Chapter Eight – WHEN LOVE BECOMES A WEAPON
412 Words
The Pleads returned three days later.
I felt them before I saw them—cold fingers brushing the edges of my mind, a pressure that made my chest ache.
Beryl appeared at my door without knocking.
“They’re here,” he said.
Fear rushed through me. “Because of us?”
“Yes,” he answered honestly.
We met them in the lower hall.
Their eyes gleamed as they took us in—standing too close, hands barely apart.
“So,” one of them said mockingly, “the bond deepens.”
“We didn’t break any law,” I said, forcing my voice steady.
The Plead smiled. “Love itself is the law you break.”
Beryl stepped in front of me. “If you want to punish someone, punish me.”
“That’s noble,” the Plead said. “And useless.”
They turned their gaze to me. “You awaken faster when you love.”
I froze. “What?”
“Emotion fuels Lupin power,” it continued. “And yours is… intense.”
Beryl’s hand tightened around mine. “Then don’t use her.”
“Oh, we won’t,” the Plead replied. “She’ll use herself.”
Pain surged suddenly through my veins—hot, sharp, alive.
I cried out as energy rushed through me, silver light spilling from my skin.
“Renny!” Beryl shouted.
I couldn’t control it.
But I could feel him.
His presence grounded me, anchoring the chaos inside my chest.
“Look at me,” he said urgently. “Breathe with me.”
I did.
Slowly, the light dimmed.
The Pleads stepped back, wary now.
“Interesting,” one murmured. “Love stabilizes her.”
“Which means,” another added coldly, “it can be exploited.”
When they vanished, I collapsed into Beryl’s arms.
He held me tightly, like he was afraid I might disappear.
“They’ll keep coming,” he said softly. “As long as we’re together.”
I looked up at him. “Then don’t leave.”
His voice broke. “If I stay, they’ll use you.”
“And if you leave,” I replied, “I’ll break anyway.”
He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against mine.
“Then we fight together.”
For the first time since arriving in Salzburg, I felt it—
not safety,
but belonging.
And I knew, without a doubt:
Loving Beryl was dangerous.
But losing him would destroy me.
- Writer
