The safehouse smelled of smoke and gunpowder. Shards of glass glittered across the floor like frozen stars, reminders of Damien’s intrusion. Adrian hadn’t spoken since slamming the door shut after chasing him into the night.

Elena sat near the couch, knees pulled to her chest, her heart still beating a frantic rhythm. She should have been relieved. She was safe. She was alive.

But the silence pressing between them was heavier than any fear Damien had ever given her.

Adrian stood across the room, his shirt torn, blood streaking down his arm where glass had cut him. He didn’t move. He only stared at her.

Finally, she whispered, “Say something.”

His voice was low, rough, shaking with barely-contained emotion.

“You almost left me tonight.”

Her breath caught. “I didn’t—”

“You did.” He stepped forward, each stride a thunderclap in her chest. “Damien had you. For one breath—one single breath—you weren’t mine.”

Elena backed against the couch as he loomed over her. His hand slammed against the wall beside her head, trapping her, his body caging hers with heat and fury.

“Do you know what that did to me?” His voice cracked, his pale eyes ablaze. “I’ve killed men without blinking. I’ve torn kingdoms apart. But seeing his hands on you—” His breath hitched, ragged, desperate. “It unmade me.”

Her throat tightened. “Adrian, you can’t—”

“I can,” he snapped, his hand gripping her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “And I will. I warned you before, Elena. I don’t let go. Not of what’s mine.”

Her heart hammered as he stepped back—only to return with something clutched in his hand. Cold metal glinted in the dim light.

A chain.

Her stomach dropped. “Adrian—”

His voice was hoarse, trembling, but resolute. “If it keeps you alive… if it keeps him from taking you… then I’ll do this. Hate me if you must. Curse me. But you’ll breathe because of me. And I’ll know you’re safe.”

Her pulse thundered as he knelt in front of her, the chain coiling in his hand like a serpent. His gaze softened for a heartbeat, pain flickering through the obsession.

“I’d rather be your monster than bury you as my weakness.”

And as the chain brushed her wrist, Elena realized the truth she had feared since the beginning—

Adrian wasn’t saving her from Damien.

He was saving her from the world. By binding her to him.... Love