Run: 2026-02-19-01KHTR0AXSPJCFS6YX2AE041RP

Aurora's fingers froze on the door handle. Lucien stood in the dim hallway, his platinum hair catching the weak light from the curry house's neon sign below. The spices from downstairs mingled with his familiar cologne. "Interesting choice of residence." His French accent curved around the words. He leaned against his cane, those mismatched eyes fixed on her face. "Though perhaps not as interesting as finding you here instead of Eva." "Eva's out." Aurora's throat tightened. Six months since that night in Marseille, since she'd walked away without a backward glance. "What do you want, Lucien?" "May I come in? The hallway lacks a certain... privacy." She should shut the door in his face. Instead, she stepped aside, watching as he swept past her with his usual fluid grace. His charcoal suit was immaculate as always, not a crease out of place. Ptolemy darted under the coffee table, yellow eyes tracking Lucien's every move. Aurora closed the door, counting the clicks of each deadbolt to steady her nerves. "I see Eva's organizational system hasn't improved." Lucien traced a finger along a stack of ancient texts balanced precariously on the radiator. "Still drowning in paper." "You didn't come here to critique Eva's housekeeping." "No." He turned, resting both hands on his cane. "I came to warn Eva about a situation developing in Avaros. Finding you here is... an unexpected complication." Aurora crossed her arms. "I'm not involved in any of that anymore." "And yet here you are, living above a curry house with London's most notorious occult researcher." His lips curved. "Delivering takeaway by day, while sharing space with Eva's impressive collection of forbidden texts by night." "You've been watching me." "I make it my business to know things, chérie. You remember." Heat crept up her neck at the endearment. "Don't call me that." "No?" He closed the distance between them, each tap of his cane against the floorboards like a heartbeat. "What should I call you then? Rory? Aurora? Or perhaps Malphora, the name you used that night in Marseille before you disappeared?" She backed up until her legs hit Eva's desk, sending a cascade of papers to the floor. "That night was a mistake." "Was it?" His cane clicked against the floor once more as he stopped inches from her. "You seemed quite certain of your choices when you were in my bed." "I was certain about a lot of things before I learned what you really are." Something flickered in his amber eye – pain, maybe, or anger. The black one remained unreadable. "And what am I, exactly?" "A manipulator. A liar." Her voice cracked. "You used me to get to Eva's research." "Is that what you think?" He reached out, his fingers brushing the crescent scar on her wrist. "After everything we shared, you believe I would—" Aurora jerked away. "Don't touch me." "Then tell me why you ran." His voice dropped lower, rougher. "You owe me that much." "I owe you nothing." But the words tasted false. "I found the messages, Lucien. The ones about selling Eva's location to your contacts in Avaros." He went still. "And did you read them all? Or did you run before you saw the rest?" "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means, ma belle, that you saw exactly what someone wanted you to see." His fingers tightened on the ivory handle of his cane. "Someone who knew precisely how to drive a wedge between us." Aurora's heart hammered against her ribs. "You're lying." "Am I? Think, Aurora. When have I ever lied to you?" He stepped closer, and this time she didn't back away. "I've hidden things, yes. My nature, my work – but I've never lied. Not to you." The scent of his cologne wrapped around her, familiar and dangerous. Like coming home and stepping off a cliff all at once. "Then tell me the truth now." She lifted her chin. "All of it." His eyes searched her face. "The truth is I've spent six months trying to forget the taste of your skin. The truth is I came here tonight hoping to find Eva, because seeing you again—" He broke off, jaw tight. "The truth is complicated." "It always is with you."