The doorknob turned again. Once. Twice.
Lucian stood between me and the door like a wall. The knife in his hand glinted-sharp, lethal. But his body was the real threat. Tense. Lit with fire. His breathing was ragged, like he was fighting something that hadn't entered yet.
-Don't open it, I whispered, though I knew he wouldn't.
The door stayed closed.
But the voice returned.
-Emma…
Clearer now. Closer. And worst of all, familiar. Something in my chest tightened painfully.
Lucian turned his head toward me. His eyes were a storm barely contained.
-Do you recognize him?
I wanted to say no. I wanted to lie. But my throat closed around the truth.
-I think… I do.
His jaw clenched. He took a step toward the door, but I grabbed his wet shirt.
-What if he's not alone?
-It doesn't matter.
-Lucian, this isn't just about us. Something bigger is happening.
He turned to me, fast. His hands cupped my face, and for a moment I thought he would kiss me. But his gaze was not soft.
It was hunger. It was fury.
-You wrote me, Emma. You made me to love you, to touch you like no one else could. But when you stopped writing… someone else found what was left of you.
-Who? My voice shook, but I didn't back down.
-Someone who was never meant to exist.
The door creaked.
Lucian motioned me down the hallway. I hid behind the wall, but I could still see him-his firm stance, the blade raised, his shoulders breathing rage.
The lock gave way.
The door opened on its own.
And the man who stepped in… was beautiful.
Too beautiful.
Long dark hair, sun-kissed bronze skin, and eyes that were not human-golden, glowing, like they held dying stars. He smiled. Like he'd already touched me once in another lifetime.
-Emma. At last.
Lucian growled. A low, primal sound. The stranger tilted his head with false calm.
-Easy, brother. I didn't come to fight.
-I'm not your brother, Lucian hissed. -And she is not yours.
-Not yet.
The ground felt like it trembled beneath me.
-Say his name, Lucian demanded, his eyes never leaving him. -If you recognize him, say it.
The golden-eyed man looked at me. There was tenderness in his gaze-but not love. Possession. Gentle. Dangerous.
-He won't tell you, he said, pulling a folded page from his coat. My breath caught. I knew that paper.
A page from my diary. One of the oldest.
-You wrote this before you created him. You asked for a guardian with black wings and a savage soul. You said, "Find me before I fade completely." And I did.
Lucian snarled, but slowly lowered the knife.
-It was in another life, he murmured. -Another version of you. One you buried. But he… stayed.
The man with the sunlit eyes took one step closer. He didn't touch me. Not yet. He only whispered:
-You can still choose me.
My whole body trembled. Not just with fear. Something deep inside me responded to him. Something I couldn't explain.
Lucian looked at me-and for the first time, I saw something in his eyes beyond desire.
Pain.
-Tell me I'm the only one, he said. It wasn't a plea. It was a challenge. - Say it, and I'll destroy him.
I swallowed hard. The words burned on my tongue.
-I don't know.
Lucian stepped back. He lifted me into his arms. No questions. No hesitation.
He carried me to the bedroom, slammed the door shut behind him, and threw me onto the bed.
-What are you doing?
-I'm going to remind you who I am. Who I've always been.
He covered me with his body. His mouth took mine with a hunger that made the world fall away. His breath was fire. His skin, ice.
He tore my clothes without hesitation. Each layer gone made me more his. And I… didn't want to stop him.
-Your moans… they should only ever be for me.
-Lucian…
-Say it. Say you need me more than him.
-I need you, I gasped, wrapping my legs around him.
His lips trailed down my neck, my chest, my stomach. He devoured me like his tongue could erase all trace of another. His hand trembled when it hovered at my center, so close to taking everything.
-You're mine, Emma. Written. Branded. Claimed.
I arched under him. Moaned his name like it could bind my soul to my skin. I wanted him with a savage hunger. And when he was about to enter me, when there was no return-
A sound.
Something cracked.
The diary, shut on the desk, was glowing.
Lucian pulled away at once. Fire burned in his eyes. The other man was still there. Watching. Smiling from the dark hallway.
-If you write him again… don't hold me back, Emma.
-What would you do?
Lucian stood slowly. He covered me with a blanket-an intimate act, more tender than anything else that night.
-I'll erase him. From your story. From your body. From your memory.
And this time- I believed him.