Chapter 18. The Ghost in The Snow

Lucien watched Aria walk down the snow--filled trail with furrowed brows.

Aria Thorne was an enigma. The more he got to know her, the more he realized that there were more layers beneath her that she kept hidden from the world.

She was hurt deeply, not just physically but emotionally. Any time he met her eyes, he could feel her fear, even with what they had shared the previous night. He could tell that deep within her, even unbeknownst to her, Aria still feared him.

A chill breeze brushed past him, and he shivered, not because of the cold but because of his ghosts.

Lucien closed the door behind him and started walking.

Even crippled, there were still some rituals that he held sacred, rituals that he had upheld for years, before and after his ambush. Lucien made his way around his cottage to the narrow road leading to the forest.

The path was entirely covered with snow. The only sign that there was a path there was the distinct lack of leaves that