-LILIAN-
The night was a heavy blanket of fear. Alexander’s furious pronouncements about protecting me echoed in the quiet of our chambers, but they did little to soothe the cold dread that had settled in my heart. The memory of the Shadow-Walker's chilling presence, his dark eyes, his mocking voice—it clung to me like a shroud.
We lay in the massive bed, the space that had so recently become a sanctuary of desperate, fragile intimacy now felt like a cage. Alexander held me, his arm a strong, protective weight across my waist, his scent a constant reassurance. Yet, even in his arms, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, of a cold, unseen enemy lurking just beyond the light.
I didn't sleep for a long time. My mind replayed the events of the evening over and over. Avery's hateful
