The Edge of Control

Seraphine did not sleep.

She lay in the dim glow of candlelight, her mind tangled in the dangerous game she was playing with Kaelith.

He was testing her. Pushing, pulling, seducing—not out of desire, but to unravel her secrets.

And worse, she knew he was getting close.

She turned onto her side, willing herself to rest, but a familiar presence stirred the air.

She didn't need to open her eyes to know he had returned.

The door never creaked when Kaelith entered—he was too skilled for that.

The scent of him—steel and embers—filled the space before he even spoke.

"You're awake," he observed.

Seraphine exhaled softly, still facing away from him. "And you're persistent."

A quiet chuckle. Then—the rustle of fabric.

The bed dipped behind her.

Seraphine tensed, but she did not move. Would not.

Kaelith never stayed in her chambers after their marriage was sealed. He had kept his distance, played the patient husband.

But tonight, he was done waiting.

"You don't seem surprised," Kaelith murmured.

Seraphine finally turned, meeting his gaze. The shadows softened the sharp angles of his face, but his eyes—**piercing, unrelenting—**stayed locked onto hers.

"I stopped being surprised by you a long time ago," she said smoothly.

Kaelith smirked, but it did not reach his eyes. His fingers brushed against the exposed skin of her wrist.

Soft. Calculated. A test.

"Then tell me," he murmured, leaning closer, "where did you go tonight?"

Seraphine's heart remained steady. "Why do you assume I went anywhere?"

Kaelith exhaled a quiet laugh. "Because I followed you."

A single pulse of silence.

Seraphine felt the shift before she saw it—the tension in his shoulders, the sharpened edge to his smirk.

The undeniable truth between them.

He knew she had left.

And now, he wanted her to admit it.

Slowly, deliberately, Kaelith's fingers traced a path from her wrist up to her elbow, his touch **barely there—**but enough to send a shiver racing up her spine.

"Tell me, Seraphine," he whispered, his breath grazing her cheek, "was it worth the risk?"

Seraphine did not flinch.

She lifted her chin, closing the distance between them.

"If you want answers," she murmured, her lips nearly brushing his, "you'll have to work harder, my love."

Kaelith's smirk darkened.

A challenge.

Seraphine had drawn a line.

Now she had to pray he would not cross it.