Lucien’s Pov

I reached the castle gates just after midnight. The guards greeted me with deep bows of total submission, but I was focused on only two things: getting inside and securing the safety of the figure in my arms—Seraphina.

Seraphina was bruised, beaten, and unrecognizable from being left outside for God knows how long. I had only taken a brief business trip abroad, and the first thing I heard upon my return was that she had been thrown into the woods because she was "being ...