Before He Had Lost Himself

Avilyn sat in the dimly lit backroom of the restaurant, her face buried in her hands as she tried to steady her breathing. The adrenaline from the fight had worn off, leaving a hollow ache in her chest.

She could still feel the ghost of his lips against hers, the heat of that unexpected kiss lingering like a wound that refused to close.

How could she have let it happen? How could she have lost control like that—given in to the tangled web of emotions that had been brewing inside her since she first saw him again?

"Avilyn?"

Kiana's voice broke through the fog in her mind, gentle but urgent. The older fairy had stepped quietly into the room, her brow furrowed with concern.

"What happened out there? Why did you tell me to close the restaurant?"

Avilyn lifted her gaze, eyes red-rimmed and shining with unshed tears. "It's him, Kiana," she whispered, her voice trembling. "It's really him. He's here, and he's... he's after Lilith."