her was still spinning through her mind like a hurricane. A blood curse. Generational darkness. And Lucien—her Lucien—trapped at the center of it.
But none of it made her love him less. If anything, it made her want to fight harder. To save him.
She would not let the curse consume him.
---
The Battle Still Raged
Outside the walls of the east wing, war still thundered on.
The Blackwood estate, once a symbol of silent power, now echoed with the chaos of destruction. Fires lit the sky, blood soaked the marble, and bodies were being dragged from the battlefield.
Aria rushed through the corridors, searching for Lucien, dodging smoke and crumbling stone. Her heart was pounding—not from fear, but desperation.
She had to find him. She had to tell him the truth.
The curse was real. And the war was more than just a fight for dominance—it was a fight for Lucien's soul.
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Lucien's Descent
Lucien stood in the center of the grand hall, his tailored suit bloodstained and torn. His eyes burned with fury, lips curled in a snarl as he faced off against Emerson's elite guards. Around him, his own men fell one by one.
But Lucien didn't falter.
He moved like a storm—relentless, brutal, unstoppable. His rage gave him strength, and his strength turned him into something less than human. Something monstrous.
"Tell your master," Lucien growled, slamming a guard against the wall, "I'll tear his legacy apart brick by brick."
"Lucien!" Aria's voice cut through the chaos like a dagger.
He turned sharply, his chest heaving, eyes locking with hers. There was blood on his cheek. Fury in his gaze. But when he saw her, something shifted.
"Aria?" he asked, breathless.
She ran to him, throwing her arms around his bloodied frame. "Stop. Please. You don't know what you're doing."
He stiffened. "They're trying to take everything from us. I won't let them."
"No," she whispered against his chest. "It's not them. It's the curse."
---
The Curse Exposed
Lucien's brows furrowed. "What curse?"
"Emerson told me everything," she said urgently. "The Blackwoods are bound by a curse, Lucien. That's why your father trained you like a weapon. That's why all of this is happening. Power has a price—and your family has been paying it for generations."
Lucien's face was unreadable, jaw clenched tight. "He's lying. He wants to manipulate you."
"No, Lucien. He didn't try to hurt me. He warned me. The rage, the darkness—you're not becoming a monster because of choice. The curse is feeding off your anger."
Lucien flinched like she'd struck him. He looked down at his bloodstained hands, at the broken bodies around him. At himself.
And then something in him broke.
He collapsed to his knees, pulling Aria into him. "I don't know how to stop it, Aria. I don't know how to be anything else."
"You don't have to do it alone," she whispered. "We'll find a way. But not like this. Not through more death."
---
The Surrender
Lucien stood again, slower this time, his expression raw and human. "Call the retreat," he commanded to one of his men nearby.
"What?" the soldier blinked. "But, sir—"
"Do it," Lucien said, quieter this time. "Tell them to fall back."
The order was passed quickly, and like a crumbling wall, the chaos began to ease. The Blackwood forces pulled back, dragging the wounded and dying with them. The mansion fell into a hush, interrupted only by crackling flames and groans of pain.
It was over. At least for now.
Aria watched him, heart aching. Lucien had chosen peace—for her. But she could see how much it cost him.
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A Moment of Silence
They stood in the remnants of what was once the proud Blackwood estate.
Lucien looked around as if seeing the devastation for the first time. "I never wanted this," he muttered. "I just… I wanted to protect what was mine. Protect you."
Aria reached for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "You still can. But not by becoming what your father was."
Lucien closed his eyes. "Then tell me what to do, Aria. Because right now, I feel like I'm already gone."
"You're not gone," she whispered, touching his face. "You're here. With me. That's what matters. We'll figure the rest out together."
For the first time in days, Lucien let the weight of everything fall away. In her arms, he wasn't the devil. He was just a man—broken, burdened, and deeply in love.
---
Emerson's Offer
Later that night, Aria found Emerson waiting in the study, away from the wounded and the fire-damaged halls.
He looked up as she entered, his face weary. "He called a retreat?"
"Yes," she said, stepping into the room. "Because he trusts me. Because he loves me."
Emerson's lips curled into a small, sad smile. "Then maybe there's hope for him after all."
"He's not beyond saving," Aria insisted.
"I didn't say he was," Emerson replied. "But if you want to break the curse, it's going to cost you both more than you're ready for."
"What do you mean?"
"The curse doesn't end with peace treaties or love confessions. It ends with a sacrifice."
Aria felt a chill run through her. "What kind of sacrifice?"
But Emerson didn't answer. He only stared into the flames, his expression grim.