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The question slams into me like a physical blow. I open my mouth to respond with something cutting, something that will keep this wall between us intact, but nothing comes. What maskhaveI been wearing for him? The realization hits me with stunning clarity—none.
"I don't know how to do this," I admit, my voice barely audible. "I don't know how to be... loved. I only know how to be useful." My fingers drift unconsciously to my throat, to the evidence of how quickly usefulness can expire. "My entire life, I've been something to be used and discarded. Even before the demons came, in my village, I was just the orphan girl passed from home to home."
Vael crosses the room in two strides, his hands cupping my face with devastating gentleness. "You don't have to be useful to be worthy, Trinity. Never with me."
Something breaks inside me then—a dam holding back years of carefully controlled emotions. Tears spill down my cheeks, hot and unstoppable.
"I never believed anyone would choose me for me," I confess, the words tearing from somewhere raw and hidden. "Not for what I could offer or do or be. Just... me."
His thumbs brush away my tears. "I choose you. I choose this stubborn, fierce, impossible human who terrifies and fascinates me in equal measure."
"Why?" The question emerges broken and small.
"Because you make me feel alive." He presses his forehead to mine. "Because when I'm with you, I'm not just a weapon or a bloodline or a demon. I'm just Vael."
I clutch at his arms, feeling the solid strength beneath my fingers. "I'm scared, Vael. I've never had anything to lose before. Now I have the twins, and I have..." I take a shuddering breath. "I have you. And it terrifies me how much I want to keep you all."
His eyes widen slightly. "Trinity?—"
"I don't want to go," I rush out before courage deserts me. "I never wanted to leave the girls. And somewhere along the way, I stopped wanting to leave you too." I swallow hard, meeting his gaze directly. I feel like I'm being gutted as the last of my walls are ripped away. "I love you. And I have no idea what to do with that."
Vael goes utterly still, as if I've spoken words in some forbidden language. Then his face transforms—the hard lines softening, those predator eyes warming to molten gold.
"Say it again," he whispers.
I slide my hands up to frame his face, feeling the heat of his skin beneath my palms. "I love you, Vael. Not because you saved me, or gave me children, or offered me protection. Just... you."
He pulls me close, his head tipping forward to touch mine. "Trinity, I have loved you from the second you stormed up to me at that ball and yelled at me. I knew then what I couldn't admit. I love you."
And even though I am physically and emotionally exhausted, his words send a wave of warmth through me. I never thought I could let go with a male, never thought I could trust one—especially not fall in love.
Yet I have.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.
27
VAEL
The moment Trinity's confession leaves her lips, something inside me breaks open. All the barriers I've built, all the distance I've maintained over decades of isolation—gone in an instant. I pull her against me, mindful of my injured side but desperate to feel her warmth.
"I love you," I say again, the words strange yet perfect on my tongue. I've never said them to anyone before her. "I fucking love you."
I brush my lips against hers, tentative at first—giving her a chance to pull away. When she doesn't, when she instead presses closer, I deepen the kiss, one hand cradling her head while the other splays across her back.
This isn't our first kiss, but it feels like it. Everything before was a shadow of this—an approximation. This kiss contains no calculation, no ulterior motives, no boundaries. Just Trinity and me, finally honest with each other.
Her fingers thread through my hair, tugging me closer as her tongue slides against mine. The small moan that escapes her vibrates through me, igniting a fire that's always simmeredbetween us. But this is different from the raw hunger we've shared before. This burns deeper, hotter, more consuming.
"Vael," she whispers against my mouth, her voice still rough from her injuries. The sound of those bruises on her throat makes rage flare within me again, but I push it down. That bastard is dead. Trinity is here, safe in my arms.
I trail my fingers over her neck with a feather-light touch, following the marks his hands left on her perfect skin. "I will never let anyone hurt you again," I vow, pressing the gentlest kisses to each bruise. "Never. You're mine to protect now."
Her hands slide up my chest, careful around the bandaged wound. "And you're mine," she says, those green eyes fixed on me with an intensity that steals my breath. "All mine."
The possessiveness in her voice makes my cock throb painfully against the confines of my pants. I've wanted Trinity from the moment I saw her, taken her body in countless ways since bringing her home. But I've never had all of her—not her heart, not her soul.
I lift her in one fluid motion, ignoring the twinge in my side as I carry her to my bed. Our bed, now. I lay her down reverently, watching as her hair fans across my pillows like spilled ink.