Chapter 488: Why?

Chapter 488: Chapter 488: Why?

[Third Person Pov]

When Zoe woke next, the first thing that hit her was pure, scalding embarrassment.

She was still in Lucian’s arms.

The realization barely had time to sink in before it twisted into something heavier—guilt. His body was a mess of dried blood, the dark stains flaking in places across his skin and clothes. More than that, she could already see a single lock of his hair beginning to bleach white at the roots, as if the impossible strain of holding the sky had started to take a permanent toll.

She, by contrast, felt almost reborn. Energy hummed through her limbs again. She was certain that if she tried, she could take the weight back from him—if only for a few precious seconds. Lucian, meanwhile, looked exhausted. His eyes were closed, face drawn tight with strain. Whether he had actually fallen asleep or was simply resting his eyes, she couldn’t tell, though the tense, charged atmosphere in the clearing made her lean toward the latter although she didn’t know where such tension stepped from.

Uncertain, she moved carefully, trying not to disturb him. The moment she attempted to ease herself free, she discovered just how secure his grip still was. One arm remained locked around her even in this state, as if some part of him refused to let her fall.

Lucian’s eyes opened slowly.

Zoe froze on instinct, the way one freezes when waking a dangerous animal. His crimson gaze settled on her, and then the corner of his mouth curved into a lazy, teasing smile.

"Hey, Snow White. Have a good sleep?"

The nickname only deepened her confusion. "Snow White?"

The full awareness of their position crashed over her a second later. She shoved herself out of his hold with every scrap of dignity she still possessed, putting distance between them as quickly as her recovering body would allow.

Lucian stared at her in open disbelief. "You seriously don’t know who Snow White is? You’re kidding, right? I refuse to believe you’ve never heard of Snow White. That’s ludicrous."

Zoe blinked, still processing—until she caught a glimpse of her own hair. The once-rich chestnut strands had turned pure, startling white. The contrast was jarring.

"Are you making fun of me because my hair is white?"

Lucian opened his mouth. Closed it. Stared at her in complete, speechless silence.

A short distance away, Luke turned his face toward the tree trunk he was leaning against and very carefully smothered a snicker.

"...Just forget it," Lucian finally sighed. "That isn’t important. How are you feeling?"

Zoe didn’t answer right away. She watched as he carefully shifted, transferring the full weight of the heavens onto both hands now that she was no longer in his arms. The change was immediate—his shoulders dropped a fraction, and some of the worst tension seemed to ease from his frame as relief settled over his features.

"Why didn’t you put me down?" she asked instead, ignoring his question entirely. Her eyes stayed fixed on him, searching.

"What?"

"I don’t understand. Why didn’t you set me down once you finished healing me?" Her voice held a mix of hesitation and genuine bewilderment. "It would have made what you’re doing easier. There was no need to keep supporting me."

Lucian looked briefly caught off guard, then almost embarrassed. "Ah... I suppose I really could have put you down once I was done, couldn’t I?" He gave the smallest possible shrug under the crushing weight. "I figured the ground would have been uncomfortable."

Zoe stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

’Is he messing with me? What is his goal here? He was worried I would be uncomfortable when he has that over his shoulders? Is he actually messed up in the head?’

She kept staring a moment longer, noticing the faint flush of embarrassment that crept across his blood-streaked face under her scrutiny.

"You’re weird," she said at last, offering her honest assessment.

"Oi, that’s a bit rude, don’t you think?" Lucian protested, already starting to sulk. "I mean, you’re completely right, but it’s still rude to point it out."

The pout on his face was so ridiculous that Zoe couldn’t stop the faint chuckle that escaped her. The sound died almost as soon as it left her lips. Awkwardness flooded in right behind it—laughter at something a man had said. Then, almost immediately, guilt followed. This man had quite literally saved her life, poured what little strength he had left into healing her while still bearing the sky... and she had yet to thank him, and all she could think about was their gender, she couldn’t help but feel a bit disgusted with herself.

