Kage’s POV

  The house was too quiet without Malrick.

  I wasn’t used to that anymore—the stillness, the lack of movement or hushed voices from the other room. Ever since he had come into our lives, there was always something—his restless pacing, his sharp questions, his occasional muttered curses when his magic misfired. If it wasn’t that, it was Zara and me hovering over him, making sure his magic wasn’t spiraling out of control, ensuring that he had enough discipline to keep from hurting himself or anyone else. We had been so focused on him that now, without him here, the silence felt unnatural.

  I didn’t like it.

  Zara, however, seemed to have other ideas. She leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, her green eyes fixed on me like she had already made a decision.

  “Come on, we’re going out,” she said, pushing off the frame.

  I frowned. “Out where?”

  “Anywhere but here.” She grabbed her coat, tossing mine toward me. “Unless you want to sit here and keep brooding.”

  I caught it with one hand, staring at her. “You just want to go on a walk?”

  “No,” she smirked. “I want a drink.”

  I let out a slow breath, shaking my head, but I put my coat on anyway. There was no winning against Zara when she had that look in her eyes.

  The tavern was quieter than usual, most of its patrons deep in their drinks, their conversations hushed. The tensions in the city had reached even here, settling into every corner like smoke. But Zara seemed unbothered as she slid into a booth near the back, signaling for drinks before I could even sit down.

  “You really needed to get out of that house,” she said, tilting her head toward me. “It was suffocating.”

  I huffed, leaning back against the seat. “It’s not like I had anything else to do.”

  “That’s exactly why I dragged you out here.” She smirked as the bartender placed two mugs in front of us. “You’re allowed to enjoy yourself, you know.”

  I didn’t answer right away, staring down at my drink. “There’s nothing to enjoy right now. Not with the way things are going.”

  She sighed, shaking her head. “Kage, you’re always looking ahead, always waiting for the next fight. You need to let yourself exist in the moment sometimes.”

  “I exist just fine.”

  She gave me a look. “You really don’t.”

  A silence stretched between us before she spoke again, softer this time. “You’re afraid.”

  I tensed, but she wasn’t wrong. I was afraid. Not for myself. For her. For Malrick. For every magical in this city who was about to suffer under the new restrictions.

  I exhaled sharply. “I get reports every day, Zara. More missing magicals. More people vanishing without a trace. And I know—I know—Alric Dain is behind it. But I don’t have proof. Not yet. And until I do, I have to sit here and watch him tighten his grip on this city.”

  Zara reached across the table, resting her hand over mine. “Then we’ll find proof. Together.”

  Something in me eased at her words. The tension in my chest, the constant weight pressing down on me—it didn’t disappear, but it settled, just for a moment.

  I turned my hand over, gripping hers lightly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  She smirked. “Probably collapse under the weight of all that brooding.”

  I chuckled, shaking my head. “And you call me dramatic.”

  Her smirk softened into something else, something warmer. “You don’t have to carry this alone, Kage. You never did.”

  The moment lingered, stretching between us in the dim light of the tavern. And for once, I let myself believe her.

  Then Zara pushed a fresh drink toward me. “Alright, enough of that. You need to actually unwind.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “I am unwinding.”

  She snorted. “Kage, you’re barely drinking. You’ve had the same mug in your hand for the last ten minutes.”

  I sighed, but I took a deeper sip this time. The burn spread through my chest, warm and slow, making my shoulders loosen just a little. Zara grinned in triumph, taking a swig of her own drink before waving down the bartender for another round.

  One drink turned into two. Two into three. My usual sharpness dulled just slightly, the edges of the world softening as the weight of everything settled just a little further back in my mind. It felt… nice. Just for a moment.

  “See? Was that so hard?” Zara teased, nudging me with her elbow.

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re enjoying this too much.”

  “Of course I am. When else do I get to see you relax? I was starting to think the only thing that gets you to loosen up is a life-or-death situation”

  I scoffed, but the protest died in my throat. She wasn’t wrong. And I hated that she was right.

  I took another slow sip, letting the warmth settle into my stomach before smirking at her. “Well, life-or-death situations have their ways of getting the blood pumping. But there are… other ways to loosen up, too.”

  Zara raised an eyebrow, her smirk returning. “Oh? And what exactly do you have in mind, Detective?”

  I leaned in just a little, my voice dropping low. “Let’s just say, if you ever want me to really unwind, you might have to take a more hands-on approach.”

  Her eyes flashed with amusement, but there was something else there too—something dangerous, something thrilling. She tilted her head, considering me. “Noted. But if I do, you’d better be ready to handle it.”

  I chuckled, shaking my head. “Careful, Professor. That almost sounded like a challenge.”

  But then she leaned in, her smirk fading just slightly, her voice dipping into something softer. “You’re not going to break if you let yourself breathe, Kage. You need this.”

