“The heat of the moment often leads us astray,” he murmured. “But if that was a mistake… it was beautiful.”
He bowed again with a courtly grace that made the gesture feel like poetry.
And then he stepped back, letting the silence rise between us.
I stood frozen.
My mind spun. My pulse thundered. Who was he, truly? Anobleman? A killer? A savior sent in darkness—or the very thing darkness feared?
I wanted to step forward and ask questions I wasn’t ready to hear the answers to. But fear gripped my spine.
His presence hadn’t faded—it pressed against me still, invisible yet heavy, like velvet soaked in ice.
I tried to move—tried—but my body wouldn’t respond.
Lord Balthazar’s gaze held me captive—tethering me to the earth with a force I could not name. I couldn’t run.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t look away.
I stood suspended, caught between terror and temptation.
Then he moved.
He closed the distance, effortlessly; his eyes never strayed from mine. Darkness radiated from him—not malevolence, but deep and ancient power curling around him like a living shadow.
“I finally have you,” he whispered.
A tremor tore through me, violent and sudden—an earthquake beneath my skin.
“You finally what?” I managed to ask, barely above a breath.
He tilted his head as if brushing away a thought—or a memory. “My blood ran cold when I saw her raise that blade toward you. I would have burned the world to keep you safe.”
His voice was low, but it struck me like thunder.
“Rage and fire surged through me. I would have killed a hundred more. And now… the weight of that promise sits heavy on my soul.”
He stepped closer, the night tightening around us.
“I am bound to protect you, Alina. I am destined to care for you forever.”
His words fell like iron across my chest—equal parts dread and something far more dangerous.
Desire.
I should have been running. Screaming.
But instead, I stood perfectly still, my heart hammering in my chest, my body aching with confusion and longing. Something about him—his presence, voice, and impossiblegravity—held me spellbound.
“You… want to care for me?” I asked, breathless.
“Yes, dearest Alina.”
He reached up, his touch as light as a whisper, tracing a single fingertip along the line of my jaw. The cold fire that followed in its wake nearly stole my breath.
Behind us, the barn doors burst open.