"Now who’s the weird one?" Lucian pointed out with a scoff. "What’s with the face? It’s like you’re going through a hundred different emotions at once."

Zoe opened her mouth, then closed it. She bit her lip hard, wrestling with the last scraps of her pride. She had already surrendered herself to his arms once. Compared to that, this was nothing.

"...I never got the chance to thank you."

Lucian stared at her like she had just grown a second head. "Is your brain damaged or something?"

"Huh?!" Her glare snapped into place, fierce and immediate. "And what exactly is *that* supposed to mean?"

"You hate me, don’t you?" he said, still looking at her as if she were some strange new species. "I mean, maybe not full-on hate-me hate, but we certainly never got along. Hearing you express any kind of gratitude is completely out of character. You’re honestly starting to freak me out."

"What do you think of me?!" she snapped, indignation flashing across her face. "I might not have been the most fond of you—or of men in general—but I at least know when to be grateful! Tsk. You’re really good at being irritating, you know that?"

"It’s both a blessing and a gift," Lucian replied, looking entirely too proud of himself. The answer only seemed to annoy her further.

Zoe grunted and huffed, running a hand through her newly white hair. After a moment she paused, studying him with a more serious, wary expression.

"Honestly... why are you even here?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly as another thought struck her. "You’re not here for me, are you?" ℯ𝐥.𝒄ℴ𝓶

"No, I’m not," Lucian answered without hesitation, not bothering to soften the truth. "I’m here for Artemis’s sake. That’s how I got roped into this whole mess to begin with."

Zoe stepped closer despite herself, feeling the oppressive pressure that still radiated from the impossible weight he carried. "Can... can you tell me more about it?"

"What’s there to say?" He shrugged as much as the sky would allow. "You were captured as bait for Lady Artemis. I came to stop her from walking into it."

"Wait—I was bait?" Zoe’s eyes widened, disbelief shaking through her voice. "I... I thought... I thought I was being punished by my father. Taking his places while he served as a general once more"

"No. You were bait. Kronos and his army needed to weaken the Olympian Council to gain the upper hand in this war. Artemis was the simplest, most logical target."

Zoe was smart enough to piece the rest together on her own. Her fists clenched at her sides. "I see. So Lady Artemis was meant to take my place under the heavens..."

"In a way, this was also a trap for me," Lucian continued. "Besides the Olympians, I’m the biggest thorn in my grandfather’s side. I’m also considered the strongest. They needed me out of the picture. Either way they gained an advantage—whether they got Artemis or me. In the end, better me than her, right?" He offered a half-formed, weary smile.

The small, almost victorious curve of his mouth hit Zoe like a physical blow. Realization crashed over her.

"You knew this was a trap for Lady Artemis... but you weren’t captured like me. You willingly took her place. My place."

Her voice dropped, quieter, more uncertain. "I still don’t understand. Don’t get me wrong—I’m grateful you came when you did—but... I don’t mean anything to you. In fact, our relationship could be described as anything *but* amicable. This trap would only have been effective against someone like Artemis. You had no reason to take my place. You could have just watched me die if you wanted to."

"You’re right," Lucian said bluntly. "You don’t mean anything to me. I honestly find you annoying. Bothersome. Sexist. Frigid. Close-minded—"

He kept going, listing every flaw with casual precision. Zoe’s irritation climbed higher with every word.

"Okay, I get it! Get to the point!" she snapped, glaring at him with enough force to strip paint.

Lucian chuckled under his breath, then the humor faded. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and serious.

"So you might not mean much to me... but you mean the world to Artemis. You’re her lieutenant. Her daughter. Her close friend. If something happened to you, she would be devastated."

Zoe stared at him in complete disbelief. Even Luke, still leaning against the tree, raised a single brow at the admission. Neither of them could quite believe what they had just heard.

"...Wait," Zoe said slowly. "So the reason you took my place... was because if I died, it would have made Lady Artemis sad?"

Lucian met her eyes without flinching.

"Pretty much."

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