CHAPTER 34
Seraphina
I wandered the gardens, rain slicked paths glinting under the moonlight, trying to think. The flowers smelled faintly of jasmine, of damp earth, and of memories I could not escape. He was everywhere, in the corridors, in the estate’s shadows, in the pulse of the walls themselves.
I wanted freedom. I wanted control. I wanted him to leave me alone and yet, every time I thought of him, I burned with longing. Rage, pain and desire, they were tangled together, impossible to separate. I hated that I wanted him. That I craved him, even after everything.
I stopped near the fountain, watching the water ripple under the radiance gleem. I imagined his hands, his gaze, the way he moved through the world with absolute command and I realized something terrifying, I would never be free of him. Not fully. Not ever.