The wind howled outside the castle, brushing against the shattered windows like a phantom. I lay on the velvet sheets in Kael's room, swaddled in warmth, but I couldn't stop shaking.
Not from the cold.
From what I saw.
From what I felt.
Kael sat beside me, shirtless, wounds still healing over his pale skin, the shadows that obeyed his command now resting like silent sentinels around the room.
"You should sleep," he said, brushing a damp lock of hair from my cheek.
"How can I?" I whispered. "Kael, she was there. Lilith. She let him go. She helped him."
His jaw tightened. "I know. I felt her magic the moment he vanished. She cloaked him."
"But why?" I asked. "What does she want?"
Kael's gaze dropped. "Me. And now you."
I turned toward him, anger burning under my skin. "She'll come again."
"She will." His eyes met mine. "But next time, I'll be ready."
I sat up, resting my hand on his chest. His heart beat slowly and steady beneath my fingers. "Why didn't you tell me about her? About the past?"
His silence was answer enough.
"She's more than just an enemy, isn't she?" I pressed. "You had a history."
Kael's voice was barely a whisper. "I once loved her. Centuries ago. She saved me then twisted everything I was. She's not just powerful. She's obsessed."
I felt a sharp pull in my chest. "And now she wants me out of the way."
Kael's arms circled me. "She won't have you. Not ever."
We stayed like that, tangled in each other's warmth as the sky turned grey outside. But peace never truly settled.
The silence in the room was heavy , smothering and absolute.
Kael stood still, the glow of the shattered chandelier casting fractured light across his face. Blood painted his hands a mix of his and Azrael's. The battle had ended, but nothing felt finished. Not really.
Seraphina clutched the edge of the stone wall, her vision swimming. She had seen too much. Heard too much. Her body trembled not from fear, but from the sheer weight of what they had all become. She couldn't even find her voice; only shallow, ragged breaths filled the room.
"Seraphina." Kael's voice broke through the haze, rough with concern.
She tried to take a step toward him, but the dizziness surged, and she collapsed into his arms. He caught her effortlessly, like he'd always done, his red eyes softer now panicked.
"Shh I've got you." He stroked her hair, his cheek pressing against her forehead. "It's over."
But it wasn't.
Behind them, the remnants of Azrael's escape faded into the mist. He hadn't died. Not truly. His words echoed still, bitter with vengeance: "I'll come for her again, Kael. You took everything from me. I'll return the favor."
Kael's jaw tightened.
Seraphina whimpered. "Kael, I saw everything. Lilith was there she whispered to him. She helped him."
His body went rigid. Lilith.
Centuries-old hatred flared beneath his skin. That woman, who was his former lover once filled with cruel beauty, had returned like a ghost hell-bent on destruction. And now she was tangled in their lives again. Manipulating,Corrupting. Poisoning and jealousy what little peace they had.
"She won't win," Kael growled, holding Seraphina tighter. I won't let her.
But Lilith was far from done.
Elsewhere, hidden in a forgotten crypt cloaked by blood and ash...
Lilith's scream shattered the stone walls. Her hair billowed around her like a storm, and her eyes deep violet and furious glowed with pure hate. She slammed her palm into the mirror before her, cracking it from edge to edge.
"I gave him everything! I birthed his army, bled for him! And he still chose her!"
A low voice echoed in the shadows. "Azrael failed."
Lilith turned, her lip curling. "He won't again. He's angry now. Awake. Just like me."
She placed her hand over her stomach, pain flashing across her expression. The memory of what was stolen from her centuries ago was still raw. A child. A future. A love she'd twisted into obsession.
"That girl will lose everything," Lilith spat. The way I did. Then she'll understand.
And with a final incantation, Lilith stepped into the shadows plotting her next strike.
"You almost died," he whispered.
"So did you," I replied, reaching out.
He took my hand and kissed my wrist, lingering over my pulse like he needed proof I was still here. His mouth trailed up slowly, lips grazing my skin, tender but aching. When he climbed onto the bed, the darkness shifted electrically.
"I need to feel you," he murmured, his voice husky with restrained hunger. "No more running. No more fear. Just us."
My breath caught as he hovered over me, his eyes searching mine, waiting. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down, pressing our lips together with a need that tasted of survival and madness.
His kiss deepened, rough and desperate, his hands everywhere at once peeling away the remains of my clothes, touching, claiming. His mouth moved to my throat, sucking gently, then biting just enough to make me gasp.
You're mine, Seraphina,he growled, dragging his tongue down the curve of my breast. "No one touches what belongs to me.
I fell into him, heart racing. My hands tangled in his hair as he made love to me like a man on the edge of war slowly at first, then punishing. Each thrust was a vow, each kiss a silent apology for everything we had lost and everything still coming.
When we both shattered, it wasn't quiet.
It was on fire.
It was a scream into the void that tried to swallow us whole.
And in that moment, nothing else existed, no Azrael, no Lilith, no prophecy. Just us, burning in a storm we had created.
The room pulsed with tension not the kind born of anger or fear, but the slow-burning hunger that had been simmering between us since the moment our eyes met. Kael stood in front of me, his crimson gaze roaming over my body as though he were starving and I was his salvation. The storm outside roared, but it was nothing compared to the storm inside us.
"You're mine," he growled, voice low, velvet smooth and dark as sin. "No one, not Lilith, not Azrael will ever take you from me."
"I was always yours," I whispered, breath catching as his fingers traced the line of my jaw, down my neck, until they brushed the swell of my breast through the thin fabric of my dress.
He kissed me then hard, possessive, yet more tender. His lips devoured mine, his hands pulling me against him, and I could feel every inch of his need. My fingers tangled in his scattered hair , tugging, gasping when his fangs grazed my bottom lip. I tasted blood, a spark and it ignited something wilder in him.
Clothes fell away, forgotten. His mouth explored every inch of me, worshipping my skin with a reverence that made my heart ache. When his lips brushed down the valley between my breasts, I fell into him, moaning with pleasure. His name felt like a prayer. His hands held me firm, guiding every movement with a deliberate kind of patience that only made the fire burn hotter.
Our bodies moved , in heat and pleasure. Kael was slow and intense, whispering in a language I didn't understand but felt in my soul. Every touch was a promise. Every kiss was a vow.
"Tell me what you want," he rasped into my ear, his voice barely holding back the beast within.
"You," I gasped. "All of you."
He gave me exactly that. Again and again.
I felt more pleasure when he sucked my pussy. I couldn't moan anymore. It felt like my words were stuck on my throat.
I have never felt hot like how I felt today.
Kael was truly devouring Me and this time he wasn't gentle like before.
Time dissolved. Only the two of us remained lost in the dark, wrapped in blood and love and need. It wasn't just sex. It was a connection. It was war and surrender. It was the only peace we'd known in this cursed, twisted world.
When it was over, Kael pulled me against his chest, his heartbeat slow and deep beneath my cheek. For a moment, we simply breathed together wrapped in silk sheets and the promise of more battles ahead. But for now, we had this.
And it was everything.