CHAPTER 86: ELYNDRA—THE FAIRY

Lucian stared at the woman standing before him, his brows tightening as he tried... desperately to piece together what was happening. Her posture, her tone, the cold amusement in her eyes... none of it belonged to Seraphina.

"Miss me?" she teased with a smirk, her head tilting even further.

"Ah... it’s been a hell of a century..." She inhaled deeply, as if savoring the air she hadn’t breathed in ages.

Something snapped inside Lucian.

Before she could exhale, Lucian moved. The world blurred for a heartbeat as he surged forward, his hand closing around her throat and slamming her back against the icy wall.

"Who are you?!"

The impact echoed sharply in the cold chamber. Frost rippled along the wall behind her. His grip trembled, pure instinct and panic but even as he held her, even as anger flared in his veins...

He felt the warmth of her skin.

Seraphina’s skin.

And the strength in his fingers faltered.

He couldn’t tighten his hold. Not on her body. Not even to stop whoever was wearing her face.

His hand slackened without him meaning to.

The woman felt it instantly.

She threw her head back and laughed loud and mockingly. The sound bounced off the walls, wrong in every possible way coming from Seraphina’s mouth.

"Poor Lucian," she said between her laughter, her smile stretching wider, darker. "Still the same. You couldn’t even hurt me this time..."

Her eyes gleamed with an old, cruel familiarity.

"And that," she whispered, leaning into his hold as if daring him to try again, "is why I chose this body."

Her laughter echoed in the cold chamber, too loud, too alive for Seraphina’s gentle voice. Lucian’s jaw clenched as he stared into those familiar eyes wearing an unfamiliar soul.

His mind raced.

He had enemies.

Many.

Old ones.

Vengeful ones.

But possession?

Taking over a body that wasn’t hers?

Clawing her way back into the living world using someone else as a vessel?

Only one being he knew of could do that.

His breath came out unsteady as the realization stabbed through him.

No. It couldn’t be. Not after all these years.

But the more he looked at her, the mocking tilt of her head, the cruel curl of her smile... the more certain he became.

It’s her.

Elyndra.

The fairy who lost her body because of the curse he placed on her.

The fairy who swore she would return.

The fairy whose hatred for him burned hotter than any flame.

Lucian’s blood turned to ice.

"Elyndra," he whispered, barely believing the name forming on his tongue.

The woman wearing Seraphina’s body grinned, her smile stretching with a slow and deliberate satisfaction, as though she had waited a lifetime for this very moment.

"Oh," she purred, voice warm with amusement, "so you do remember... I feel honored."

Lucian felt his heartbeat stutter, not from surprise, but from that old, familiar dread curling slowly back into his bones. Elyndra saw it... she always saw everything and her grin widened, relishing the fear she had been denied for a century.

"Surprise, surprise..." she murmured, lifting Seraphina’s hand and turning it as though admiring a precious artifact she had stolen. "You should see your expression. Truly, it brings back memories."

Her eyes glittered as she leaned a little closer, her movements fluid and unhurried, enjoying every second of the control she now possessed.

"Tell me, Lucian," she said with a soft, mocking lilt, "do you remember that little bet we once made?"

He stiffened, jaw tightening, but she didn’t give him room to reply.

"That was such a charming night," she continued as if lost in a pleasant memory, though her tone made each word feel like a blade sliding under his skin. "You were so confident back then... so sure that I would never return. And I... foolish, desperate and persistent... only wanted one thing from you. Just one."

Her voice lowered, smoothing into a dangerous whisper.

"You said if I ever found a way back... if I stood before you again..." She traced a lazy circle over his chest with Seraphina’s fingertip, spreading a slow chill down his spine, "you would belong to me for the rest of your life."

Lucian’s breath faltered, but Elyndra continued, savoring every moment with cruel delight.

"Well," she murmured, her voice turning almost tender as she admired her newly claimed body, "here I am. Breathing, walking, speaking... in a body far stronger and far more exquisite than the one—oh!"

She suddenly gasped, lifting Seraphina’s hand to her mouth in an overly dramatic gesture, her eyes widening with theatrical surprise.

"Oh my," she drawled, "I almost forgot about that other girl."

Lucian still.

Elyndra clicked her tongue, tapping Seraphina’s temple lightly as if scolding a child.

"You know," she said with a mock sigh, "the one who has the same face as this body. What was her name again? Ah—Celeste."

His stomach twisted.

Elyndra smiled at the reaction.

"Yes, her," she continued, voice dripping with fake sympathy. "Such a fragile little thing. Her body was already failing, but it made a convenient doorway."

Lucian’s eyes widened, horror creeping through his veins.

"I was the one inside her earlier," Elyndra said casually, as if describing something harmless. "Just long enough to lure your Seraphina closer... long enough to make her trust the wrong person."

She clicked her tongue again, shaking Seraphina’s head with amusement.

"But honestly, I doubt Celeste survived it. The vessels crack so easily especially with her weak body."

Lucian’s blood ran cold.

"Elyndra..." he whispered.

She stepped closer, her smile spreading like a shadow across Seraphina’s face.

"Do you see now?" she murmured. "Celeste was nothing more than a bridge."

Her eyes gleamed with wicked satisfaction.

"And Seraphina," she whispered, brushing a thumb along her stolen jawline, "is the prize."

Elyndra’s words hung in the cold air, lingering like poison. Lucian felt something inside him snap before the pressure erupted all at once.

His patience, his control, the thin thread holding him together... all of it broke.

"Where is she?!" The question tore from his throat before he could stop it, rough and trembling, soaked in fear he couldn’t hide.

Elyndra arched a brow, pleased by the outburst.

Lucian stepped forward, the air around him dropping sharply in temperature. Frost crawled from his boots and spidered across the floor, the cold responding to the chaos in his chest.

"I’m not asking you again," he said, voice low but shaking. "Where is Seraphina?"

Elyndra’s smile widened, slow and cruel, enjoying every second of his unraveling.

Lucian’s fists clenched.

"Tell me where she is!" he roared, the sound echoing violently through the chamber.

Icicles burst from the floor and walls, sharp and deadly, launching straight toward Seraphina’s body. Lucian didn’t plan it. His magic simply surged in a violent rush, responding to the fear ripping through him.

The air cracked around them, cold enough to burn.

But just as the pointed shards were about to strike... just a breath away from Elyndra’s face, they stopped.

Frozen midair.

Hovering less than an inch from her skin.

Lucian’s chest rose and fell in harsh, uneven breaths as he stared at the suspended icicles. His hands trembled. His jaw clenched so tightly it hurt.

He couldn’t push them forward. Even if it killed him, he couldn’t do it.

Elyndra noticed immediately. She lifted Seraphina’s hand and wagged a finger slowly, playfully, as though chiding a child.

"Na-nah," she sang softly, stepping closer to inspect one of the hovering icicles. "You don’t really want to hurt me."

She leaned her cheek toward the frozen spike, tapping it lightly with a smirk.

"No, that’s not it..." she continued, turning her eyes back to him with a knowing gleam.

"You just don’t want to lose both of them, right?"

Lucian’s breathing stopped. His fingers curled into fists.

"Both?" he repeated, his voice hoarse, barely a whisper.

"What do you mean both?"