Chapter 43 #3
Darkness envelops us, and it isn’t just dark. It’s absolute. An intense black that makes the world around me feel endless. There’s no up, no down, no sense of my own body. If it weren’t for Lucifer’s arms locked around me, I’d swear he’d tossed me into some void and left me to fall forever.
“Don’t be afraid.” His voice cuts through the nothing, right in front of me. But even when I turn toward him, there’s nothing to see. I look down—still nothing. Not even the outline of my own hands. “No light comes in here, so you can’t even see yourself.”
My breath escapes unevenly, trembling in the small space between us. As I draw another in, his thumb sweeps over my lower lip.
“Can you see me?” I whisper.
“I can.”
His fingers trail from my cheek, up toward my ear, then sinks into my hair. “Shadows were created by me, after all. I’m their weaver. They bow to me. Why would they ever impede my vision?”
I can’t think of anything to say to that because it both terrifies me and settles me, so I stay quiet and let his hands be the only anchor I have. We’re moving, that much I can sense, but whether we’re drifting upward or plummeting down, I can’t tell.
Seconds—or minutes—pass before he murmurs, “Close your eyes. Coming back into the light will be jarring, and I don’t want you getting a headache.”
I don’t hesitate and shut my eyes immediately.
He pulls me closer, guiding my forehead against the solid warmth of his collarbone. The darkness begins to thin behind my eyelids, light bleeding gradually through.
“I’ve never been the domineering type,” he says as the shadows fade around us. “Thanks for listening without giving me a hard time.”
“You were pretty dominating when you tried to tell me to sit in your lap.” I chuckle, teasing him.
“Yes, well…” His hand slides to my chin and gently tips my face up. “I can see why Kayn likes it so much.”
“Why’s that?” I blink slowly, allowing my vision to adjust and letting him come into focus.
He grins. “The thought of you doing exactly what I ask is… incredibly hot.”
An uninvited noise escapes my throat, which has heat flaring beneath my skin.
“It’s like…” He hums and leans toward me, close enough that I can taste his breath on my lips. “You’re inviting me in…”
Suddenly, static splits the air around us. The vibration startles me, and I pull back just before he can actually kiss me.
Heavy, thunderous footsteps echo behind him. When I lean to the side, I see Kayn barreling toward us.
I step away from Lucifer entirely, my heart spiking as my hands tremble with the urge to reach for Kayn. For him to reach for me. His expression is carved from pure relief, and every part of me wants to run into his arms, but I force myself to stay still.
He needs to go to Lucifer first—their reunion matters more. I’m not going to throw myself between them. I can get my moment after.
But I don’t know why I even doubted him. Why I thought, even for a second, that he wouldn’t choose me first. Maybe it’s the old lack of confidence that still whispers in my head, insisting no one would ever put me first.
Kayn proves just how wrong I am.
He brushes past Lucifer without a single glance and takes my face between his hands, pulling me into a kiss so fierce it steals the breath from my lungs. I would’ve fallen straight onto my ass if he didn’t have such a firm grip on me.
I inhale sharply through my nose, but the breath catches in my throat. His beard scrapes deliciously against my skin as he angles his head, silently demanding I open for him. My hands clutch his shirt, then slip around his waist, pulling him flush against me.
Why does it feel like I haven’t seen him in days?
My chest aches with the sheer relief of him. We’ve only been apart for hours, yet it feels like we’ve been apart for so much longer.
I’d felt suffocated without even knowing it until this very moment.
He finally pulls back a fraction of an inch, turning my head gently from side to side as if checking to make sure I’m here and unharmed.
“Are you alright?”
My heart—it fucking beats for this man.
“Yeah… I’m alright.” I mirror his touch, my hands sliding to hold his jaw, then his neck. “How are you?”
“Fine, little slayer. Gods, when I couldn’t reach you—” His voice breaks, and he kisses me again, desperate. “The bond was so quiet… I was ready to tear the Phantasm apart. Hex would’ve killed me for it.”
A laugh escapes me against his lips. “So brute-like of you…”
His smile flickers as he sets me fully on my feet. His fingers brush my collarbone, then trail down the black dress Lucifer stole for me. As his eyes rack over me, the appreciation and hunger in them have me blushing.
“I approve. My Gods, Amarah.”
“Stop.” I slap his chest lightly, then glance toward Lucifer.
He stands off to the side beside his Familiar. The lioness sits like a sentinel, staring straight at me, and though I’m not connected to animals, I feel her message loud and clear:
Let us leave them.
I give her a small, tentative smile. My pulse is still frantic, but Kayn needs this conversation. They both do. If they’re going to fix what’s happened, I won’t stand between them.
“Zuhara, right?”
“Yes, little witch.” She pads forward. “Would you like a tour?”
I let out a breath that’s half sigh, half prayer. “Yeah. Would you mind?”
“Not at all.”
“Amarah—” Kayn starts, voice thick with worry.
“Kayn.” I place my palm on his chest and reach through our bond. “I’m fine. Truly. I want this for you. I need it for you.”
Something in him softens, even as his hands tighten once more on me.
Zuhara turns, and I follow her down the hall. My heart pounds so hard it feels like it might bruise my ribs.
I’m scared for them, because I want their happiness so badly it physically hurts. And because they’re both stubborn enough to destroy it.
Behind me, their voices echo at the same time through different bonds:
“Thank you, little slayer.”
“Thanks, dollface.”
Great, now I’ll more than metaphorically be unable to get them out of my head.