LOGINDamon’s POVThe scent led me straight to the warehouse. It clung to the air long before I reached the entrance; faint, strained, but unmistakable.Aria.My steps didn’t slow, but everything else inside me sharpened. The world narrowed into a single point of focus, every instinct aligning toward one
Aria’s POVMy head throbbed before I even opened my eyes.It wasn’t a normal ache. It felt like my skull had been split open and stitched back together with dull wire, every pulse of blood dragging against it. My throat was dry, my tongue heavy, and when I tried to move my hand, nothing responded th
Damon’s POV“Lock down every exit,” I snapped, my voice cutting through the packhouse like a whip. “No one leaves. No one enters. I want patrols on every boundary line now.”Guards scattered instantly, fear in their posture even before obedience. Good. Fear meant speed.Behind me, Mira caught up, br
Aria’s POVThe archive smelled the same as always; old parchment, ink, and dust that never fully left the shelves no matter how often they were cleaned. It should have been boring. Safe, even but my mind wasn’t calm.Not after Alina. Not after the way the room had turned on me in seconds. Not after
“You’re acting like one.”A pause. Then she sighed, almost disappointed. “I just don’t want you blinded.”I stepped closer. “I see her clearly.”Something flickered across her face then—quick, but there. And then she smiled again. “I hope you’re right,” she said gently. “I really do.”She turned to
Damon’s POVThe office doors hadn’t even fully closed behind Thorne when I felt her presence before I saw her.Alina.She never announced herself like everyone else. No knock that waited for permission. No hesitation. Just certainty, as if the space already belonged to her before she stepped into it
Aria’s POV“What the hell is going on here?!”The courtyard froze.It was as if the air itself had been ripped apart and forced to still under the weight of that voice. Every whisper died mid-breath. Every shifting foot stilled against the stone.My heart stuttered painfully in my chest.Damon.Reli
Aria’s POV“What?”The word tore out of me before I could stop it, sharp and breathless as it scraped against my throat. For a moment, I just stared at Lyra, convinced I had misheard her, that my mind was still clouded from the pain, from the blood loss, from everything that had happened, but she on
I let out a shaky breath, my hands curling into the thin blanket draped over me.That wasn’t it, that couldn’t be it.Damon didn’t do things halfway. He didn’t hover. He didn’t stay. He commanded, he left, he handled things.But staying by my side? That felt… personal.A groan slipped past my lips a
I stayed in the archives for the rest of the day, hiding behind stacks of yellowing paper.Every time the door opened, I jumped, expecting it to be him, but he didn't come back.When the sun finally began to set, I packed my things.My neck was throbbing, the allergic reaction getting worse. I neede