  I held her gaze, my heartbeat slowing, steadying. And maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was just the way she looked at me, but for the first time in a long time, I actually let go.

  “Come on, walk with me,” Zara said, standing and offering her hand.

  I hesitated for only a second before taking it, letting her pull me up. The tavern’s warmth faded as we stepped outside into the cool night air, the city quieting under the blanket of darkness. The streets weren’t empty, but the usual crowds had thinned, leaving only scattered figures making their way home or lingering in doorways, whispering under flickering lantern light.

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  We walked side by side, Zara clinging to my arm as we moved through the quiet streets. The distance between us had disappeared entirely, her warmth pressed lightly against me. She tilted her head back, breathing in the crisp air. “This feels nice. It’s been a while since we just… existed.”

  I huffed a quiet laugh. “Existing isn’t something we’re great at.”

  She smirked. “No, we’re not. But we should try.”

  The conversation drifted to lighter things—stories from the university, a particularly bad run-in Zara had with an arrogant student, how Naja had once made an entire room of senior doctors uncomfortable by bluntly calling out their outdated methods. I listened, the sound of her voice steadying something inside me.

  But eventually, the conversation circled back, as it always did, to the weight we carried.

  “Do you ever think about what happens when this is over?” Zara asked, kicking a loose stone along the cobbled street. “If we ever get to stop fighting?”

  I exhaled slowly, considering my answer. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever let myself believe that’s an option.”

  She looked up at me then, her green eyes searching mine. “Maybe you should.”

  I turned toward her, the space between us vanishing in the quiet. “And what about you?”

  She hesitated, then gave me a small, almost sad smile. “I don’t know either. But I’d like to figure it out.”

  Something tightened in my chest at that. The idea of a future—not just for her, or for Malrick, but for me—was something I had never let myself dwell on. But standing here, with her so close, the idea didn’t seem so impossible.

  She nudged me lightly. “Come on, Detective. If you keep staring at me like that, I might start thinking you actually like me.”

  I smirked, stepping in closer, lowering my voice. “And if I do?”

  Her breath hitched just slightly before she recovered, tilting her chin up at me. “Then I guess I’d have to decide what to do with that information.”

  I leaned down, just enough that I could see the teasing glint in her eyes soften into something warmer, something real. “Take your time, Professor. I’m not going anywhere.”

  She smiled, and for the first time that night, I felt like the city wasn’t weighing on me as much as it usually did. Just for a little while, it was just the two of us, walking through the quiet streets, figuring things out—together.

  By the time we made it back to the house, the warmth of the evening still lingered between us. The moment we stepped inside, the quiet was different—heavier, charged. Zara shut the door behind us, her green eyes flicking up to meet mine, something unspoken passing between us.

  She took a slow step forward, closing the space between us. “Still brooding, Detective?”

  I huffed a quiet laugh, but I didn’t step back. “Not tonight.”

  Her fingers traced the edge of my coat before slipping beneath the fabric, pushing it from my shoulders. “Good.”

  I didn’t think. Didn’t hesitate. I cupped her face, tilting her chin up as I kissed her—slow at first, deepening as she pressed closer, her hands fisting into my shirt. The exhaustion of the day, the weight of everything beyond these walls, melted away as her warmth consumed me.

  We barely made it to the bedroom, our movements slow but deliberate, both of us savoring the rare moment of peace. Here, in the dark, there was no war, no Sovereign Order, no council waiting to decide our fate. There was only us.

  ? Content Warning: This chapter contains explicit sexual content and intense romantic themes. Reader discretion is advised. If you prefer to skip, you can move to the next chapter without missing crucial plot details.

  As our kiss grew more fervent, my hands began to explore the contours of her body, tracing the curves of her waist and sliding up to cup the fullness of her breasts. A soft moan escaped her lips, encouraging me to seek out the hardened peaks beneath the fabric of her dress. Her eyes, those mesmerizing pools of necromantic power, fluttered shut as I pinched and rolled her nipples, feeling them tighten with every touch. The shadows grew more pronounced, swirling around us like a living, breathing entity, drawn to the heat of our desire.

  Zara’s hands found their way to the base of my horns, her fingertips ghosting over the sensitive ridges. The sensation sent a jolt of pleasure through me, and I knew she was as eager as I was for this night to unfold. My shadows thickened around us, their caress almost tangible as they brushed against our skin, hinting at the power we were about to share.

  With a growl of need, I scooped her into my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist. She broke our kiss only long enough to whisper, “Take me, Kage. Take all of me.” Her words were like a siren’s song, driving me wild with need. The shadows grew bolder, coiling around us, a living cocoon that shielded us from the outside world as we claimed each other in a frenzy of passion.

