Page 247 of Emylia

I gasped, clinging to him, wrapping my legs tighter around his hips, grounding us both in the storm of it.

He moved—slow at first, then deeper, harder, until we were nothing but fire and breath and want. There was no space between us.

No logic.

No fear.

Just Sebastian.

Just me.

He whispered my name like a vow against my skin. Like he was carving it into the stars. And I gave him everything. Every gasp. Every moan. Every broken piece I’d hidden away.

We moved like we were made for this—like the world had conspired to bring us here.

To this place.

To this moment.

And when we came undone together—limbs tangled, hearts colliding—it felt like the universe shattered with us.

Like this was the place where all the stars came to burn.

We lay tangled together, breathless in the stillness.

His fingers traced idle patterns along my spine—the kind of touch that felt like forever. The kind that made you forget the world ever asked you to choose.

I shifted slightly, just enough to see his face in the soft glow of the cave. His lashes rested against his cheeks, his breath calm, like he hadn’t just handed me his soul. Like he hadn’t just become everything I could never keep.

But even wrapped in his arms, I could feel it—the ache creeping in around the edges. A quiet knowing that no amount of warmth could silence.

His breath still lingered on my skin—like a ghost of something I already knew I’d never feel again. Like he already sensed what I’d decided.

I moved without thinking, burying my face in his chest.

His heartbeat was thunder.

Familiar.

Safe.

“I love you, Em.”

The words didn’t just cut—they buried themselves in me. Like they were carving out space where something had once bloomed but now bled.

“I love you, too.”

His arms stiffened slightly around me. “Don’t say that unless you mean it.”

“I do.” My voice trembled. “You’ve seen every part of me—my best, my worst. And still… you love me.”

“I didn’t choose, Em,” he breathed. “My heart didn’t give me a choice. It will always want you. It will always be yours.”

Tears slipped free, silent but violent.

“Mine won’t let me choose Maalik… because it wants you.”

His eyes widened. The walls he’d built cracked—just for a second.

---