Chapter 16: A Love Reborn

The night was thick with silence, Sera stood between them, Between light and darkness. Between love and ruin.

Elias, with his storm-filled eyes and his desperate hands reaching for her, was everything she knew Everything safe.

And the Shadow Prince.. watching her with an amused, knowing smile was everything she feared And everything she craved.

"Choose." The word wasn't a demand,It was a whisper, A promise, A threat, And her heart... God, her heart was breaking.

Elias took a step forward, gripping her wrist, "Sera, please," he whispered. "Come back to me."

His touch was warm, like sunlight on her skin, She could feel it, the bond between them, the love that had always been there, The love that had saved her before.

But the shadows curled around her like a second skin, and she could feel him,the Shadow Prince inside her very soul And he was waiting.

Not demanding,Not begging,Just waiting Because he knew, He knew she felt it too,Her breath shook as she turned to face him.

The moment their eyes met, her pulse betrayed her, She had spent so long fighting him, fearing him…

And now, she was falling.

"You don't have to run anymore, little star," he murmured, stepping closer,

His fingers brushed her cheek, tracing the mark on her skin, and she shuddered,"Stop…" she whispered.

But she didn't move away, And when he finally touched her, really touched her she broke, The kiss was slow, dangerous, devastating.

Like a dark tide pulling her under,She felt Elias's pain, felt the way his heart shattered behind her,But she couldn't stop.

Because for the first time, she wasn't afraid,For the first time, she felt whole,When she finally pulled away, gasping, Elias was gone.

Vanished into the night, And in the emptiness he left behind, the Shadow Prince smiled.

"There, Now you're mine."