Page 50 of Shadowkissed

“Did you think you could hide him from me?”

His voice slides across my skin like silk wrapped in glass.

“I didn’t bring him into this,” I say, fists clenched. “You dragged him here.”

“You brought him the moment youtouchedhim.”

I look away.

He steps closer.

“You burned bright when you let him inside you. Did you feel it, little star? Thatspark? That was mine. You lit it in my name.”

“No,” I whisper. “That was mine. That wasours.”

“You’re wrong.” His voice sharpens, almost cruel now. “Everything you are belongs to me. Every shadow. Every drop of magic in your cursed blood. Every ache. Every moan.”

I shudder. My magic twists, screaming inside my veins.

He tilts his head, voice softening into something far more dangerous.

“Come back to me, Liora. I’ll spare him. You have my word.”

“I don’t want your word.”

“But you want him alive.”

That shuts me up.

He smiles again, slow and full of teeth.

“Return to me willingly,” he says. “Or the next time you sleep, I’ll show you how your guardian dies. Inch by inch. Vein by vein.”

The sky cracks behind him. A sound like a thousand screams woven into thunder.

He lifts a hand, as if to touch my face, and?—

I wake upgasping.

Dante’s arm tightens instinctively around me. “Liora—hey—hey, I’ve got you.” His voice is still thick with sleep, but panic sharpens it fast.

“I saw him,” I breathe, shaking. “He wasinmy dream. He knows, Dante. Heknows everything.”

Dante’s already sitting up, hand on my back, grounding me. “What did he say?”

“He gave me an ultimatum. If I don’t return—he kills you.”

His eyes darken. “Over my dead body.”

“That’sexactlythe problem,” I snap. “Hewillkill you. And he’ll make me watch.”

Dante grabs my face gently but firmly, forcing me to meet his eyes. “Look at me. I’m not scared of him.”

“Well, I am,” I whisper, voice cracking. “Because I just got you. And I can’t lose you.”

He brushes his thumb over my cheek. “Remember earlier? We can do this. We can stop this together. You are more powerful than you know, than even he knows. Especially when we are together.”

I lean into him, heart still hammering.

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