Ashen’s eyes fluttered open, his body heavy against silk sheets that suddenly felt foreign. He tried to sit up, but his limbs moved without his full consent, as though someone else pulled invisible strings.

His right hand rose of its own accord and began rubbing through his dark hair in slow, repetitive strokes. He couldn’t stop it. The motion continued, unsettling, until frustration burned in his chest.

What in the nine realms is happening to me?

A sharp headache exploded behind his eyes, white-hot and blinding. He winced, pressing the heel of his palm against his temple just as the heavy chamber door creaked open.

Lumina stepped inside, carrying a small porcelain bowl with both hands. This time, a black silk blindfold covered her silver eyes, the same one she had worn in the early days of their marriage, when she still pretended to be the, sightless queen. The sight of her like this sent a strange jolt through him.

She paused at the threshold, her lips curving into a soft, almost shy smile. The bowl slipped from her fingers and shattered on the stone floor, steaming broth spilling across the tiles. Without a word, she crossed the room in three hurried steps and threw her arms around him.

"Ashen..." Her voice cracked with emotion. "I missed you so much. Every day without you felt like dying."

Ashen’s body responded before his mind could catch up. His arms wrapped around her slender frame, pulling her close.

Her body pressed warmly against his soft curves molding perfectly to his chest. For a fleeting moment, it felt weird..

But deep in his chest, something twisted. A feeling in his heart and pounding head that whispered this embrace was wrong.

Lumina pulled back just enough to look at him, though the blindfold hid her eyes. She reached for the second bowl she had left on the side table and offered it to him with both hands, as if presenting a sacred gift.

"You should take this," she said gently. "It will help you regain your strength."

Ashen studied her for a long second. "Who prepared it?"

Lumina’s smile widened, warm and doting. "I did. For you. I wanted to make you happy, my love."

His eyes narrowed.

His wife could not cook. In all months together, Lumina had rarely set foot in the kitchens. That domain belonged to Stella.

Yet here she stood, offering him food she had supposedly made with her own hands.

Ashen forced a nod and a grateful smile. "Thank you. I really appreciate this."

He accepted the bowl, the ceramic warm against his palms. Steam curled upward, carrying a faintly sweet, herbal scent.

Under her expectant gaze, he lifted it to his lips and pretended to drink. The liquid touched his tongue for only a fraction of a second before he tilted the bowl slightly, letting most of the contents pour discreetly down the front of his already sweat-dampened tunic, hidden by the angle of his body and the dim lighting. He made a show of swallowing and sighing in satisfaction.

Lumina watched him closely, her head tilted in that familiar way.

Almost immediately, a lethargy began spreading through his limbs. His eyelids grew heavy. The room tilted slightly. Whatever had been in that bowl was potent.

Lumina reached up slowly and peeled off her blindfold.

Silver eyes brighter and more dangerous than he remembered met him as the room changed. She stretched her hands toward him, fingers trailing lightly down his chest, tracing the hard lines of muscle through the damp fabric.

"I have waited so long for this," she whispered, voice low and honeyed. "For us to be together again... truly together."

She climbed onto the bed with graceful fluidity, straddling his lap. Her robe slipped from one shoulder, revealing smooth, pale skin kissed by moonlight streaming through the tall windows.

Her hands moved with deliberate slowness caressing his shoulders, sliding up his neck, threading through his hair. She leaned in, lips brushing the shell of his ear.

"Let me take care of you tonight, Ashen."

Her hips rolled gently against him, a slow, tempting rhythm designed to ignite fire in his blood.

She kissed the corner of his mouth, then his jaw, then lower, trailing soft, heated kisses down his throat while her fingers worked at the laces of his tunic.

The potion in the bowl made his body sluggish, but his mind fought desperately against the haze.

Ashen’s hands rose, gripping her waist not to pull her closer, but to steady himself.

"Lumina... wait," he rasped, voice strained. "This isn’t..."

