Page 20 of Shadowkissed

“Like you handled passing out in a pool of your own blood?”

Her nostrils flare. “You don’t get it. This isn’t just aboutmebeing found out. It’s abouthim.”

“Who?”

Her eyes flash. “The thing thatownsthe shadows you saw. The one that sent his enforcer after me tonight. You think this ends with me spilling secrets in your little bunker? No. You help me too much and he’ll come foryoutoo.”

I take a step back. Let that settle.

She thinks she’s radioactive. That whatever marked her will spread to anyone who stands too close.

Which is exactly why Ican’tleave.

“Let me guess,” I murmur. “Seraphiel.”

She pales.

That’s confirmation enough.

“I’ve heard of him,” I say. “Fallen celestial. Underworld prince. Big ego. Bad wardrobe.”

“You don’t get it,” she says again, voice shaking now. “He doesn’t let go. Hedoesn’t share.”

“You’re not property.”

“Tell him that.”

And for the first time, I see it.

Real fear.

Not performance. Not posturing. Just a girl in too much pain, too much magic, caught in something she never asked for.

“You saved me,” I say quietly. “Back in that alley. You didn’t have to. You could’ve left me.”

She meets my eyes. “Once. I saved you once. Don’t make it more than it is.”

“But it is,” I say. “Because you risked everything. Your secret. Your power. That thing’s attention. For me.”

She’s breathing hard now.

I lower my voice again, softer than I mean to. “So maybe I didn’t ask to get tangled in this. But I’m here now and this is what I do for a living. And I’m not walking away.”

9

LIORA

Ishould leave.

I should disappear into the nearest shadow, vanish through the cracks in the floorboards, dissolve into mist like I was never here. That’s what I’ve always done.

Instead, I sit. Still bleeding. Still shaking. Still here.

The wolf is watching me like I’m made of glass and bombs—equal parts breakable and dangerous. He hasn’t moved since he said it.

I’m not walking away.

Fool.

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