He stepped forward, breaking the spell like glass underfoot.
And in that instant, I knew?—
Nothing would ever be the same again.
My heart thundered as I stood frozen between running back to the shop or facing the storm that had taken human form before me.
Balthazar.
Every second stretched, unbearably slow, like time was daring me to make the wrong choice.
A chill coiled down my spine as his glacier-blue eyes locked onto mine, cold and merciless. His lips curled into a sneer, all softness stripped away, replaced with pure venom.
“Wait—please,” I said, my voice breaking as I held out my hands. “I can explain. I swear, I still love you. Being apart only made me realize how much.”
He stepped forward, lethal, like a predator closing in. The storm raged around us, but he moved through it untouched, as if even the rain feared him.
“It had to be this way,” I rushed on, desperation lacing my voice. “If we’d gone on the quest together, we—we never would’ve been able to keep our hands off each other.”
His eyes narrowed, his expression twisting with disgust. “‘Wenever would’ve been able to keep our hands off each other,’” he repeated scornfully. “Pasttense.”
Then, he hissed, “I hate you. Idespiseyou.”
The words broke something inside me.
They tore through my chest like jagged glass, lodging deep in a heart that still pulsed only for him. I tried to breathe around the ache, to pretend it didn’t break me—but the pain echoed in every part of me, raw and inescapable.
And yet—God help me—I still yearned for his touch.
I swallowed the hurt and stepped closer. “We can find our way back. To what we had. To what we were.”
Then I saw her.
Olivia.
She stood behind the shop window, eyes wide in horror, watching us unravel in the middle of the storm. She was a ghost behind the glass, powerless to stop the fallout.
“I’ll do anything,” I whispered. “I’ll make this right.”
Balthazar’s eyes flared, no longer icy but blazing with fury. His hands curled into fists at his sides, trembling with the force of restrained violence.
“You bitch,” he seethed. “You tookeverythingfrom me. You left me hollow.Now, you’re going to pay.”
I fumbled for my purse, panic rising like bile in my throat—but it was too late.
His hand clamped around my neck, fingers like iron.
“I told you I’d kill you,” Balthazar growled, his voice a venomous whisper. “You’re a deceitful, lyingbitch, just like your father. You betrayed me, the same way he did. You’re all just writhing, disgusting serpents.”
His grip tightened. I choked, gasping for air, clawing at his wrist as my vision began to blur. With my free hand, I desperately rummaged through my bag, searching for anything that could save me.
My fingers found it.
The cold, familiar handle of my dagger.
I drew it in a trembling arc, aiming for his side.
But he was faster.
