Seraphine sat by the edge of bed, fingers gently brushing through his dark hair as his head rested on her lap - peaceful, almost boyish in sleep.
She studied the quiet fall of his lashes, the small crease between his brows. He looked human like this. Not a king. Not a monster. Just Valen.
She only whispered, "When did you first see me? "
He stirred softly at the sound of her voice - eyes blinking open. It took a second for the haze to clear. Then, his gaze met hers, slow and sure, like it always did.
A pause.
Then a low, raspy murmur, " When I swore to end your bloodline. "
Her breath caught.
His fingers ghosted over her wrist, "I came to kill you. "
A cold weight pressed against her chest, but before it could settle, he smiled - broken and aching.
"I had lost everything. My rage was endless, Serenyth. I thought wiping out the line of light would bring me peace. "
He sat up slowly, "But then, I saw you... on a battlefield. Standing tall, drenched in blood and glory, eyes ablaze like war was your element. "
A moment passed.
"You didn't even know I was there. But I saw everything. The way you fought with honor, not hatred. The way your soldiers bled for you... and you bled for them. "
He leaned in closer, shadows dancing in his eyes.
"That day , I couldn't move. I didn't just fall for your face, your power. I fell in love with your strength... the way you refused to bow, even when the world demanded it. "
He touched her hair gently, " You were not a princess on that battlefield. You were a storm. And I... let it destroy me. "
Seraphine was silent.
The words curled around her like smoke - thick, impossible to escape. You were a storm. And I let it destroy me.
She should've felt wary, unsettled, even frightened by his confession. He came to kill her. Their beginning was never meant to be soft. But all she felt was the ache in her chest... the quiet kind. The kind that reminded her that she wasn't alone in the ruin.
Her voice came out low, barely more than a breath. "Why didn't you do it? "
Valen's gaze didn't falter. "Because the moment I saw you, I knew... I couldn't destroy the one thing that made me feel alive again. "
Seraphine looked down at her lap, at the way their hands sat close but not touching. "I was raised to see vampires as monsters, "she whispered, " But I think the real monsters wore crowns like mine. "
She turned to him, eyes shimmering with something heavier. Understanding. Pain. Maybe even the softest thread of longing.
"You came to end my bloodline, "she said, her voice calm. "And I came to protect a kingdom that already decided to throw me away. "
Valen's jaw tightened. She reached out then, tentative, and brushed her fingers along his cheek.
"I don't know what that makes us, " She murmured, "But for some reason, I feel safer in your darkness than I ever did in the light. "
His breath hitched, shiver crawling down his spine from her touch.
Her touch lingered on his face. Then, she smiled - warmly. Genuinely. The kind of smile that bloomed slowly, like a flower in the middle of a battlefield. The first she'd ever given without armor.
Valen stilled at her smile.
Then slowly, he leaned forward, closing the last inch between them like gravity itself pulled him to her. His forehead rested against hers, their breaths mingling in the quiet.
She didn't move away.
Didn't flinch. Didn't breathe. Just... Waited.
Waited for what his darkness would spill next.
"I watched you, " he whispered, voice tremble like confession. "Every moment. Every breath. "
Her lashes fluttered.
"I watched you train when no one else saw. Watched the way your eyes never lost focus, even when your arms shook from exhaustion. I watched you ride into battle with fire in your eyes and blood in your hands. I watched you sleep, eat, every second of your breath. "
His lips hovered just beside hers now, close enough to taste the air between them.
"I hid in shadows, love. I've lived in them all my life. But even in the deepest dark, I could always find you. "
Her heart fluttered.
"I used to tell myself it was curiousity, " he continued, voice low and rough. "Then obsession. But it was never just that. It was love. Worship. "
He brought a trembling hand to her face, thumb brushing the corner of her mouth like it was sacred.
"You were the only light I never wanted to extinguish. "