I had seen what men like me could do—what I had done.What I could become.
A maggot-infested man.
A devourer of souls.
“I don’t care what you’ve done, Amir.”
Her voice trembled as she came in front of me, but her gaze held mine—raw, unwavering.
“I don’t believe you’re a monster.”
Her words stung, cutting deeper than any blade, cracking something inside me that I had long thought dead.
I clenched my fists, forcing my breath to steady, forcing my heart to turn to stone.
“Go… Elizabeth… leave this place now before I corrupt your soul.”
The rejection tore me apart, a death sentence to my own heart—but it was for her good.
A muscle ticked in her jaw, her lips parting as if to fight back, challenge me, and force me to see what she saw.But then, something shifted.
The fire ignited in her eyes, the kind that could forge a new path or burn everything to the ground.
“Fine!I’ll figure this out on my own.”
Without another word, she spun on her heel, the skirts of her dress whipping around her as she vanished through the door.Her footsteps echoed down the corridor, a slow, devastating unraveling of my world.And I let her go.
The moment the door slammed behind her, the weight of my choice crushed me.
I sank against the wall, my chest heaving, my hands shaking as if the ghost of her touch still lingered on my skin.
I had done the right thing.
I had to believe that.
But every instinct inside me howled to chase after her, to beg for her forgiveness, to fall to my knees and tell her that I needed her more than I needed my next breath.
A sudden knock at the door jarred me from my despair.
My pulse lurched.
Elizabeth?
Had she come back?Had she seen through my desperate attempt to push her away?Had she returned to fight for me and plead for my aid again?
I rushed forward, heart hammering, hands already reaching for the handle, ready to cast aside everything if it meant I could have her back, if I could claim the sliver of hope that she might still want me.
But as the door swung open?—
It wasn’t Elizabeth standing before me.
It was Balthazar.
I froze, shock locking me in place.
The last time I had seen him was amid flames and screams—when Mathias’ school was reduced to ashes.
And now, standing in my doorway, he was a storm brewing on the horizon, dark and unrelenting.
