Chapter 50: Chapter 50

I could see it... The unease in Lucian’s eyes. The calm, composed mask he always wore had cracked, just slightly, but enough for me to notice. His jaw was tight, his breathing uneven, and the faint tremor in his fingers betrayed the tension he was trying so hard to hide.

This wasn’t the cold, commanding dragon everyone feared. This was Lucian—the husband who was genuinely worried.

I knew if he wanted to, he could’ve gone after that rogue. No one would’ve escaped him. But he didn’t move. His body stayed between me and the corridor, as if any step away from me was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

He finally spoke, his voice low and strained. "If one already found you..." he said, gaze fixed ahead, "more will come."

I blinked, my brain still lagging from everything that had just happened, until Lucian suddenly took my wrist, the same one the rogue had grabbed earlier.

"Ow—Lucian, that hurts," I winced.

He glared down at me, not out of anger at me, but because he didn’t know where else to direct it. The frustration in his eyes was almost palpable.

"Let’s go to the lounge," he muttered sharply. "I’m giving this skyport zero stars for safety. Top-tier facility? Bullshit."

I was just about to turn and follow him when he stopped and then, without a word, slipped an arm behind my knees and another around my back. In one effortless motion, he lifted me off the ground.

"Let’s go," he said simply.

The heat rushing to my face was worse than my own flames ever could be. My mouth opened, ready to protest, to say something but no word of rejection came out. Instead, I did the only thing my brain could think of...

I buried my face against his shoulder.

I noticed movement around us. Several uniformed guards had already fallen into formation behind Lucian. The air around them carried the faint hum of protective enchantments, a shimmering veil of gold trailing faintly in their wake.

It seemed word had spread fast. Every officer in sight kept their eyes sharp, scanning the halls as we moved, ensuring no one else dared approach.

Lucian didn’t slow down, didn’t speak. His hold on me stayed firm until we reached the private lounge. Only when the doors slid shut behind us did he finally set me down on a velvet sofa.

The silence was thick, until the door slid open and a familiar voice broke it.

The sound came from the doorway.

I turned my head and found Auren Lysander standing there, dressed in a dark navy coat traced with gold embroidery... elegant, effortless, and for sure expensive. The faint crest of the Lysander Clan gleamed near his collar.

"I came as soon as I heard," he said, his tone even but careful. "The security feed showed movement near Gate Twelve—"

Because Lucian’s head turned toward him, and the look he gave could’ve frozen fire itself.

One sharp glare—cold, lethal, and wordless.

Auren stopped instantly, brows drawing together in concern. "Lucian," he said slowly, voice dropping. "I’m sorry. Truly."

He didn’t smile, truly apologetic.

He just met Lucian’s storm head-on with quiet steadiness, the kind only someone who respected him deeply would dare show.

"This shouldn’t have happened," Auren continued, his tone steady and sincere. "The skyport is under my brother’s supervision, but I’ll inform him personally. We’ll tighten the places and review every entrance point. No one should be able to get this close to you... especially your wife."

Lucian didn’t answer, his jaw clenched so tightly I could see the muscle ticking. Frost still laced across the floor at his feet, spreading inch by inch like it wanted blood. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NovelHub(.)net

Auren’s gaze shifted to me, gentle and apologetic. "Lady Celeste... I’m sorry you were put in danger here. You deserved better protection."

His voice was warm, as if he tried to reassure without pressure.

He dipped his head slightly, a gesture of respect and acknowledgment.

Then, softly, he said, "We’ll fix this. I’ll give you my word."

He stepped farther into the room just as one of his staff hurried in, carrying an emergency kit. Auren took the box from them with a nod of thanks and started toward us, his expression calm.

But the moment he moved closer, everything happened in a blur and too fast.

Lucian’s hand twitched, frost crackling up his arm as a long icicle formed in an instant, sharp and deadly. The air around him plunged into freezing cold.

Before I could even gasp, a burst of golden light filled the room... Auren’s wings appeared in a flash, magnificent and blinding, unfolding between us like a living shield.

The icicle met feathers of pure radiance with a sharp crack. Shards of frost exploded in the air, scattering harmlessly across the marble floor.

Auren stood his ground, one wing still raised protectively, his golden feathers humming faintly with energy. "Lucian," he said calmly, though his voice carried weight. "I said I was trying to help."

Lucian’s glare didn’t ease. His chest rose and fell with restrained fury, eyes glowing a dangerous shade of blue.

For a long moment, neither of them moved... The room was filled with cold and light, locking in a silent standoff.

And me? I could only stand there, heart hammering, watching in disbelief.

A Pegasus’s wing blocking an Ice Dragon’s strike... right in front of me.

Never, even in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined witnessing something .

"Is it really fair to blame me," Auren muttered under his breath, his voice calm but edged with irritation, "when you’re the one who failed to protect her in the first place?"

Auren... the man I’d mentally labeled as the ultimate green flag, the calm, reasonable one in this supposed world... just said that?

I stared at him in disbelief, my heart skipping a beat for all the wrong reasons.

’In you I believed...’ I screamed silently inside my head. ’But why... Why would you provoke the ice dragon?!’

Lucian’s expression darkened immediately. The temperature in the room dropped several degrees in a single breath.

And all I could think was... ’Welp, there goes my chance of leaving this skyport in one piece.’