Page 152 of Claimed In Darkness

It won’t be as a thief.

Or a captive.

Or a traitor.

It will be as mine.

Forever.

50

NAIRA

Ican’t run anymore.

Not from him.

Zephiran has me pinned. He’s here.

He has never stopped chasing after me even after I stabbed him.

And because some deep, wretched part of me never wanted him to stop.

His hands are rough, unforgiving. One at my wrist, the other pressed against my throat.

It wasn’t enough to hurt. Just enough to make sure I know—he has me now.

That I am not slipping away this time.

That if I want to leave—I will have to kill him.

I don’t want to.

Despite everything, despite this war, despite the blood still drying on my skin, despite the fact that he is my enemy now?—

I still feel safe in his hands.

Why can he just let me go? I hate him for making me stay.

For making me remember.

For making me feel things.

His eyes isn’t full of rage.

It isn’t grief.

It isn’t even victory.

Something I can’t fight.

Something that makes my gut twist, my throat tighten, my pulse?—

Too erratic.

Too alive.

He is looking at me like he still wants me.

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