He forced my chin upward, making me look.
“Behold,” he revealed. “These are all who dared to betray us. Timebornes. Timebounds. And soon…you.”
My knees buckled, and I collapsed. My body shook, my voice filled with terror.
“Raul…don’t.Please, I’m begging you.”
Raul hauled me to my feet with brutal force, his face contorted in a feverish rage. His eyes burned with a manic glint, veins bulging at his temples.
“My people demoted me!” he roared. “Balthazarstood inmyhome. He should have been my kill, not the other way around. I was supposed to rise higher than any Timehunter before me, and instead, I wasreduced. Stripped of everything. But killing you—you treacherous little viper—will be my ticket back to the top.”
He gripped the hilt of his dagger tightly, the metal catching the torchlight like a promise of blood.
In a desperate act of survival, I yanked open my shirt, baring my chest. The cool air met my skin as I stepped forward, unflinching.
His body stiffened—marble carved in tension and lust—and heat radiated off him like wildfire. His breath hitched.
“Iloveyou!” I cried out. “Iachefor you. I always have. You were the only one who ever truly saw me. You helped me poison my parents. You made me powerful. Let me be your queen again.”
His fury faltered, hovering on the edge of desire. I could see it—the war behind his eyes. He wanted to believe me.
I stepped closer, sliding my hands up his chest, feeling the stone-hard planes of muscle beneath my palms. I trailed down his torso, tracing the dips and curves of his abdomen and hips.
He shuddered beneath my touch.
His jaw clenched. His breath grew ragged.
And then he gave in.
Raul’s defenses crumbled as his hands gripped my waist, pulling me to him with greedy force. His mouth crashed against mine, and a sudden spark ignited an inferno between us. I clung to him like a lifeline, every inch of my body pressed against his as he devoured me.
His kiss was raw, desperate, possessive.
When we finally broke apart, gasping for air, his face hadsoftened—no longer the face of an executioner, but a man drowning in old want.
“Raul,” I whispered, breathless, quivering with calculated need, “I can’t take it anymore. Ineedto be with you. I’ll do anything to make this happen.”
His eyes glinted with hunger.
Fire. Possession. Madness.
“Anything?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous, curled around a sinful promise.
My breath caught, freezing in my lungs. Raul’s eyes bore into mine, dark with hunger. He licked his lips, like a predator toying with prey.
I braced myself for a confession—some dark fantasy, some obscene pleasure.
But instead, he said, “Promise me you will bear me a child.”
The words slammed into me like a wave of ice. Every muscle in my body went rigid, a cold jolt of dread shooting through my spine.
“A child?” I echoed, stunned. “Raul… why would you want a baby withme?”
His face darkened, eyes blazing with old grief and vengeance.
“Because ofyou, I lost my son,” he snapped. “Because of you, my entire family was ripped away. If you give me a child, I’ll make you queen of this house—but only if you swear to never time travel again. If you break that vow, I will drag you to the Timehunters myself.”
I hesitated, then bit my lip and forced a trembling nod. “Okay… I’ll do it.”
