Chapter 39 Frozen Time
Rain streaked down the café window in uneven trails, city lights bleeding through like broken glass. The world outside looked fractured just like Michael felt. He sat still, hands wrapped around a mug that had long gone cold, his jaw clenching and unclenching with each passing second.
“No,” he said finally, voice low. “What should we do?”
Across from him, Lilith watched him quietly, her eyes shadowed with worry. She exhaled, the sound soft but heavy. “Right now, we can’t put your life in danger anymore. The Witcher was clear it’s too risky to send you back to the Underworld.” Her gaze flicked to the window, where lightning flashed faintly against the skyline. “But maybe we can go to Lucifer’s company again.”
Michael’s head snapped up. “You mean walk into his territory? What if everyone there is a demon? The Witcher warned us Lucifer is coming for me.” His words trembled with a fear he tried to hide, but Lilith saw it anyway.
She smiled faintly, though her hands tightened around her cup. “You’re not going alone. We’ll go together. As long as Lucifer isn’t there, we can confront that woman Morgana. We’ll tell her we know the truth. If Selena isn’t brought back to Earth, we’ll go to the police.” Her voice had a brittle edge, the kind people used when courage was the only thing holding them upright.
Michael stared at her, disbelief flickering in his eyes. “You mean the same woman whose presence made our skin crawl? Lilith, what if she’s a demon? You saw what she did to that guard how his eyes turned black before he vanished.”
Lilith’s expression didn’t waver. “We’re on Earth,” she said, voice firm. “That gives us an advantage. They can’t unleash their full power here. Besides, Selena’s human. She shouldn’t have ended up in the Underworld. Something’s missing.” She took a slow sip of her coffee, the steam curling around her face like smoke. “Something doesn’t add up.”
Michael leaned back, rubbing his temples. “Then what if we start from the beginning? Go back to the library.”
Lilith shook her head. “We’ve searched there more times than I can count. There’s nothing.”
“What about the last place she left her bag in the city library?” Michael’s voice softened. “Maybe there’s still a clue.”
Lilith hesitated, tracing the rim of her cup in slow, absent circles. Steam curled upward, vanishing into the low light. “Maybe,” she whispered.
Before she could say more, a sound cut through the air shrill, abrupt. Michael’s phone vibrated across the table, the screen lighting his face in a brief blue glow. Both of them stilled, the moment suspended.
Michael exhaled sharply. “It’s my dad.”
He swiped to answer, pressing the phone to his ear. “Dad?”
The voice that came through was all thunder and steel.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Michael flinched. His father’s tone carried that same cold authority that could shrink a room.
“How dare you mess with Mr. Lucifer’s company? You had the nerve to interfere with Infernum Corporation? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Our entire company is being threatened because of you!”
Michael shot to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the tile. “I didn’t mess with his company!” he said, too quickly the edge of panic cracking through his voice.
“Wherever you are, get home. Now.”
The line went dead.
He stood frozen, staring at the dark screen. The faint jazz playing in the background suddenly sounded miles away.
Lilith’s brows knit together. “What happened?”
Michael’s jaw worked as he struggled to find words. “Can we talk later?” he muttered, grabbing his keys from the table. “I need to go home. It’s… serious.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” she asked quietly, eyes searching his face.
He shook his head. “No. Finish your coffee. I’ll call you later.” He tried to smile, but it faltered halfway. “Be careful, okay?”
Lilith nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. “You too.”
The door chimed softly as he left, swallowed by the rain outside. She watched him until the reflection of his taillights disappeared into the blur of traffic, then sighed, letting her shoulders sink.
The café seemed larger without him the murmur of conversation blending with the rain’s rhythm against the glass, the faint hiss of the espresso machine filling the silence he left behind.
Lilith turned back to her phone, scrolling through her notes. Names. Dates. Fragments of theories about Selena’s disappearance. None of it made sense, but she couldn’t stop staring. The glow of the screen washed her face pale.
Then something shifted.
It wasn’t sound. It was pressure. The air grew heavy, thick enough that breathing suddenly felt like effort. Her fingers froze mid-scroll.
The world stilled.
The barista, mid-pour, stopped moving a stream of coffee suspended in midair. The couple in the corner sat motionless, smiles frozen, eyes glassy and empty. Even the rain outside had gone quiet, every droplet frozen against the glass like suspended crystal.
Lilith’s pulse spiked. “No,” she whispered, voice trembling.
A shadow rippled across the window. Then, across from her, the seat that Michael had vacated moments ago was no longer empty.
Morgana sat there calm, radiant, and terrifying. She looked like she belonged to the night itself: dark hair cascading over one shoulder, her skin glowing faintly against the dim café lights. Her eyes caught the light in a way human eyes shouldn’t gold bleeding into deep crimson, like molten metal cooling to blood.
She smiled, the kind of smile that promised nothing good.
“Hello, Lilith,” she said softly, her voice smooth and melodic, carrying an undertone that made the room colder. “We meet again.”
Lilith’s throat tightened. Her hands trembled under the table. “What… what do you want?”
Morgana tilted her head, amusement flickering at the edge of her lips. “Oh, don’t look so frightened.” Her gaze swept the room, landing briefly on the frozen barista. “I just thought we could talk without distractions.”
Lilith’s eyes darted around. The café was a painting now still, colorless, wrong. The silence pressed in from every direction.
The lights flickered once. In the reflection of the window, Lilith saw herself pale, small, terrified and Morgana behind her like a phantom from a nightmare.
“Aren’t you happy to see me?” Morgana murmured. Her smile deepened, dangerous and elegant. The faint scent of burning roses filled the air sharp and sweet, a warning wrapped in perfume.
The café lights dimmed to a haunting glow, and the air filled with the faint scent of burning roses.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Hey my amazing readers 💕
Thank you so much for reading this chapter! You guys are truly the heart of this story my wonderful stars, my beautiful souls who keep shining for me every time I post a new update. I hope you enjoyed the suspense and chills in this one!
Tell me what you think how do you feel about Morgana’s return? I’d really love to hear your thoughts 💬