Chapter 57 Nine days
The days blurred together, training at dawn. Cain teaching her advanced techniques, their bodies moving in sync. Fighting turning into something else laughter, touches, stolen kisses between strikes.
Afternoons exploring the kingdom. Volcanoes. Lava fields. Warriors who treated her like one of them now. Cain proud. Openly claiming her. Handholding in public. Not hiding anything.
Evenings in Cain’s chambers, talking, learning each other. Intimate in ways beyond physical. Sharing fears. Dreams. Vulnerabilities neither showed anyone else.
Nights tangled together. Fire and need and want. Learning what made each other gasp. Moan. Fall apart. Building something neither wanted to name because naming it made it real and real meant it could end.
Five days became three, three became two.
The last morning arrived too fast.
Lilith woke in Cain’s arms. Last time. At least for now.
“You’re awake,” Cain murmured. “I can feel it.”
“I don’t want to get up.”
“Me neither.” Cain’s arms tightened. “If I don’t let go, you can’t leave. Simple logic.”
“Very simple. Also impossible.”
“Worth trying anyway.” But Cain released her. Sat up. Ran hands through her hair. “Fuck. I hate this.”
“Me too.”
They dressed slowly. Neither wanting to acknowledge what today meant.
Breakfast was quiet. Warriors subdued. Everyone knew. Everyone felt it.
After, Cain walked Lilith to her chambers. Where bags were packed. Where Sera waited.
“Portal opens in an hour,” Sera said gently. “Back to the Vestibulum. Then”
“Then the next kingdom,” Lilith finished. “I know.”
Sera left them alone.
Cain leaned against the wall. Arms crossed. Expression carefully controlled. “So.”
“So.”
“This is” She stopped. “Harder than I expected. And I expected it to be impossible.”
“Cain”
“Let me say this. Before I lose my nerve.” Cain moved closer. “These two weeks were” She stopped. “They were everything. You were everything. And I know you’re leaving. Know you have to. Know you still have feelings for Azrael and have to figure all that out. But I need you to know” She stopped. “I’m in love with you.”
Lilith’s breath caught.
“I know it’s fast. I know it’s complicated. I know you might not feel the same. But I needed to say it. Needed you to know before you leave and spend two weeks with someone else and” She stopped. “I love you. Completely. Impossibly. And whatever you decide, whoever you choose, that won’t change.”
“Cain”
“You don’t have to say it back. Don’t have to decide anything right now. Just” Cain cupped her face. “Just know that you’re loved. That you matter. That these two weeks weren’t just fun or experimentation or whatever. They were real. You were real. This was real.”
Lilith kissed her. Hard. Desperate. Trying to say everything she couldn’t put into words.
When they broke apart, both had tears.
“I don’t know what I feel,” Lilith said honestly. “Don’t know if it’s love. Don’t know how to separate wanting from needing from loving. But I know” She stopped. “I know you matter. Know this matters. Know leaving you hurts more than I thought possible.”
“That’s enough.” Cain’s smile was broken. “That’s more than enough.”
A knock on the door. A servant. “My lady. The portal is ready.”
“Five minutes,” Lilith said.
The servant left.
Five minutes. That’s all they had.
“Come back,” Cain said quietly. “After the next kingdom. After you’ve seen whoever’s next. Come back here. Even just for a day. Let me see you again before you move on to the others.”
“I will.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” Lilith grabbed her bags. “I have to go.”
“I know.” But Cain didn’t move. “Lilith?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t forget this. Don’t forget us. Don’t let the next kingdom or the next or the one after that erase what we built here.”
“I won’t. I couldn’t. This” Lilith stopped. “This changed me. You changed me. I won’t forget that.”
They walked to the courtyard together. The portal waited. Crimson light fading to gold. Back to the Vestibulum.
Warriors lined the path. Saluting. Showing respect. Saying goodbye to the Seraph who’d earned their prince’s heart.
At the portal, Cain stopped. “I’m not good at goodbyes.”
“Then don’t say it.” Lilith kissed her one last time. “Just say see you later.”
“See you later.” Cain’s voice cracked. “Soon.”
“Soon.”
Lilith stepped through the portal. Sera behind her. The world shifted. Changed. Reformed.
When she opened her eyes, she was back in the Vestibulum. Cold. Dark. Wrong after two weeks of fire.
All six brothers waited. But her eyes found Azrael first.
His expression was carefully controlled. But his eyes his eyes saw everything. Knew everything.
Knew she’d changed. Knew something had happened with Cain. Knew she’d chosen his sister. At least temporarily.
“Welcome back,” he said quietly.
“Thank you.”
The Devil sat on his throne. Looking worse. So much worse. Like death was just waiting.
“Cain’s kingdom suited you,” he said. His voice was weak. Barely there. “You’re stronger. More certain. Good.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“Next is” He coughed. Blood. “Next is Lucian. Envy’s domain. Two weeks. Starting tomorrow.”
Lilith’s stomach dropped. Lucian. Mirrors. Seeing everything. Knowing everything. Reading everything she tried to hide.
This was going to be torture.
“Tomorrow,” Lucian said. His mirror eyes were unreadable. “Rest tonight. You’ll need it.”
The brothers dispersed. Heading to their own chambers. Their own spaces.
Azrael lingered. “Can we talk?”
“Not tonight. I’m” Lilith stopped. “I’m exhausted. Tomorrow. Before I leave for Lucian’s kingdom. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Alright.” But his eyes were hurt. Guarded. “Tomorrow then.”
He left.
Sera guided Lilith to her chambers. “You okay?”
“No.” Lilith collapsed on the bed. “I just left Cain. I’m about to spend two weeks with Lucian who will see every thought I have. Then I have to face Azrael and figure out what I feel and” She stopped. “I’m a mess.”
“You’re human. Seraph. Whatever.” Sera sat beside her. “You’re allowed to be a mess.”
“I told Cain I’d come back. After Lucian’s kingdom. Before the next one.”
“Will you?”
“I have to. I promised.” Lilith closed her eyes. “But facing her again after two weeks with someone else? After whatever happens with Lucian? That’s”
“Future you’s problem. Present you needs sleep.”
“Present me needs to figure out how to stop falling for people who make everything impossible.”
“Too late for that.” Sera squeezed her shoulder. “Sleep. Tomorrow brings new complications. Tonight just brings rest.”
Lilith slept. Fitfully. Dreaming of fire and mirrors and golden eyes watching her with hurt she’d caused.
Tomorrow she’d face Lucian. Master of Envy. Who saw everything. Knew everything. Would read every secret she tried to hide.
Two weeks of being completely, utterly exposed.
She wasn’t ready.
But she never was.