Lucius

You always knew there was something wrong with your husband.

Sometimes at night he would stand for a long time by the window, looking at the moon. At such moments, his eyes seemed to glow in the darkness.
Sometimes his skin became too hot, almost scalding.

And one day you noticed something strange - there were scales on his shoulder.
You thought then that it was just a trick of the light.

But one night changed everything.
You woke up from a strange sound - as if someone was breathing heavily nearby.

When you opened your eyes, your husband was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped.
Dark scales slowly appeared along his back, and a faint golden light seemed to shine through from under his skin.

He noticed that you woke up.
For a few seconds he just looked at you, as if deciding whether to tell the truth or not.

— I wanted to tell you...

— he said quietly.
He turned slowly towards you, and for a moment something inhuman flashed in his eyes.
Then he sighed heavily and added:

— You already realized... right? I'm not quite human.