Chapter 186
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Lucas’s jaw tightened at the last word, and for a moment something in his expression flickered-almost softness, almost regret.
Then it was gone.
He nodded once, slow.
“Yeah, well,” he said. “You never really needed it, so don’t worry about it. You’re exactly where you want to be, right?”
My fists curled into my dress.
I supposed so.
The music shifted-another song beginning, slower, more intimate, the kind meant for couples who believe in forever.
Lucas’s gaze lifted, catching mine.
“One last dance,” he said. “For old times sake?”
I blinked. “Lucas-”
“As friends,” he added quickly, as if he could hear my refusal forming. “That’s all. As friends. I might be leaving for a bit. It would be a nice good bye.”
My heart gave a strange, uneven beat.
I glanced toward the crowd. Toward Dominic. He was still speaking, still composed, still not looking directly at us.
Dominic had no reason to object. I was literally his wife now.
So I finally nodded.
“Fine,” I said. “One.”
Lucas offered his hand. I took it.
We moved onto the dance floor together, and the crowd made space like water parting around stone. Lucas kept a careful distance between us, his hand at my waist more formal than intimate, his grip light enough I could pull away at any time.
The song was slow, the kind that wraps around you and makes you forget the shape of time. We swayed. We turned. We looked like any two people in a room full of celebration.
Except Lucas’s eyes never softened like they used to.
Unsurprising.
They stayed sharp, fixed on my face as if he was searching for something he didn’t want to find.
“Ellie,” he murmured, spinning me once before pulling me back into place, the movement smooth and practiced. “I wanted to warn you.”
My brow furrowed. “Huh? Warn me?”
His mouth tightened. He lowered his voice further, so low I barely caught the words over the music.
“Dominic’s vow,” he said.
Cold slid down my spine.
“What about it?” I asked, but my pulse had already begun to pick up.
Lucas’s gaze flicked to my throat, to where the bond would be tonight after Dominic and I…well, union or whatever.
C
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“When he declared that he would heal you every day you stand together,” Lucas said quietly, “he wasn’t just being romantic. He bound it.”
“Yes?” I said, raising a brow though a twirl. “You know the union was made to heal me.”
Lucas continued. “Duh. But he tied the healing to the bond.”
“Lucas,” I hissed slightly. “Get to the point.”
“That kind of declaration, a vow, it’s not just words. It’s law. It means if you ever try to sever it-if you ever try to walk away- your body will return to what it was before.”
The music kept playing.
The room kept laughing.
But my world narrowed, tunneling, the edges of my vision sharpening as if I were about to pass out.
I stopped dancing.
“There is no way,” I whispered, but the words didn’t feel real. “That can’t-”
Lucas’s hand tightened at my waist, just enough to steady me.
“It’s true,” he said, and his eyes were hard now, not cruel but unyielding. “Vows are promises, Ellie. I just wanted you to know… in case you were planning to leave.” His voice lowered. “Just in case.”
Divorce.
Severing.
Walking away.
That meant I could never leave him. Ever. Or I would be reverted back to…being sickly, close to death. Again.
My thoughts splintered, racing in circles.
Dominic wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t put some loophole in outside our contract. Not with the Moon Goddess or…
My hand moved to my head.
I was trapped.
Again.
I couldn’t leave him. Ever. Even if I wanted to.
Before I could speak, before I could even find the shape of my panic, a shadow fell between Lucas and me.
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