“What it would take to… bring you back?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I only know that someday… it might be necessary.”
I clenched my fists, the thought of her death twisting in my chest like a thorn. I didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to imagine a world without her light.
The streets were empty, the city quiet, and the only sound was the soft flutter of Meryn’s wings as she glided through the darkness, her presence a silent reminder of the bond that kept me tethered to this world.
As we walked closer to the edge of the village, back to my forest, the silence between us grew heavier, filled with a tension that neither of us dared to break.
A moment later, Elena stumbled beside me, her foot catching on a loose stone, and before I could think, I reached out, catching her in my arms. She fell against me, her body pressing against mine, and for a moment, the world stilled, the air thick with something electric, something dangerous.
Her face was inches from mine, her breath warm against my skin, and I could feel the faint, unsteady beat of her heart, her pulse racing as her gaze met mine, her eyes wide, vulnerable, filled with something I couldn’t quite name.
The air between us felt charged, filled with a quiet, unspoken longing, a pull that I could no longer deny.
“Elena,” I murmured, my voice rough, strained, as I forced myself to pull back, to create a distance between us.
She stepped back, her face flushed as she turned away, hermovements quick, almost frantic as she disappeared into the darkness, leaving me alone in the silence.
And I could no more stop myself from chasing her than I could stop breathing.
Without thinking, I followed, my footsteps silent as I gave chase, trailing her through the trees, my heart pounding with a possessive thrill that I couldn’t suppress, a hunger that I couldn’t ignore.
I would find her. I would catch her.
And I would make her see that this—whatever this was—was far from over.
Chapter 15: Elena
As I fled Dario, the forest seemed alive with shadows, curling in on themselves like serpents, whispering things I couldn’t understand.
My heart pounded in my chest, not just from the exertion, but from something far more dangerous.
Staggering, I pressed my back against the rough bark of a towering tree, my breath coming in ragged bursts, my pulse thrumming in my ears.
Everything around me—the night, the forest, the soft rustle of leaves—felt oppressive, too close, too heavy.
I tried to focus on the coolness of the night air on my skin, the sharp scent of moss and earth, anything to distract me from the growing chaos inside.
But nothing worked. Because no matter how much I tried to think of something—anything—else, all I could feel was his presence. Dario.
He came to a halt a few paces from me, his dark eyes fixed on me, and though the space between us was wide enough, it felt like the air itself was thick with the weight of his gaze.
I hadn’t realized until now how much I could feel him—his presence like a constant pressure against my skin.
It was as though the shadows that swirled around him reached out to touch me, wrapping themselves around my body, weaving through the air between us.
Every time he was near, I felt that pull. That undeniable, magnetic draw that made my heart race and my breath falter.
I shook my head in denial. I didn’t want this. I didn’t wanthim.
But the more I fought it, the more impossible it became to ignore.
The world I had known was crumbling beneath me, and Dario—this man, this creature of shadow who had once been my sworn enemy—was standing at the heart of it, unraveling everything I had ever believed.
The Temple had been my life for so long and now... now I was beginning to see the cracks, and with each passing moment, those cracks widened, threatening to swallow me whole.
And there, standing ready to catch me when I fell, was Dario.
