"Thank you," I whispered, not sure which of them I was addressing. "For this. For everything."
Selene pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Thankyou, darling. For trusting us. For letting us show you what's possible."
Azrael's arms tightened around me. "You are our heart, Lizzie. The center of our world. Never doubt that."
I closed my eyes and let myself drift, safe and warm and utterly, completely loved.
And in the quiet of the sanctuary, surrounded by candlelight and ancient magic and the two people who had just shown me pleasure beyond anything I'd imagined, I realized something profound:
I wasn't just their human anymore. I wasn't just their stray, their chaos agent, their aggressively adopted family member.
I was theirhome. And they were mine.
The candles flickered, casting dancing shadows across the stone walls. Somewhere in the distance, I heard Lucien's low growl and Darius's quiet response—the sounds of the rest of our family, waiting for us to return.
But for now, just for now, I let myself stay in this moment. Suspended between witch and demon, between magic and desire, between who I'd been and who I was becoming.
And it was perfect.
