Because someone might see

The air between them was thick with tension, electric and suffocating.

Elysia barely had time to register Zera's presence before she felt her hand gripping her wrist, pulling her up from the ground with a firm, possessive touch.

Malvoria's eyes darkened, her expression shifting into something far more dangerous than amusement.

"Who do you think you are?"

The words were not a question.

They were a warning.

A threat.

Elysia felt Zera tense beside her, the heat of her body close, her stance rigid with unspoken fury.

For a moment, no one spoke.

The gathered demons stood frozen, waiting for what would happen next.

Elysia's heart was still pounding from the fight, her body thrumming with the adrenaline of combat, but this—this was something else.

This was war of a different kind.

Malvoria took a step forward, her presence swallowing the space between them like a predator closing in on its prey.

Her voice was low, controlled, but seething beneath the surface.

"You forget your place, warrior."

Zera didn't back down.

Her grip on Elysia's wrist tightened. "And you forget that she's not yours."

The demons around them shifted.

Some exchanged glances. Others held their breath.

Malvoria's eyes flashed.

"Not yet."

Elysia stiffened.

"She is my future bride." Malvoria's voice carried across the courtyard, steady, unshaken.

"You may have been allowed to stay by her side, but make no mistake—you are nothing but a guard. And if you think that gives you any right to challenge me, you are sorely mistaken."

The words hit like a hammer, and Elysia felt Zera bristle beside her.

She needed to stop this.

She needed to intervene before someone—before Malvoria—decided that Zera was not worth keeping alive.

"Let's go, Zera."

Her own voice surprised her, steady, commanding despite the whirlwind inside her chest.

She didn't wait for Zera to protest.

She took her hand and pulled.

Zera hesitated—just for a moment—but then, reluctantly, she followed.

The tension did not break as they walked away.

Elysia could still feel Malvoria's gaze burning into her back, could feel the weight of the unspoken challenge hanging thick in the air.

But she didn't turn around.

She didn't dare.

Not now.

Not when she knew that if she met Malvoria's gaze, she wouldn't know what she would see.

Not when she didn't know what she would feel.

The castle corridors stretched before them, long and winding, but Elysia barely registered them.

Zera's fingers were still entwined with hers, warm, steady—but filled with tension.

And then, the moment they reached Elysia's chambers, Zera ripped her hand away.

The door closed behind them with a sharp click, sealing them in together.

And then—

"Why are you getting close to the enemy?"

The words hit like a slap.

Elysia turned sharply, eyes narrowing. "What?"

Zera's expression was raw, her blue eyes dark with something sharp—anger, frustration, something deeper. "You heard me."

Elysia let out a sharp breath, forcing herself to stay calm. "It was just a fight."

"Was it?"

Zera's voice cut.

"Because from where I was standing, it didn't look like just a fight."

Elysia clenched her jaw. "I don't know what you want me to say, Zera."

"I want you to admit that you're letting your guard down!"

"I am not—"

"You are!"

Zera stepped closer, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "She's toying with you, Elysia. She's testing you. And the worst part? You're playing right into her hands."

Elysia felt something snap inside her.

"And what do you expect me to do, Zera?"

"Fight back!"

"That's what I was doing!"

"No."

Zera exhaled sharply, her voice quieter now—but no less intense. "That wasn't fighting. That was something else. And if you don't see it, then you're blind."

Elysia took a step back, but Zera followed, relentless.

"I don't trust her," Zera said, her voice softer, but filled with something else. "And I don't trust what she's trying to do to you."

Elysia swallowed. "She's not doing anything—"

"She doesn't need to."

Zera's hands came up, gripping Elysia's arms, firm but not forceful.

"She's already inside your head, Elysia."

The words were quiet.

But they were the most dangerous thing Zera had said all night.

Because were they true?

Elysia didn't know.

She didn't want to know.

She didn't want to think about Malvoria's golden eyes watching her, about the way fighting her had felt good, about the way—

"You're the only one I love."

The words came suddenly, cutting through Elysia's thoughts like a blade.

Her breath hitched.

Zera's hands were still on her, grounding her, steadying her.

Elysia barely had time to react—

Before Zera kissed her.

Elysia had kissed Zera before.

Many times.

Soft, fleeting moments stolen between the chaos of their lives—behind palace walls, beneath starlit skies, hidden in the shadows where no one could see.

But tonight, it felt different.

The moment Zera's lips met hers, there was no hesitation. No careful restraint. No quiet tenderness.

It was fierce.

Desperate.

A collision of emotions, too raw, too wild to be contained.

Zera's hands tightened around Elysia's arms, pulling her closer, as if afraid she would slip away if she let go.

Elysia gasped against her mouth, caught off guard by the sheer intensity of it.

Maybe it was because of the fight.

Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline still thrumming through her veins, the lingering tension from Malvoria's challenge, the weight of everything crashing down on her all at once.

Or maybe—

Maybe it was something else entirely.

Elysia didn't know.

All she knew was that Zera was here, warm and alive against her, her lips pressing deeper, seeking more.

And Elysia—

Elysia let her.

She let herself get lost in it, let her hands tangle in Zera's dark hair, let her own lips part beneath the heat of the kiss.

It was dizzying.

It was too much.

And yet—

Not enough.

Zera pulled her closer, deepening the kiss, her grip firm but not forceful. She kissed her like she needed her, like she had been waiting for this, like this was the only thing that made sense in a world that had turned upside down.

And for a moment—

For a single, reckless moment—

Elysia wanted to give in.

To forget everything.

To let Zera hold her.

To let herself be selfish.

But then—

A sharp sound outside the door.

Footsteps.

Voices—distant, but there.

The spell shattered.

Elysia's eyes flew open.

Panic surged through her veins, cold and unrelenting.

Someone might see them.

Someone might know.

Malvoria's castle was not a place for carelessness.

Elysia knew that.

Knew that if the wrong person caught them, if the wrong eyes saw, everything could go wrong.

She broke the kiss abruptly, stepping back, her breath ragged.

Zera's eyes were wide with confusion, with something hurt lingering beneath the surface.

"Elysia—"

"We can't," Elysia whispered, shaking her head. "Not here."

Zera's jaw clenched. "Why?"

Elysia swallowed, her heart pounding. "Because someone might see."

She didn't know if she meant Malvoria.

Or the guards.

Or herself.

She didn't know.

But she was afraid to find out.