Run: 2026-02-19-01KHSYYZFQMPCAYDK0TKTEMY04

The door creaked open to reveal Lucien, his platinum hair catching the dim hallway light. Aurora's fingers tightened around the doorknob, her heart skipping several beats. "What are you doing here?" The words came out sharper than she intended. Lucien's mismatched eyes met hers, his expression unreadable. "May I come in?" She hesitated, glancing over her shoulder at Eva's cluttered flat. Books teetered in precarious towers on every surface, and Ptolemy lounged across a stack of ancient scrolls. "Eva's not here." "I know." He leaned on his cane, the ivory handle gleaming. "I came to see you, Aurora." The way he said her name — soft, almost reverent — made her chest ache. Six months had passed since that night at his office, since she'd walked away from whatever had sparked between them. "Fine." She stepped aside, letting him enter. His cologne, subtle notes of cedar and spice, stirred memories she'd tried to bury. Ptolemy raised his head, yellow eyes tracking Lucien's movement through the flat. The half-demon navigated around the book towers with practiced grace, finding the only clear spot against a wall. "You look well," he said. Aurora crossed her arms. "Did you really come here for small talk?" A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "When have I ever been one for small talk?" He shifted his weight, fingers drumming against his cane. "The situation with the Crimson Court has escalated. They're asking questions about you." "I can handle myself." "Like you handled the warlock in Southwark?" His voice carried an edge now. "You nearly died, Aurora." She touched her left wrist unconsciously, where the crescent scar sat just below fresh bruises. "I got what we needed." "At what cost?" Lucien stepped closer, and she forced herself not to retreat. "You're being reckless." "That's rich, coming from you." Heat crept into her cheeks. "You're the one who taught me to take risks, to push boundaries. Or was that only acceptable when I was following your lead?" His jaw tightened. "This isn't about control." "Isn't it?" She met his gaze, refusing to look away from those strange, beautiful eyes. "You disappeared for three weeks after I kissed you. No word, no explanation. Just silence." "I was protecting you." "From what? From you?" Aurora laughed, the sound brittle. "I'm not some fragile thing that needs protecting, Lucien. I thought you of all people understood that." He closed the distance between them, close enough that she could see the flecks of gold in his amber eye. "I understand that I'm half demon. That everything I touch eventually burns." "That's not your decision to make." Her voice wavered. "You don't get to decide what I can handle." Ptolemy meowed, breaking the tension. Aurora realized she'd backed up against one of Eva's book towers, Lucien's tall frame nearly pressed against her. "No," he said softly, "I suppose I don't." His free hand rose, fingers hovering near her cheek but not quite touching. "I've missed you, mon coeur." The French endearment, spoken so tenderly, cracked something in her chest. "Then why did you stay away?" "Because watching you walk into danger, knowing I led you into this world..." He dropped his hand. "The thought of you getting hurt because of what I am, what I've done—" "I chose this world," she cut in. "I chose to stay, to learn, to fight. And I chose you, Lucien. But you didn't choose me back." His expression softened, vulnerability replacing his usual careful mask. "You're wrong about that. I chose you the moment you walked into my office with that stolen grimoire, clever and fearless and absolutely maddening." He touched her cheek at last, his thumb tracing her jaw. "I've been choosing you every day since, even when I tried to stop."