"Are you… Harmony?" she whispered.
Lucien felt the steady beat beneath his palm, in his very Soul. "I had to."
"This feels wrong."
"It keeps you alive."
She hummed. "My shadow was here." Her voice was tinged with exhaustion.
Lucien met Rhyden’s eyes. That wasn’t the first time she’d said that.
"What do you mean?" Rhyden questioned sharply.
Lucien felt her heart’s desire to stutter at the vampire’s dark tone, but he stilled it forcibly.
"Was anyone else in the room with her?" Lucien asked Rhyden.
"No," said Rhyden.
With Vesperin’s heart calming, Lucien was no longer distracted from anger.
As if sensing it, Rhyden spoke first:
"That doesn’t seem very ethical or sustainable, hm? Never knew you had it in you to break your, what—code? Don’t doctors have morals?"
The glimmers fizzled as Lucien struggled to regain control. "Did you force her to do this?"
"Of course I fucking didn’t."
"It doesn’t look like it to me. You got her when no one else was around to know. It seems like you wanted this to be a secret," Lucien accused.
"Yeah! Because you all are up her fucking ass, not letting her make any decisions for herself!"
"Stop it," Vesperin whispered. "Don’t fight. This was my decision. Rhyden didn’t force me."
"You shouldn’t talk right now—just rest," Lucien said, forcing his tone to be gentle. And if he forced her heart to calm a little too much so she’d fall into unconsciousness, that was a secret he’d take to his grave.
Lucien felt the precise moment she fell asleep. When he glanced down at her, her eyes were closed.
Lucien met Rhyden’s eyes, beginning to stand with her cradled in his arms, all while keeping his hand resting against her heart. "If she dies because you’re obsessed with your revenge, then you’re no better than her adoptive parents."
Rin woketo a weight on her chest. She blinked her eyes open with great effort. A dim yellow glow permeated the darkness, chasing away the shadows. Her mind—it was clear in a way she had felt only once. An unnatural sort of soft, sparkling clarity.
She exhaled softly, and the weight on her chest shifted with her. She smiled faintly, running her fingers through the red mop of hair nestled on her chest.
Cyrus’s chin dug into her collarbone as he twisted his head up. She blushed at the sight of his half-lidded, purple eyes, so close to hers she nearly went cross-eyed. His lips were red and luscious, and she couldn’t help but stare at them, feeling warmth pool in her core.
"How long was I asleep this time?"
Cyrus hummed. "Only a day. You woke up a few hours ago and drank some electrolyte juice."
Rin had the faintest recollection of that. She wondered where Lucien was…
"What time is it?"
"Little after midnight," replied the incubus. "What do you remember?"
She recalled the white light that had pulsed from her, feeling like pieces of her Soul had been sucked out along the way, her heart forced into an arrhythmic beat in the aftermath, leaving her sore and on the verge of death—until Lucien.
