Page 57 of Shadowkissed

Riven’s touch lingers like rot on my skin.

I wipe it off, furious and shaking.

I miss Dante so much it physically hurts. I want his voice. His steadiness. His arms around me telling me I’m not some weapon waiting to explode.

But all I have is this fucking emptiness. And a war I have to win alone. Because he doesn’t remember me.

And that’s exactly what I asked for.

I stumble through the alleyway, breathing hard, already thinking about where I’ll run next. The river tunnels. Maybe the East Wards. Anywhere far from here. Somewhere I can regroup, hide,think.

My shadows slither along the walls like they’re scouting ahead, trying to clear a path.

One more street.I tell myself.One more corner and I’ll disappear.

But then I hear it.

The whisper.

A voice like silk soaked in blood.

“Leaving so soon?”

A hand slams me against the wall before I can blink.

Riven.

He’s behind me.

Faster this time. Stronger.

I thrash, shadows snapping, but he’s already drenched in a warded shimmer. Itburnswhen I touch it, repelling my power like oil on water.

He grabs my face, too rough, too intimate.

“You didn’t think I came alone, did you?” he breathes, his thumb tracing the edge of my jaw like he’s savoring it.

“Don’t touch me,” I spit, twisting in his grip.

He smiles. “Too late.”

The world behind him warps.

Like the air’s folding in on itself.

And then everything—light, sound, space—shatters.

I land hard on stone, knees cracking against a floor colder than death.

The scent hits me first—incense and decay, roses dipped in blood. Then the stillness. Like time’s holding its breath.

I don’t need to look to know where I am.

Seraphiel’s court.

The shadows here don’t obey me.

They belong tohim.

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