Page 81 of The Madness Within

And when I finally reached the peak, when we both came crashing down together, I held her close, savoring every moment of the aftermath.

I collapsed next to her, my chest heaving, my body still thrumming with the intensity of it all.

She’s quiet, her chest rising and falling in ragged breaths, and I knew she’s feeling the same way I was, caught between pleasure and something more.

Chapter Thirty-Three

??A Price to Pay

Ember

The fire crackled low in the corner, casting long shadows across the walls lined with tomes older than time. The scent of old parchment, ash, and something unmistakably Dorian hung in the air.

I sat cross-legged on the velvet chaise, a heavy book cracked open across my thighs, words written in a language I shouldn’t have been able to read… But somehow, I could.

Watcher script. Seeker markings. Sigils for binding, for breaking, for belonging.

Across from me, Dorian leaned over the desk, candlelight catching the edges of his jaw as he flipped another brittle page,eyes scanning the text like it held all the answers he refused to speak aloud.

I should’ve been overwhelmed. The truth in these pages clawed at the edge of reason, creatures bound by fate, wars fought in silence, the unbearable cost of the bond.

But instead, I stared at Dorian, my chest rising and falling like I had just surfaced from drowning.

The night we shared still clung to my skin like heat. Every kiss. Every whispered threat turned worship. The memory of his hands, his voice in the dark, the way he touched me like I was his sanctuary… It echoed in this quiet room, louder than the turning of any page.

He looked up at me like I was it. Like I was his beginning and his end. And somewhere deep inside the parts of me I’d buried, I knew he was mine, too.

“I’m scared,” I whispered.

“I know,” he murmured into my hair. “But I’ve got you.”

And for the first time in what felt like forever… I believed him.

Not because I had to.

But because I wanted to.

Before I could respond, there was a knock at the door, a loud, insistent sound that cut through the tension between us. My heart jumped and I felt Dorian stiffen beside me, his eyes narrowing, though he said nothing.

I glanced at him, the confusion clear on my face. “Who—”

Before I could finish the question, the door creaked open, and in stepped Cassian.

His presence filled the room like a storm, his dark clothes and calculating smile making it clear that he was a man who thrived in the shadows.

“Dorian,” Cassian greeted him, his voice smooth, almost too calm. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

I felt Dorian’s grip on me tighten ever so slightly, his body stiffening, and the tension between the two men was palpable, thick with unsaid things.

“Always,” Dorian responds, his voice low and clipped. “What do you want, Cassian?”

“I bring news,” Cassian said, his eyes flicking over to me, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “From the Underworld.”

I froze at his words, the air suddenly growing colder. Dorian’s body shifted as though he was preparing for something. The conversation took on an entirely different weight now, a sense of danger creeping into the space between us.

“What news?” Dorian asked, his voice laced with a sharp edge.

Cassian stepped further into the room, his gaze never leaving me. His smirk deepened, and I could feel something in the room shift, an undercurrent of tension I didn’t understand.

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