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Chapter 30: The War Within

Author: Steve Mathew
last update Last Updated: 2025-02-17 18:35:56

“Cassia… what have you done?”

Lucien’s voice was raw, jagged—something unearthly twisting through it. His eyes, once a stormy gray, now glowed with an eerie golden light, flickering like fire trapped beneath the surface. His body trembled, his fingers curling into claws as he struggled against the power coursing through him.

I stumbled back, my breath catching in my throat. “Lucien?”

He let out a guttural snarl and fell to his knees, his hands clutching at his chest as though something inside him was tearing apart. The shadows around him pulsed, stretching toward me like living things.

“I—” His jaw clenched, his breath ragged. “I can’t stop it.”

A wave of dark energy rippled from his body, knocking me off balance. I hit the ground hard, the impact sending a sharp pain up my spine. The moment I lifted my head, his eyes locked onto mine, wild and unrecognizable.

I had seen Lucien angry before. I had seen him cruel. But this? This was something else entirely.

“What’s happening to you?” I
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