The Warm Algorithm

Chapter 40: While She Sleeps

Calix stirred, tangled in the sheets, her body trembling from the remnants of a dream she couldn't fully shake. Her breath came uneven, and when she turned, Lucien was already awake, watching her with quiet intensity.

"Another dream?" His voice was low, steady yet laced with a weight that made her chest tighten.

She hesitated, not wanting to burden him with the image still haunting her: the lifeless body on the floor, the blood, her own reflection staring back at her. Instead, she offered a small nod, her lips pressed together.

Lucien reached for her, pulling her against him, his warmth enveloping her. His hand ran slowly down her back, as if soothing her into silence. 

"You don't have to say it. I can tell."

Calix buried her face against his chest, letting the steady rhythm of his heartbeat calm her. 

"It just... felt so real." she whispered.

His jaw tightened, though his voice remained soft. 

"Dreams are nothing but shadows of fear. They can't touch you while I'm here."

She looked up at him, her eyes searching his. There was comfort in his words, but something in the way he held her gaze, too steady, too unyielding made her shiver.

Lucien brushed his thumb over her lips, then leaned closer, his breath warm at her ear. 

"I won't let anyone take you away from me."

The words should have reassured her, but they lingered in the air, heavy with a promise that felt less like protection and more like a chain.

Calix, exhausted and fragile, let herself sink back into his embrace. Sleep dragged her under again, restless and uneasy.

But Lucien did not close his eyes. Instead, he lay perfectly still, his stare fixed on her face memorizing, claiming, guarding.

And in that silence, his lips curved ever so slightly, as though he was watching not a lover, but something that belonged to him alone.