Todos os capítulos de They Both Wanted Me: Capítulo 51 - Capítulo 60

The silence after battle was always the worst.Lena lay in Kael's arms, too weak to move, too drained to speak. Her body felt like stone, heavy and cold, drained of every drop of energy she had ever possessed. The light that had blazed so brightly within her was now a dim flicker, barely enough to keep her heart beating. Around her, the fortress slowly came back to life. Wolves searched for survivors among the rubble, their noses scenting the air for signs of life beneath fallen stones. Vampires tended the wounded, their cool hands gentle as they cleaned cuts and bound broken limbs. Hybrids moved through the chambers, freeing their captured kin from the remnants of Lilith's dark magic, cutting threads, opening cages, whispering words of comfort to strangers who had been imprisoned for years.But beneath it all, beneath the sounds of recovery and relief, there was a sound that made Lena's heart clench with dread. A sound she had heard before, in other battles, other wars, other moments

A week had passed since Dara's death.A week of mourning, of healing, of slowly piecing themselves back together. The camp had returned to something resembling normal life. Wolves trained in the mornings, their bodies pushing through exhaustion and grief. Vampires patrolled the perimeter at night, their ancient eyes watching for threats that had not yet materialized. Hybrids tended the gardens, planted new crops, repaired the buildings that had been damaged in the attack. Life went on because life always went on.But beneath the surface, beneath the routine and the ordinary moments, a current of tension hummed through the camp like a plucked wire. Everyone could feel it. Everyone knew what it meant. Lilith was gone, but she was not defeated. Not permanently."She will be back." Morgana spoke at the council meeting, her ancient face grim in the candlelight. The leaders of the alliance sat around the table, their faces tired but attentive. "My daughter does not give up. She retreats, re

The chamber fell into an uneasy silence.Lilith sat on the cold stone floor, her mother's arms still wrapped around her. The ancient vampire who had terrorized them for so long, who had killed and manipulated and destroyed without remorse, looked suddenly small, broken, human. Her dark hair hung in tangles around her face. Her hands, which had wielded so much power, now lay limp in her lap. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs.Lena watched with a mixture of pity and caution. Her heart wanted to believe. Her mind warned her to be careful. Lilith had deceived them before. She had sent Damon to infiltrate their camp. She had pretended to be broken while planning destruction. But this, this felt different. This felt real."Lilith." Lena's voice was quiet but firm, cutting through the silence. "Look at me."Slowly, hesitantly, Lilith raised her eyes. They were red and swollen, stripped of their usual dark fire. For the first time, Lena saw something in them that she had never seen before.

The valley was silent when they returned.Too silent. The kind of silence that pressed against the ears and made the heart beat faster. No birds sang. No insects buzzed. The wind itself seemed to hold its breath, as if the valley knew what had happened here and was waiting to see what would come next.Lena moved at the front of the small rescue party, her light flickering uncertainly in the gray dawn. Kael ran beside her in wolf form, his golden eyes scanning the tree line, the rocks, the shadows beneath the fallen trees. Caspian shadowed her other side, his ancient senses stretched to their limit, searching for any sign of danger. Lilith followed close behind, her face pale, her hands trembling. Mira and a handful of hybrids brought up the rear, their faces grim, their weapons drawn.No bodies. No blood. No sign of the Forsaken. The valley where Morgana had made her stand was empty, as if nothing had happened here at all. The grass was undisturbed. The stream flowed peacefully. The t

The light consumed Caspian.Lena watched, frozen, as his form dissolved into radiance. It happened slowly and all at once, a paradox that her mind could not process. One moment he was there, pale and beautiful, his red eyes fixed on hers. The next moment, light poured from every part of him, not destroying but transforming, turning flesh and bone and ancient blood into something pure, something eternal.His essence spread outward, upward, everywhere, weaving itself into the ancient barrier Morgana had built. She could feel him leaving, could feel the bond between them stretching, thinning, changing. He was not dying. He was becoming. He was everywhere and nowhere, present and absent, holding back the darkness so that others could live in the light.And then he was gone.The silence that followed was absolute.No birds called from the trees. No wind stirred the leaves. No one in the gathered crowd dared to breathe. The world itself seemed to hold its breath, waiting for something that