Amara moved first, her eyes glistening with heat, lips trembling as if she’d been starving for me alone. Her fingers slid along my jaw, down my throat, curling beneath my chin to drag my mouth toward hers. Her voice dripped with smoke?—
“Salvatore, my love. I should have always been yours. Stay with me, and I’ll never deny you again. I’ll give you every part of me—my lips, my body, my love—forever.”
Her mouth pressed to mine, slow and intoxicating, filling me with the devotion I had begged for in silence.
Helena followed—alive, radiant, her smile heavy with desire. She pressed her body into me, her breath scalding as she kissed the shell of my ear before seizing my mouth with hers, deeper, hungrier. Her voice trembled with hunger?—
“Do you remember me, Salvatore? The nights I smiled for you in secret? They were only the beginning. Stay, and I will burn for you, belong to you, drown in you—again and again.”
Her kiss consumed me, her tongue sweet and sinful, her body pressing harder until I was gasping.
Then my father. Not the brute, nor the monster—but proud. Strong. His arms wrapped me in an iron embrace, pulling me into a chest that no longer reeked of rage, but pride. His voice thundered low in my ear.
“My son. My heir. My blood. I am proud of you. You are my legacy, my crown. Stay, and you will never be unloved again. Stay, and I will honor you until the end of time.”
And then Lazarus.
His eyes devoured me, worshipful, broken, yet filled with something deeper. He seized my face in his hands, pressing his forehead to mine. His breath shook as it spilled against my lips, his voice ragged with obsession.
“You are everything to me, Salvatore. My brother. My king. My god. I love you. I care for you more than my own life.”
The words hit harder than chains, sharper than blades. His arms wrapped around me, clinging, desperate, as if letting go would kill him.
“Stay,” Lazarus whispered again, his voice faltering into reverence. “Stay, and let me worship you forever. Stay, and I will never abandon you. Stay, and I will belong to you—always.”
They drowned me in their mouths, their touch, their worship. Amara moaned against my lips, her devotion burning. Helena’s kiss deepened until I thought I would suffocate. My father’s embrace crushed me with pride I had never known. Lazarus’ grip trembled with love, his voice a vow in my ear?—
“I love you, Salvatore. I care for you more than anyone, more than anything. You are my king, my god, my reason to breathe. Stay, and I will never let you fall again. Stay, and I will worship you until the end of time.”
His lips brushed my temple, his arms crushing me to him. It wasn’t just loyalty—it was devotion so deep it burned. His worship made me feel like I wasn’t a man, but something higher.
The warmth of them seeped into me, flooding the hollow places carved by chains and whips, by starvation and betrayal.
Euphoria. Blinding, endless euphoria.
I could feel it sinking deeper than flesh—into my bones, into the marrow. It wasn’t just love. It belonged. It was everything I had been denied since boyhood poured over me like fire and honey.
I clung to it, kissed them back, let myself drown in it. Amara’s lips, Helena’s hunger, my father’s pride, Lazarus’ worship—it filled me until I was gasping, drunk on devotion.
And gods, I wanted it forever.
For the first time in my life, I felt whole. Not hollow. Not broken. But whole.
The shadows whispered, their voices curling like velvet chains around my skull?—
“You see now, Salvatore? This is what you ache for. This is what you starve for. Stay, and it will never end. Stay, and you will never be unloved again. This kingdom will be yours. They will be yours. Forever.”
I wanted to believe them. My knees weakened, my body quaked, desire and hunger pouring through me in waves.
I was losing to love.
I was losing to desire.
And gods, the losing felt euphoric.
Their voices wrapped around me like chains of smoke and iron, pressing until my bones ached.
Amara moaned against my mouth, her words hot, sultry, “You’ll never be alone again if you stay.”
