Chapter 21
Those three words pierced Lucien’s heart like a dagger.
He collapsed to his knees, his long sword falling with a clatter.
“Prince Valmont!” The gauntlet members rushed in.
“Get out!” Lucien shouted angrily, reaching for Seraphine, then quickly withdrawing. “Call the doctor! No, bring the Apothecary King!”
Alistair had already picked Seraphine up.
“No need,” he said coldly, “The Apothecary King is from the Shadow Court. He won’t welcome anyone from Valmont Keep.”
Seraphine’s vision began to blur, and the last thing she saw was Lucien’s bloodshot eyes and Alistair’s tight jawline.
The darkness surged in like a tide.
When Seraphine regained consciousness in agonizing pain, she smelled the strong scent of medicine.
She tried moving her fingers but was immediately held by a warm pair of hands.
“Don’t move,” Alistair’s voice was close, “The wound just started to heal.”
Seraphine struggled to focus her vision, and Alistair’s weary face came into view.
His darkened eye sockets showed he hadn’t s
“How long have I slept?”
I slept
days. His chin was stubbled, and even his usually neat hair was loose.
“Seven days.” Alistair helped her sit
up,
handing her a bowl of dark medicine. “Drink this.”
The bitter medicine made Seraphine frown, but she obediently drank it
wn in one go.
Alistair magically pulled out a candied fruit and placed it in her mouth, the sweetness easing the bitterness.
“Where’s Lucien?”
Alistair paused.
“He’s been kneeling outside the Hollow for three days. The gauntlet forced him to leave,”
Seraphine froze.
The proud Prince Valmont had knelt outside the Hermit’s Hollow for three days?
“Your wound…” She suddenly remembered and reached for Alistair’s belt. “Let me see the backlash marks.”
Alistair caught her restless hand. “Take care of yourself first.”
He lifted the gauze from her shoulder. The wound had mostly healed, leaving a horrific scar. “The bloodline of the Apothecary is indeed extraordinary.”
Seraphine ran her fingers gently over the fine lines at the corner of his eye. “You’ve lost weight.”
“Some troublesome girl is to blame.”
Alistair lowered his head and kissed her forehead, then suddenly broke into a violent cough, blood leaking between his fingers.
“Alistair!”
“It’s nothing,” he quickly wiped the blood away. “I just overexerted myself.”
Seraphine immediately tore open his shirt, gasping in horror.
The golden markings that once only covered his chest had now spread across his entire torso, resembling a deadly web.
“You used forbidden magic to save me?” Her voice trembled. “Do you know that this will…”
“It’s worth it.”
Alistair sealed her lips with a kiss, gentle yet firm. “When you blocked the sword for me, did you ever think if it was worth it?”
Suddenly, urgent footsteps sounded from outside the door.
“Master!” One of his disciples burst in, alarmed. “Prince Valmont…he…he severed both his arms and is waiting at the valley entrance!” Chapter 21
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Both Seraphine and Alistair’s expressions shifted.
At the entrance of the valley, Lucien knelt in a pool of blood, both arms neatly placed before him.
His face was as pale as paper, yet his back remained straight. When he saw Seraphine, his eyes lit up.
“Sera!” He smiled weakly. “I’ve come to atone.”
Seraphine’s legs went weak, and Alistair caught her just in time.
The man before her–this disheveled, broken figure was no longer the Prince Valmont she once knew.
“Are you mad?” Her voice trembled.
Lucien’s gaze fell on her bandaged shoulder. “That sword, it was meant to pierce my heart.” He struggled to move his knee forward. “But I couldn’t bear to die. If I die, I’ll never see you again.”
Alistair stepped forward, pressing on Lucien’s acupoints to stop the bleeding. “Get the stretcher ready.”
“No need,” Lucien shook his head. “I just want to ask Sera one question.”
He tilted his head back, his eyes filled with a vulnerability Seraphine had never seen before. “If not for the massacre… if not for him… could you have loved me? Even a little?”
Seraphine fell silent for a long time. Then, slowly, she crouched down to look at him at eye level.
“No.”
She spoke softly. “Because from the very beginning, our meeting was a mistake.”
Lucien’s tears finally fell.
“I understand.” He turned to Alistair. “Treasure her.”
Chapter 21
