Lucian was not so easily deceived, and his gaze froze as he sized up the figure who stood before him. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the one person he thought he would never see again. The woman standing before him had been a part of his childhood — his mother's younger sister, who had vanished without a trace.
"Isolde," Lucian said, his voice low, tinged with disbelief. His head was reeling with memories he had tried so long to bury as he took one slow step forward. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
Isolde looked back at him, a sad smile on her face, her eyes filled with despair. "I know, it's been too long, Lucian."
"I thought you were dead," Lucian said, his voice heavy with all those years lost in confusion and anguish.
"I needed to go away so that Serena would be safe," Isolde said, her gaze skimming over to Serena's sleeping body for a moment. "That's what the Elders made me do."
