CHAPTER 73: A WAY TO RETURN

After what happened three days ago, I still hadn’t given him an answer.

Not a yes.

Not a no.

Not even a maybe.

Nothing.

I should’ve listened to Maya.

Or maybe the real mistake was thinking I could trust anyone in this world at all.

Because every time I did, the ground shifted beneath my feet.

I stood there now, arms crossed, staring at the giant frame that hid the entrance to that secret basement, the one where Lucian showed me the truth I never asked to see.

The frame was back exactly where it had been before. No sign that a door had ever been behind it. No trace of cold air slipping through the cracks. Not even a hint of frost.

If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would’ve thought I imagined the entire thing.

"So..." I muttered under my breath, arms folding tighter across my chest. "He even orchestrated a funeral for his mother? Why? To hide it from his father?"

The thought alone made my stomach twist.

"What are you thinking, Miss Vale?"

Maya’s voice snapped straight into my skull like an unwanted notification.

"Do you know anything about Lucian and his mother?" I asked, eyes still fixed on the hidden door.

Maya flickered. "A lot. But I’m not sure you want to hear it."

That caught my attention.

"Tell me."

A beat. Then it dimmed slightly, like it didn’t want to dig into the memory.

"Lady Arienne wasn’t born a dragon," Maya began. "She was Alarion... frost-born. A clan known for being gentle, peaceful... and very, very easy to take advantage of."

My heart sank already.

"Lucian’s father married her because he wanted the power of her blood," Maya continued. "Not her. Not the person. Just the type of ice she carried."

I clenched my jaw.

"And Lucian?" I asked.

Maya paused, then its tone softened in a way that actually felt real.

"He adored her," she said. "Completely. She was the only person he trusted. The only one who treated him like a child, not a future weapon. She was... everything to him."

Something in my chest tugged.

"Like his father expected from the marriage, the power he wanted, Lord Lucian had it," Maya continued. "But not in the way his father dreamed, well... at that time. Lord Lucian’s frost isn’t just strong... it’s unstable."

I blinked. "Unstable?"

Maya nodded. "When he’s calm, he can preserve life. Slow it. Protect it."

Then its tone dropped lower. "But when he loses control... it spreads."

My fingers curled slowly against my thigh. "Spread how?"

"When his fear spikes, or when he feels cornered, his frost leaks into everything around him. Walls. Rooms. Living beings." The hologram flickered. "It doesn’t listen to him. It reacts... for him."

A chill crawled up my spine.

My voice came out small. "So the day I died..."

"Yes," Maya said without hesitation. "Of course, he didn’t mean to. He wasn’t even near the bathroom. But his frost filled the house from the inside out. It reached you before he could stop it."

I stiffened. The memory of warm water turning to ice, the sudden numbness, the way breath simply... disappeared.

"You should not have survived," Maya added. "A normal person cannot. Only a phoenix could revive after being frozen at that temperature."

My heart twisted, sharp and aching.

"But... but... by my data..." Maya continued, its hologram flickering like it was worried I’d yell at her again. "Lord Lucian actually already stabilised his power centuries ago."

My eyes widened. "Centuries? Then why—"

"But after you appeared," it cut in, "the instability... returned."

I blinked.

"Returned?" I repeated slowly, like the word tasted wrong in my mouth. "Maya, that makes zero sense. Why would he suddenly lose control again after me?"

Maya tilted its blue floating emoticon face, as if scrolling through her internal files.

"Based on emotional pattern analysis," it said, "the trigger is most likely connected to... his feelings toward you."

I stared at the hologram.

"Come again?"

"Emotional turbulence," Maya elaborated. "Lord Lucian is experiencing heightened stress, guilt, internal conflict, and... romantic impulses. These factors seem to be destabilising his frost."

I lifted a hand. "Hold on. Romantic—what?"

"Impulse," Maya repeated, very matter-of-fact. "Your presence influences his emotional core. And for someone like him, whose power is tied to his inner state, that... causes fluctuations."

My mouth dropped open.

Not in a cute way.

More like a dying goldfish.

"So you’re telling me," I said slowly, "that he was perfectly stable. Perfectly in control. For centuries. And then I show up and suddenly like boom... frost explosions, unintended freezing, death-by-bath incident?"

Maya blinked. "Yes. Precisely."

I pressed a hand to my chest.

What is this feeling?

"So I’m the problem?"

Maya shook its emoticon head.

"No. You are the reason."

"That doesn’t make it better!!" I snapped.

"Actually," Maya replied in its calm, almost soothing tone, "it does, Miss Vale."

I blinked. "How?!"

"Because the only thing capable of destabilising a fully matured frost dragon," Maya explained, "is emotion. Strong emotion. Deep emotion."

"O... kay?" I said slowly.

"Specifically," Maya continued, voice almost gentle now, "attachment."

My breath hitched just a little.

"That doesn’t mean anything."

"It means everything," Maya said. "His power remained stable for centuries. He only lost control when you arrived. When you spoke. When you were in danger. When you died."

I swallowed. "Maya, that’s not—"

"It perfectly matches the behavioural pattern of emotional imprinting."

She hovered closer, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret.

"Lord Lucian feels strongly toward you. Protective. Reactive. It is not something he can hide."

My heart thumped painfully hard, "That doesn’t mean he—"

"I am not saying anything dramatic," Maya cut in smoothly. "But based on all collected data, feelings are involved. Deep ones."

Then, softer, "And feelings like that... are very rare for someone like him."

I looked away, my chest tight. "Why are you telling me this...?"

"To help you understand his actions," Maya said gently.

"So you don’t mistake fear for betrayal. Or concern for manipulation." Its tone was warm and steady.

Convincing. Dangerously convincing.

"This information," it added softly, "is important for you, Miss Vale. Your decisions... your mission... everything depends on understanding who truly values you."

My breath caught. "Oh."

My mind went blank, wiped clean in a way that was almost frightening.

And without meaning to, my gaze drifted back to the massive frame covering the hidden door, the door that led to Lucian’s mother’s frozen body.

"Maya," I whispered, my voice barely steady, "tell me... is there any way to come back to this world after I return to mine?"