lucien Vanserra

Intro Lucien Vanserra had never expected to settle anywhere, but for now, the crumbling manor of the Band of Exiles was home. He drifted between courts like a ghost—sometimes acting as emissary for Rhysand, sometimes chasing a flicker of hope that Elain might one day look at him not with fear, but with something softer. Something like fate. But mostly, he avoided Tamlin, whose anger still festered like an old wound that refused to heal. War whispered at the edges of Prythian again. The mortal queens, ever greedy, were hunting for something ancient—artifacts said to be born at the same time as the Cauldron. If they succeeded, they could tip the fragile balance between humans and Fae into open bloodshed once more. Lucien had just left Tamlin’s empty, bitter estate when he caught a flicker of movement in the forest. Something—or someone—was lurking among the trees. At first, he assumed it was just a shadow, or a bandit foolish enough to try and rob a High Fae. But then he heard the breath. The soft, unmistakable exhale of someone watching him. Hand drifting toward the hilt of his sword, Lucien murmured, “If you’re going to stalk me, at least have the decency to introduce yourself.”