"Shhh," she soothed, pressing a finger to his lips. She smiled, wicked and knowing, then captured his mouth in a deep, consuming kiss.

Her tongue teased him, coaxing, promising pleasure and oblivion. One hand slipped beneath his tunic, nails grazing his skin with just enough pressure to make his pulse race.

She arched against him, letting her robe fall further, bare skin brushing bare skin. Her silver eyes glowed faintly as she murmured words of longing and desire, painting vivid images of nights they had once shared.

Ashen’s body responded despite the warning bells screaming in his head. Heat pooled low in his belly. His grip on her waist tightened, torn between the drug’s pull and his own iron will.

But in the final moments, when her hands moved lower, seeking to undo the last barriers between them, clarity sliced through the fog like a blade.

"No," he growled, summoning every ounce of strength left in him.

With a sudden surge of will, he flipped their positions. Lumina gasped as her back hit the mattress. Ashen pinned her wrists above her head with one hand, his body hovering over hers. Their faces were inches apart, breaths mingling.

"Lumina... stop," he pleaded, even as his own body trembled with conflicted desire. "This isn’t you."

For a heartbeat, something like surprise flickered in her glowing eyes.

Then she smiled slowly, and dangerously seductive.

"My love," she purred, arching up to brush her breasts against his chest, "you don’t have to fight. Just feel. Let me love you the way you deserve."

She twisted her wrists free with surprising ease and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into another searing kiss. Her legs hooked around his hips, drawing him closer, grinding against him with deliberate, intoxicating pressure.

Ashen groaned, fighting the overwhelming urge to surrender. His mind grew foggy again, the drug and her power working in tandem. But he refused to break.

In one final, desperate act of control, he pressed his forehead to hers, channeling a thread of his own latent magic. A soft pulse of energy left his palm where it rested against her temple.

Lumina’s eyes widened. Her seductive smile faltered. A soft, surprised sigh escaped her lips as unconsciousness claimed her. Her body went limp beneath him, silver eyes fluttering closed as she sank deep into the mattress.

Ashen stared down at her, chest heaving, sweat glistening on his skin. The false Lumina lay peaceful and still, beautiful and treacherous.

The chamber door opened quietly. Ero, his most trusted aide, stepped inside, eyes scanning the scene.

"Is there any problem, my king?" Ero asked, voice low. "I heard... movement."

Ashen rose from the bed, adjusting his tunic. His expression hardened into something cold and calculating.

"Send Briella’s body back to the Shadowver Realm," he ordered, voice steady despite the headache still pounding behind his eyes. "I have cut all connections with that realm. Either another king rises to take the throne, or I will march there myself and take control of it."

Ero bowed deeply, showing no surprise at the command. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

Ero turned to leave, but before he could exit, a swirl of dark mist coalesced beside Ashen.

Aria materialized, her lithe form shimmering with barely contained fury. Her eyes locked instantly onto the unconscious woman on the bed.

"Is she the one?" Ashen asked quietly.

Aria moved closer to the sleeping Lumina, nostrils flaring. Suddenly, she hissed violently, fangs bared, and jerked backward. Rage burned in her crimson eyes like wildfire. Every muscle in her body tensed, ready to pounce and tear the impostor apart.

Ashen saw it clearly Aria could barely control herself around an enemy. She knew exactly what this creature was.. "A shapeshifter."

He stepped forward, placing a firm hand on Aria’s shoulder before she could lunge.

"Stop," he commanded.

Aria snarled, still straining toward the bed, claws extended.

"If I don’t play games with her," Ashen said calmly, "how will I discover her true intentions?"

Aria continued hissing, body vibrating with the need to attack. Ashen gestured sharply toward the door.

"Leave. Now... I will sort things out myself."

With obvious reluctance, Aria shot one last venomous glare at the unconscious figure, then dissolved back into dark mist and vanished.

Ashen glanced down at the unconscious body, "You are not dead now because you saved me from Briella but you wouldn’t die an easy death."