Page 91 of Beneath the Thorned Crown

It’s not gentle. It’s desperate, raw, possessive—a clash of lips and tongues and everything we almost lost tonight. I clutch onto him, my fingers tangling in his bloodstained shirt, and he grips my waist like he can’t bear to let go.

The taste of blood, sweat, and survival lingers between us.

His forehead presses against mine, his breath warm, steady, grounding. His fingers stroke the curve of my jaw, reassuring, possessive in their own way.

But as the adrenaline slowly seeps from my veins, reality creeps back in.

Samuel is dead.

But his shadow isn’t gone.

His body lies motionless, a crimson pool spreading beneath him, his face frozen in the shock of his final moment. The man who swore vengeance, the man who lived his life to kill Dominic… is nothing but a lifeless husk now.

And yet—the tightness in my chest doesn’t ease.

I pull back slightly, my gaze darting to Samuel’s corpse, my heart tightening with unease. I thought I would be relieved.

But instead, there’s a different feeling creeping in.

Dread.

I swallow hard, my throat dry. Killing Samuel was the right thing… but was it the smart thing?

I glance up at Dominic, my voice quieter now, hesitant. "What's going to happen now?"

His expression doesn’t change. He follows my gaze, looking at Samuel's lifeless body, his jaw tightening slightly before he exhales. Steady. Unwavering. Unbothered.

"Whatever happens," he murmurs, his voice deep, resolute, "we’ll deal with it together."

His words anchor me.

He isn’t shaken. He isn’t hesitating. He isn’t planning an escape or second-guessing his choices.

Because this is who he is.

Dominic Castellano doesn’t fear the consequences.

He owns them.

He sees the war coming before it even begins. And he’s already prepared to fight it.

I let out a slow breath, my fingers tightening around his.

"Together," I echo.

His lips twitch into a small smile, but there’s exhaustion behind it.

Dominic grips my hand, leading me away.

We step over Samuel’s lifeless body without a second glance, leaving the past burning behind us.

And for the first time, I know—

We survived.

But the war isn’t over.

Epilogue - Dominic

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