  The bed was a beacon of softness in the shaded room, and I laid her upon it with a reverence reserved for the divine. She was the altar to which I’d sacrifice every last shred of self-control. The shadows grew restless, reaching out to caress her bare skin as I peeled away the layers of her dress. Each inch revealed was a revelation, a sacred text of pleasure waiting to be worshipped.

  Her eyes glowed brighter with each stroke of my hand, her pupils dilating to swallow the emerald light. My own arousal grew to a crescendo as she traced the shadows with her fingertips, urging them closer. The darkness pulsed in time with our breaths, eager to envelop us, to become a part of the intimate embrace we were about to share.

  Our bodies aligned, my cock pressing against her wet, welcoming heat. The shadows grew thicker, wrapping around us like a living blanket, whispering sweet nothings of darkness and ecstasy. When I pushed into her, she gasped, her eyes flashing even brighter, a beacon in the dark. Each thrust was met with a symphony of moans and gasps, our breaths mingling with the whispers of the shadows.

  Zara’s nails dug into my back, her hips rising to meet each of my movements. Her eyes never left mine, the green orbs a constant reminder of the power she wielded, a power that only grew stronger as she gave herself to me. The shadows grew denser, feeding off our passion, becoming an extension of our desire.

  The room was alive with energy, with the pounding of our hearts and the slap of flesh on flesh. Each stroke brought us closer to oblivion, each gasp and moan echoing through the air like a chant. The shadows grew tight around us, as if trying to hold onto the moment, to keep us locked in this embrace forever.

  Our climax was a crescendo of pleasure, a burst of green light that filled the room as her eyes flared like twin stars. The shadows shuddered, pulsating with our shared release, a testament to the intensity of our union. For a brief moment, we were one—shadow and necromancer, darkness and life, forever entwined in the throes of passion.

  And then, as our breathing slowed and our hearts found their rhythm once more, the shadows retreated, leaving us bathed in the soft glow of the moon. We lay there, entangled, our bodies still trembling from the aftershocks of our love making. The night was still and quiet, save for the distant call of an owl, a reminder that the world outside waited for the dawn. But in this moment, in the sanctity of the night, we were free. Free to explore the depths of our desires, free to revel in the power that bound us, and free to love without fear of the shackles that had been placed upon us.

  My thumbs brushed over her swollen lips, tracing the path of our passion, as I whispered, “You are the light in the shadow, Zara.” She looked at me, a small smile playing on her lips, her eyes still aglow with the echoes of our climax. Her hand drifted down to rest on my chest, feeling the steady beat of my heart beneath her palm.

  With a grace that belied her exhaustion, she climbed on top of me, straddling my hips. The weight of her was intoxicating, the warmth of her core pressing against my still-hard cock making me groan. She leaned down, her hair cascading around us like a waterfall of midnight ink, and kissed me once more. Her tongue danced with mine, a dance that spoke of promises and secrets shared.

  Her hips began to move, a slow, seductive grind that sent sparks of pleasure through my body. I reached up to cup her breasts, feeling the weight of them in my hands as she began to ride me. The shadows grew restless once more, sensing the rekindling of our desire. They slithered up her thighs, caressing her skin, whispering sweet, dark promises of more pleasure to come.

  The shadows grew darker, more intense, swirling around us in a tempest of passion. They whispered in my ears, telling me the secrets of her body, guiding me to every spot that made her tremble. I obeyed, my hips bucking up to meet hers, each thrust sending a jolt of pleasure through her. Her nails raked down my chest, leaving trails of fire in their wake, her breathing ragged and uneven.

  I could feel her tightening around me, her inner walls fluttering with the anticipation of another release. Her eyes never left mine, the green fire in them burning brighter with each passing moment. We were locked in a silent battle of wills, each trying to outdo the other, each eager to push the boundaries of what we could share. The shadows grew thicker, wrapping around us, lifting her hips, aiding her movements, urging us on to greater heights.

  As she threw her head back, a scream of pleasure tearing from her throat, I knew I was lost to her. The shadows coiled around us, tightening, lifting us off the bed in a writhing tangle of limbs and ecstasy. The world outside ceased to exist as we plummeted into the abyss of our desire.

  My hands found the base of her neck, my thumbs stroking the soft skin as I watched the pleasure play across her face. Her eyes snapped open, the green light blindingly bright, and she whispered my name like a prayer.

  The shadows retreated once more, leaving us gasping for air, our bodies slick with sweat. We lay there, our hearts racing, our breaths mingling as we tried to find our bearings in the quiet darkness. Zara’s eyes were closed, her head resting on my chest, and I could feel the gentle rise and fall of her chest with each breath she took.

  In that moment, I knew that no matter what the future held, we would face it together—two halves of a whole, bound by shadows and passion, forever linked in the dance of the night.