EZRA
Three days. Three whole days without Lucius breathing down my neck. I should have been ecstatic. And I was…at first. The air felt lighter, my chest less tight. I wasn't being yanked around like some prized possession or punished for existing. I could actually sleep without fear of waking up to pain. But as the hours stretched into days, something gnawed at me, eating away at my temporary peace.
Malachai.
I hadn't seen him since that moment in my room. Since his fingertips had grazed my ear and set my skin ablaze. Since I had snapped at him for breaking a rule he probably shouldn't have even considered breaking. Since he had pulled away like he knew his place,like he had to remind himself that whatever that moment was, it wasn't allowed. That we weren't allowed.
And now, he was gone.
I didn't know why it bothered me so much. Maybe because he had been the only person in years to treat me like a human being. Like I wasn't just something to be owned, used, discarded. Or maybe it was because, for the first time in my miserable existence, I wanted someone near me. Not out of fear. Not out of obligation. Just because I wanted him.
I curled up on my bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of the house. Lucius wasn't here. He had business elsewhere….something that involved blood, no doubt. And Malachai? I didn't know where he was, but I hadn't heard his voice, hadn't caught a glimpse of his cold, unreadable eyes.
I needed air.
Pushing off the bed, I padded towards the door. My body was still sore in places, healing from old wounds and new ones. But the silence in the house was suffocating, pressing in on me like the walls were closing in. I stepped into the dimly lit hallway, the marble floors cool beneath my feet. This place was a prison, but it was the only home I'd ever known. I knew every corridor, every hidden corner where I used to cry myself to sleep as a kid.
I wandered aimlessly, letting my fingers trail along the ornate walls. The chandeliers overhead cast long shadows, flickering like ghosts from my past. I hated this place. But tonight, it felt different. Maybe because for the first time, I wasn't just surviving. I was searching.
And then I found him.
I didn't know why I turned down that hallway. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe it was fate. But the moment my eyes landed on him, my heart clenched so hard I thought it would stop beating altogether.
Malachai.
He stood near one of the tall windows, moonlight washing over his sharp features. His posture was rigid, his hands in his pockets, like he was forcing himself to be still. He wasn't wearing his usual suit jacket, just a fitted black shirt that made his presence even more imposing. And yet, for all his coldness, for all his lethality, he looked… tired. Worn.
And then his eyes met mine.
It was like the air had been sucked out of the hallway. My breath caught, my pulse hammering against my ribs. His gaze…dark, piercing, unreadable held me captive. He didn't move. Neither did I. But something was happening between us. Something I didn't have words for. Something that made my stomach twist and my skin prickle.
I should have looked away. I should have turned and left. But I didn't. Because for the first time in my life, I didn't want to run.
I wanted to stay.