Lucien’s POV

“Lucien…” Serena muttered slowly.

Her voice is barely there, but it slices straight through me. I brace myself, shoulders tense, lungs refusing to move as she slowly opens her eyes again. They look dimmer now, as if someone took the light from them while she slept.

For a heartbeat, she just watches me.

As if searching my face for something she’s already convinced she won’t find.

I reach toward her instinctively, wanting to touch her hand, her cheek, anything to ...