Chapter 5 The Price of Power

Lucien's grip tightened on her wrist. The truth was out-shocking, raw, unrelenting. The words burned through him, hot and cold at the same time. His chest tightened like he couldn't breathe, like the weight of the world had landed squarely on his shoulders.

He stared at her, his voice coming out low, dangerous, a whisper that rattled the walls.

"What the hell are you talking about, Isolde?"

Her face was pale, haunted. Her lips trembled, but she didn't look away. Her gaze held him captive in ways the chains of a hundred enemies never could.

"I didn't want this. I didn't want any of it," she said, voice trembling as she pulled her wrist free. "But you had to know. You deserve to know."

Lucien's pulse raced in his temples. "Know what?"

"Your bloodline, Lucien..." She hesitated, as if the truth was something she had kept buried deep inside her for far too long. Her eyes flicked to the floor, and for the first time in the years since they'd been bound together by fate, Lucien saw fear in her eyes.

"My bloodline?" he echoed, incredulous. His hands were shaking.

She nodded, but her expression was one of defeat. "You were born under a curse. The sea claimed you before you even drew your first breath. Your father-Aldric-never told you, did he?"

Lucien felt the ground beneath him tremble. The weight of her words was too heavy. "What kind of curse? What the hell are you saying?"

Her eyes met his, her voice steady now but full of sorrow. "The Dreadmour bloodline was bound to the sea by a deal that no one could undo. Aldric... he thought he could control it. But when you were born, it was you who would inherit it. You-" She choked on her words, her breath hitching. "You are the key to the Heart of the Abyss."

The world around Lucien seemed to stop.

He staggered back, hand gripping the stone wall for support, his mind reeling.

"No... no. That's not possible," he growled, disbelief clawing at his chest.

"The Heart of the Abyss is real," Isolde whispered. "And so are the curses it carries. Your father knew. He tried to fight it. But in the end, it was never his battle to win."

Lucien closed his eyes, trying to swallow the storm rising in his chest. He wanted to scream. He wanted to break everything in sight.

But he couldn't-because somewhere deep inside him, he knew the truth of her words. The curse. The bloodline. The Heart of the Abyss. They were all real.

"And what does this curse mean for me?" he asked, his voice a growl of raw, barely contained rage.

Isolde took a step closer. "It means you're bound to the sea, Lucien. To its magic. And to the throne that was never meant for you. The only way to break it... is to control the Heart."

The room seemed to grow colder, the air thicker. Lucien felt like he was drowning, suffocated by the weight of the truth. He could barely breathe.

And then, with a voice that shook, he asked the question that had been burning in his mind since he first learned of this curse.

"And what does this have to do with you?"

She looked at him with a sorrow so deep it nearly consumed her.

"Everything."

Isolde's voice cracked, a whisper of betrayal hanging in the air between them. Her eyes, filled with regret, met his, but she could not look away. Lucien was no longer the boy she had once raised-he was a king. And kings didn't look back. Not unless they wanted to lose everything.

"You..." Lucien's breath hitched as he stepped back, his body trembling from the raw emotions coursing through him. "You're the reason he's dead. You-you betrayed my father, didn't you?"

Isolde flinched at the accusation, but there was no denial in her eyes. Only acceptance.

"I never wanted this, Lucien," she said quietly, her voice full of pain. "But I couldn't fight the sea. I couldn't fight what it had already claimed. And your father, he knew it too. The moment you were born, it was you-the one the sea had chosen."

Lucien's heart pounded against his ribs. The truth was a jagged edge, cutting through him like a blade. The pain was overwhelming. And yet, he couldn't look away. He couldn't tear himself from the monster she had made him.

"I was the one who made the deal," Isolde continued, her words heavy with the weight of an eternity. "I sealed your fate before you even had a chance to breathe. I bound you to the Heart of the Abyss, to the power of the seas. It was never supposed to be you. It was always supposed to be me."

Lucien stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief. "You? You were the one who-"

"I was the one who sacrificed everything for the power," she confessed, her voice quivering. "Your father and I were bound by more than just love. We were bound by magic, by a curse that could never be undone. But when I found out about the Heart, when I realized what it could do, I... I knew that I would have to lose him in order to save you. In order to make sure you would survive."

"Survive?" Lucien's voice was hoarse. "You-you took everything from me. My father, my trust, my future..."

"I did it because I loved you," she whispered. "Because you were always meant to be the king of this empire. Not your father. You. But the price of that power is steep, Lucien. The Heart can't be controlled without a sacrifice."

His chest tightened. "What do you mean?"

"The curse will only break when the Heart is claimed. But to do so, you must kill the one who holds the power. The one who controls it."

Lucien's throat went dry. "And who is that?"

She met his gaze, her expression filled with sorrow.

"It's me."

The words were a knife to the heart, and Lucien staggered back. His knees nearly gave out from the weight of it.

"No," he breathed, his hands gripping the edge of the table for support. "No. I won't kill you. Not like this. Not for a throne built on blood."

She stepped closer, her eyes filled with pain and love. "It was never just about the throne, Lucien. It's about freeing you from the curse. From the blood that binds you. From the heart that beats in your chest and calls to the sea."

Lucien's mind spun. The truth was too much. It was too dark, too twisted.

But in his chest, something ancient stirred. Something darker than even he understood.

"I don't care about the throne," Lucien said, his voice shaking. "But I'll be damned if I let you die for me."

Isolde took his hand, her grip as firm as the sea itself. "Then we both die."

Lucien felt her pulse against his skin, the heartbeat that mirrored his own. The curse was within them both. They were bound by fate, by blood, by a love that was never meant to be.

And as they stood there, in the quiet aftermath of a storm that had yet to end, Lucien knew one thing above all else.

There would be no escaping the sea.

Cliffhanger-

A sudden hush fell over the storm. The waves stilled, the wind held its breath-then a whisper rose from the deep, ancient and cold: "She's here."

Lucien's grip tightened. Isolde? But before the thought could settle, lightning struck the mast, fire erupted, and chaos tore through the deck.

Ryker turned, smiling like a man possessed. "I brought her to you, Lucien!" he shouted.

The sea groaned beneath them. Something stirred. Something alive.

And in that moment, Lucien knew-this was no longer his voyage.

It was the sea's.

To be continued...