Chapter 326

• Lucien’s POV
• The gates of Stormridge loomed tall and black against the moonlight when we returned. The storm above had not yet broken, but the clouds hung heavy, as if the sky itself was holding its breath. My men filed in behind me, tired but alive.
• Aurora was the first thing I saw when the doors of Duskgrave manor opened. My daughter stood there in her nightgown, curls wild around her small face, her wide eyes searching desperately for me. She wasn’t alone. The Matriarch, regal even in her age, lingered close, her presence steady as stone. Beside her, Mrs. Beck and Mia wrung their hands, worry etched deep into their features.