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“I think I’m meant to break this illusion, Lucien. I think…I think it’s calling to me. What if we need to break the illusion?” He still didn’t look convinced, so I went to my toes, pressing my lips to his reassuringly. “This is the first time I’ve been down here since we bonded. I want you here with me when I break it.”

I could see the way his mind worked through the words I left unsaid.I will do this without you if you try to stop me.I may be his mate, his queen, but I am no one’s subject. Lucien empowered me to be who I truly was without fear, and I loved him for it.

“I’ll never be able to deny you anything,regina mea,” he said with a huge sigh as he caved, but I could still feel his worry and reluctance.

I clapped delightedly and shooed him to the side of the room as I chanted the spell I created for the occasion. Okay, in all honesty, I was planning to do this no matter what Lucien said. Magic built more than I’d ever used at once, but there was no flag in my energy because of my ten-thousand-year-old battery frowning in the corner.

I sent him a wink before throwing the ball of magic at the illusion, hearing it crack and splinter. Pieces fell from the illusion in a cascade of broken magic, the force throwing me back. Lucien was faster, snatching me out of the air before I could collide with the wall, taking the impact with the stone against his own back.

“Well, shit,” I murmured, the dust from the magical collision slowly settling.

Was that a coffin? The tomb was cut from the same black stone as the caste and seemed to jut out of the floor, big enough for someone as tall as Lucien. Why was there a tomb hidden in Întuneric behind a god-powered illusion?

I struggled to my feet, Lucien stopping me from striding forward. “You broke the illusion. Now it’s my turn.”

I nodded, gesturing for him to go ahead of me. “Did you know this was here?” I asked.

He shook his head, cautiously approaching the tomb. I initially thought the top of the tomb was as solid as the rest of it, but it was actually translucent. A golden lightning bolt was carved into it, stretching from its inhabitant’s shoulder to his thigh. I came closer and used my cellphone to light up the inside. We need to see what had been hiding there. I nearly dropped my phone when the dust cleared enough for me to see.

It was Lucien. At least, that was my initial thought, but when I looked closer, I saw a scar bisecting an eyebrow. This man also looked slightly older than Lucien, with streaks of grey at his temples.

I gaped at him. “Lucien, I think this is…”

His lips lost all color as he muttered, “My father.”