Chapter 18 – Danger in the Dark
1212 Words
The night air carried a bite of winter as the wind swept across the cliffs surrounding the Darvesh estate. The moon hung low, silvering the edges of the forest that guarded the mansion like a wall of shadows.
Seraphina wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders as she stepped onto the lantern-lit path that curved through the garden. She wasn’t supposed to be outside. Kael had forbidden her to wander alone after dark—but she needed air, needed space to think after yet another dinner thick with unspoken tension.
The estate slept, silent except for the whisper of the wind through the trees. Her thoughts circled back to Kael’s distant eyes, the way his jaw tightened whenever she spoke Liora’s name. There was a storm in him she couldn’t see the end of, and part of her—recklessly, foolishly—wanted to walk straight into it.
She reached the edge of the garden, where the lanterns stopped and the path faded into shadow. A soft rustle made her pause.
“Hello?” she called, her voice barely above a whisper.
No answer—only the hiss of leaves shifting in the breeze. She turned back toward the mansion, but then she heard it again: footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Not Kael’s.
Her pulse quickened.
“Who’s there?”
A flash of movement. Something glinted—metal catching the moonlight. Before she could react, a dark figure lunged from behind the hedges. Seraphina stumbled backward, the world spinning, a cry tearing from her throat as she lost her footing on the gravel.
The blade missed her by inches, slicing through the edge of her sleeve. She scrambled away, heart pounding so loud she could barely hear.
Then a gunshot cracked the night.
The attacker fell, dropping his weapon. Another shot echoed, this time hitting the ground near her feet as the assailant fled into the woods, vanishing into the darkness.
Seraphina froze, trembling. Smoke curled in the air, and from the shadows emerged Kael—his coat billowing like wings of fury, his gun still raised, his eyes burning with a fear she had never seen before.
“Seraphina!” He reached her in two strides, grabbing her shoulders. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, unable to form words. The adrenaline numbed her senses; only his touch felt real, anchoring her back to the world.
Kael’s gaze swept the darkened path. “Stay close.” His voice was low, lethal. “Don’t move until I say.”
He stepped forward, scanning the trees, the gun steady in his hand. The silence that followed was heavy, too still. Then, somewhere beyond the trees, the faint thud of retreating footsteps faded away.
When he returned to her, his jaw was tight, his voice clipped. “You disobeyed me.”
Seraphina flinched. “I only wanted some air. I didn’t—”
“Air?” he snapped, turning to face her fully. “You could have been killed.”
The fury in his tone masked something else—something rawer. His hand brushed her arm, his fingers tracing the torn fabric where the blade had grazed her.
“This was meant for you.”
The realization sent a chill through her. “Who would want—”
“Don’t ask questions you’re not ready to hear the answers to,” he said harshly.
Her eyes filled with tears, part fear, part frustration. “You can’t keep me blind forever, Kael.”
He stepped closer, his voice lowering to a growl. “And you can’t keep risking your life because of your curiosity.”
For a heartbeat, neither spoke. The only sound was their uneven breathing, the quiet hum of danger still alive in the night air.
Then, unexpectedly, Kael’s hand lifted to her face, his thumb brushing the streak of dirt on her cheek. His touch was gentle, almost trembling. “You could have died,” he murmured. “Do you have any idea what that would have done to me?”
Seraphina blinked, startled by the c***k in his voice. “You’re shaking,” she whispered.
He drew in a sharp breath and stepped back, reclaiming the distance between them. “Because you make me forget reason,” he said roughly. “You make me—care.”
Her heart twisted. “That’s not a weakness, Kael.”
“It is,” he said, eyes flashing. “In my world, caring gets you killed.”
Before she could reply, two guards arrived, their torches cutting through the gloom. Kael straightened instantly, his expression hardening back into command.
“Search the perimeter,” he ordered. “No one leaves until I say so.”
The men bowed and disappeared into the darkness.
Kael turned back to her. “You’re coming inside. Now.”
He led her toward the mansion, his hand firm at her back. The firelight from the hall spilled onto the steps as they entered, washing the night’s danger from her skin. But the tremor in her body remained.
Inside, Kael guided her to a chair by the hearth. “Sit.”
She did, silent, watching as he poured a glass of brandy with hands that weren’t quite steady. He handed it to her. “Drink.”
The warmth of the liquor burned her throat, spreading through her chest. Her eyes lifted to his. “You saved me.”
His gaze softened—just a flicker. “You’re my wife,” he said simply. “That means your life is mine to protect.”
Seraphina swallowed hard. “And if I stop being your wife?”
He stared at her, his silence answering before his words did. “Then I’ll protect you anyway,” he said finally, voice low. “Even if it kills me.”
The admission struck her harder than the attack itself. For a moment, the space between them was heavy with everything they hadn’t said—fear, longing, and the dangerous tether pulling them closer despite everything.
The fire crackled softly, filling the silence.
When Kael finally looked away, his voice returned to its usual steel. “This wasn’t random. Someone sent him.”
“Who?” she whispered.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he crouched beside her chair, his eyes locking onto hers. “From now on, you don’t go anywhere alone. Not even the garden. If something happens to you again…” He trailed off, the words catching like thorns.
Seraphina nodded slowly, her hand brushing his. “I’ll be careful.”
“Not careful,” he said, standing. “Obedient.”
His tone was harsh, but his eyes betrayed him—they were filled with a desperate fear that mirrored her own.
As Kael turned to leave, she reached for him impulsively, her fingers brushing his sleeve. “Kael.”
He stopped, waiting.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He didn’t look back, but his hand closed briefly over hers before he walked away into the shadows of the hall.
And as the last echo of his footsteps faded, Seraphina realized the truth that scared her most: danger didn’t only come from the dark outside—it lived inside these walls, inside him, and inside the strange, forbidden bond that now tied their hearts together.
- Writer
