The aftermath of Eloise’s visions lingered like a poison, leaving the brothers raw and fractured. Ella felt the tension thrumming through the bond—Adrian’s simmering rage, Vincent’s quiet anguish, Sebastian’s smoldering guilt, and even Lucien’s unshaken resolve trembling beneath the weight of their shared pain.
In the music room, the piano lay untouched, its haunting notes a distant memory. Sebastian sat in its shadow, his usually poised demeanor crumbling. His golden eyes, usually brimming with charm and mischief, were dulled, his hands shaking as they rested against his knees. The echo of the past haunted him, and the bond vibrated with his turmoil, a relentless reminder of the ghost’s influence.
Ella hesitated in the doorway, her chest tightening as Sebastian’s emotions bled into her. She could feel his pain like it was her own—a sharp, bitter ache that threatened to overwhelm her. Quietly, she crossed the room, her footsteps soft against the stone floor.
“Sebastian,” she said gently, her voice breaking the heavy silence. He didn’t look up, his fingers tightening into fists. “I am here. Talk to me.”
He exhaled shakily, his head tilting back against the wall. “It is not that easy, darling,” he muttered, his voice hollow. “To face what you have done. To know your choices led someone to... that.”
Ella crouched in front of him, her gray eyes searching his face. “Eloise showed you something,” she said softly. “Something terrible.”
A bitter laugh escaped him. “She’s good at that, isn’t she? Tearing you open and leaving you raw for everyone to see.” His voice cracked, the sharp edge of his emotions bleeding through the bond. “I see her face, Ella. Every time I close my eyes. The look of betrayal before she...” He stopped, his voice breaking completely.
Ella reached out, her hand resting on his knee. “You are not that person anymore,” she said, her voice steady despite the storm raging in her chest. “You have grown. You have changed.”
Sebastian’s gaze finally met hers, the raw vulnerability in his eyes stealing her breath.
“What if that part of me is still there?” he whispered. “What if I am still that monster?”
“You are not,” Ella said firmly. “You are far more than your past.”
The bond surged between them, pulling her closer as Sebastian’s hand covered hers. His touch was warm despite the frost in the air, and the connection between them flared, a spark of something deeper igniting in the space between their shared pain and desire.
“I do not deserve your kindness,” Sebastian said, his voice low. “But I cannot walk away from you either. I cannot let this bond destroy us without fighting for it.”
Ella leaned forward, her forehead brushing against his. “Then do not walk away.”
Their lips met in a slow, tender kiss, the weight of their shared vulnerabilities adding a desperate intensity. Sebastian’s hands moved to her waist, pulling her closer, grounding himself in her warmth. The bond pulsed wildly, amplifying their emotions until the room felt charged with energy. The cold that had seeped into the manor dissipated, replaced by the heat between them.
The grand piano sat there, a silent observer to the scene unfolding before it, its lid invitingly open and waiting for its turn in this dance of desire and passion.
Sebastian broke their kiss long enough to lift Ella effortlessly onto its cool surface; despite its chilliness contrasting harshly with her own heat radiating from everywhere they touched, she shivered not from cold but from sheer anticipation.
“You have given me so much, Eleanor,” he murmured, his gaze steady on hers. “Your kindness, your warmth… It is more than I deserve. Let me repay you, at least just for tonight.”
Ella’s breath hitched, the intensity of his words and the raw emotion in his eyes leaving her speechless. She nodded faintly, her heart racing as Sebastian lowered himself to his knees before her.
As Sebastian knelt before her, Ella's breath hitched in her throat. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, the thrumming rhythm echoed by the pulse throbbing between her thighs. Her dress rode up as he lifted the hem, revealing her bare legs to his gaze. His eyes trailed up her legs slowly—a teasing deliberation that ignited flames of lust dancing across every inch he touched visually before his lips even made contact—an agonizing torment till his mouth finally reached its destination: her ankle.
A trail of kisses blazed a path upwards from her ankle to the sensitive skin behind her knee, leaving goosebumps in their wake and eliciting gasps from deep within her lungs.
Ella tangled her fingers in his hair as he worshipped her legs with reverence, each tender touch sparking a fresh wave of heat coursing through her veins and pooling between her thighs. Every flicker of his tongue against her skin sends a shockwave straight to her core.
Once he reached the apex of her thighs, he paused just long enough for both their breaths to catch in their throats before lowering his mouth onto her mound with a reverence that belied the wickedness simmering within him.
He teased her folds delicately with his tongue—tasting her sweetness while acknowledging her desperation for more—until finally granting her wish by plunging his tongue deep into her—igniting sensations so intense they threatened to consume them both completely.
With each stroke of his tongue, Ella arched further into him, grinding shamelessly against his face as he feasted upon her like a man starved for centuries—her moans filling the room like a symphony played out solely for his pleasure.
And just when she thought she couldn't take it any longer—when every muscle within her coiled tighter than a bowstring pulled taut—he slipped two fingers inside her, finding that spot inside her that sent sparks shooting out behind her closed eyelids, heightening her pleasure tenfold.
"Oh, god," she cried out, grasping onto anything she could—her nails digging into the piano lid as if desperately trying to cling onto reality amidst this whirlwind of unbridled lust and desire threatening to tear them both apart—but it was too late.
The first wave of ecstasy had already crashed over her, shattering her resolve and casting her adrift into an ocean of blissful oblivion...
But before they could lose themselves completely, the sound of hurried footsteps shattered the moment.
Lucien burst into the room, his face pale and drawn. “I have found it,” he announced, his voice cutting through the haze. “The bloodstone pendant. It’s in the crypts.”
Ella pulled back, her heart racing as the gravity of his words settled over her. “The crypts?”
Lucien nodded, his expression grim. “If we want to banish Eloise, we have to retrieve it. But the crypts are unstable. Her magic will make this even more dangerous.”
Sebastian released Ella reluctantly, his golden eyes lingering on her. “Then we prepare,” he said, his voice steady despite the fire still burning in his gaze.
The group gathered in the great hall, the temperature dropping as the night deepened. Adrian stood at the edge of the room, his icy-blue eyes locked on Ella. The possessiveness radiating from him was palpable, the bond crackling with his frustration and jealousy. He crossed the room in a few swift strides, his hand grasping Ella’s arm.
“What happened with you and Sebastian?” Adrian asked, his voice low and dangerous. “The bond does not lie, Ella. I felt it.”
Ella met his gaze, her voice unwavering. “This isn’t the time, Adrian.”
Adrian’s grip tightened, but before he could say more, a chilling breeze swept through the room. The ghostly scent of roses and blood filled the air, and frost began creeping along the walls. A cold, spectral laugh echoed, sending a shiver down Ella’s spine.
“She is here,” Raphael said, his voice tense as he drew closer to the group.
The frost spread rapidly, and the shadows in the room shifted. For the first time, Eloise’s form began to solidify—her translucent figure draped in silken robes, her eyes glowing with malice. She raised a hand, and frost burned along Adrian’s arm, forcing him to release Ella.