Chapter 65: After

Chapter 65: After
Ariel’s POV

I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until Talia’s voice cracked again behind the door.

“Ari… open up, babe. It’s just me.”

Just me.

Yeah. No. Nothing about that voice sounded like “just Talia.” Her tone wobbled in a way that didn’t belong to her. Too soft. Too careful. Talia wasn’t careful. She stomped through hallways like she owned the building and gossip was oxygen.

Something cold crept up my spine.

Damien’s hand found my back, warm and heavy. “Don’t move,” he murmured, low enough for only me. “She’s not alone.”

My heart stuttered. “How do you know?”

He didn’t take his eyes off the door. “Because she’s breathing differently.”

I blinked. “…Damien, who pays attention to breathing patterns through a door?”

He didn’t answer.

Because he was listening again.

Talia’s fist tapped weakly. “Ari… come on. You okay?”

Her voice trembled the same way the lights in the hallway flickered — the way electronics do when magic presses too close. I swallowed hard.

“Damien,” I whispered, “that doesn’t sound like her.”

“It’s not.”

Those two words skinned my nerves alive.

Marcus moved closer to the door, leaning in. “Sir… it’s layered.”

Layered. Like two voices speaking at once.

My stomach flipped.

“Can you hear the second?” Damien asked.

Marcus nodded once. “Faint. Male.”

Everything inside me tightened. Male.
The voice.
The same one that had whispered through my dreams and pulled me into the dark like I was tethered to it.

No. Not again.

“Ariel…” Talia’s voice softened, too soft. “Sweetheart, open the door. I just want to help you.”

Sweetheart.

Talia called everyone “dude,” “bro,” or “tell me everything right now.” Never sweetheart.

The air crackled near my fingertips. Heat shimmered under my skin like something inside me wanted out. Not wild, not explosive — just restless.

Damien noticed instantly. His hand slid down my arm and squeezed just enough to ground me.

“Breathe,” he murmured. “Not here. Not right now.”

I nodded, even though my pulse was thundering. The voice outside the door tried again—same mouth, wrong soul.

“Ariel… open the door.”

The second voice slid beneath it, quiet as a breath:

“Ariel… come here.”

My knees almost buckled.

Damien stepped in front of me so fast I barely saw him move.

I pressed a hand to his back, fingers curling in his shirt. “Damien… it’s him.”

“I know.”

His voice was so calm it scared me more than the danger.

Marcus put a hand to his earpiece even though there was nothing connected. A habit. “The hallway cameras are glitching. Something’s frying them.”

Of course they were.

My power pulsed again. My palm warmed. The lights in the suite dimmed like they were exhaling.

Damien glanced back at me. “You’re reacting to him.”

“I don’t want to.” My voice cracked. “I feel like something keeps pulling.”

“You resist it.” His jaw tightened. “You don’t follow voices. You follow me.”

God. The way he said that — claim layered over reassurance — made heat pool low in my stomach. Even now.

“Damien…” I whispered.

He stepped closer, forehead brushing mine. “Look at me.”

I did. His eyes were steady, fierce, warm. They pulled me back into myself.

Outside, Talia knocked again. Softer.

“Ariel? Sweetheart?”

Her breath hitched at the end — like two people were trying to speak inside the same throat.

Marcus flinched. “Sir… it’s changing again.”

Damien’s arm slid around me, pulling me fully behind him. “Ariel stays back.”

“Damien—” I tried.

He didn’t look away from the door. “I’m not letting him get to you.”

The temperature in the room dipped. My fingers tingled. The magic in me hummed — scared but listening.

Talia’s shadow shifted under the door.

Then her voice dropped the act completely.

“Ariel.”
One word. Male. Cold. Too close.
“I’ve found you.”

My heart stopped.

Damien exhaled slowly, like he’d been expecting this exact moment.

The door handle twitched.

Once.

Twice.

Then—

It started to turn.