Page 130 of Emylia

Like he was drawn to it.

He embraced the shadow curled around my soul.

But then Sebastian had walked in—seething, broken, unapologetically laying claim to my soul.

And I had let him.

Let him hold me through the storm swirling through my veins. Let him crawl into my bed and wrap around me like he belonged there.

Because he did.

Gods, I hadn’t even tried to stop him. Not because I wanted to forget Maalikai—but because I was undeniablyhis.

But the weight of last night still pressed down on me—heavy with consequence, but not with clarity. I hadn’t chosen between them.

Not really.

I’d chosen Sebastian in the moment, because he needed me. Because if I hadn’t let him in, he would’ve lost control. Would’ve shattered.

And that would’ve broken me.

But that didn’t mean I’d made a choice. Not about who I wanted more. It only meant I’d tried to survive the wreckage of everything breaking around me–by holding on to the one person who felt like salvation when I was drowning.

And now… I couldn’t pretend it didn’t mean something. That it didn’t meaneverything.In the light of morning, the implications were painfully clear. I would have to ultimately choose between them.

For the second time, I tried to squirm free from Sebastian’s grip, and for the second time, I failed miserably. A sleepy groan rumbled against my shoulder.

“You’re not seriously trying to escape me right now,” his deliciously sexy voice entangled itself around my heart.

“Bastian.” I hissed his name, mortified.

His grip only tightened, fingers flattening across my stomach like he’d already claimed me, his bare chest warming my back. “Please don’t leave. Not yet.”

The vulnerability in his voice wrecked me. Gods, I didn’t want to take this from him. But time wasn’t on our side.

“I would, but I need to get dressed.”

“I could let you,” he drawled, voice still thick with sleep, “but I really like you right here.” His voice wrapped around my heart like a vice. And yet, his grip loosened, releasing me from my glorious prison.

I scrambled to my feet, snatching the sheet to wrap around myself like armor—uncertain if I was hiding Maalikai’s shirt, I still wore, or the fact that I wore nothing beneath it.

“You’re impossible,” I muttered.

“Yet, you let me sleep next to you,” he said, sitting up with that crooked, maddening grin. Hair tousled. Golden eyes half-lidded. Infuriatingly beautiful. “Voluntarily, I might add.”

“You barged in,” I spat, spinning toward the wardrobe.

“And yet, you still choseme.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “Bastian.”

His weight may have lifted, but a new heaviness settled in its place. This shouldn’t feel like shame. Sebastian wasn’t a secret. But the weight of my decision pressed against me all the same.

I knew what the consequences would be—the whispers, the judgment. For choosing himandMaalikai. Even if it had only been for one night.

The thought alone made me want to crumble.

I needed space. I needed distance before I lost myself completely. Because Elinthia help me, I wasn’t sure I could resist Sebastian if he genuinely made a move on me—and I knew it was a sin to want them both.

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