SERAPHINA'S POV
In a trance, I find my way back to my dorm and don't realize I have arrived until I'm standing just outside the door.
The 15-minute walk here was engulfed with thoughts of the vision, the story of what was, and the premonition of what will be - what I won't let happen, regardless of what she says.
Hatred cannot be passed through generations; I don't hate the wolves. I could never hate Artemis.
I push the door open, filled with exhaustion, expecting to be greeted with an empty bed. Instead, when I walk in, there's Olivia talking with the same person who was just on my mind a second ago.
"Artemis?"
"Hey," he smiles, immediately getting up from my bed and coming over to me.
He wraps me up in a bear-tight hug, his wide arms encircling me in mere seconds. At first, the sudden embrace catches me off guard, but then his familiar scent envelops me, tenderly drawing me closer.
In that moment, I melt into his arms, letting his warmth caress my soul and melt away the frost of our time apart. It feels like an eternity since I've been this close to him, and now, all the distance and time that separated us seem to vanish into thin air.
I close my eyes, savoring this feeling, this profound sense of reconnection that I've longed for, more than I ever realized.
The world outside our embrace fades into a distant murmur, and for a brief, precious moment, it's just us.
"I'll excuse myself for a while," Olivia mumbles, walking out of the room while we're still hugging, snapping me out of my reverie in the process.
"What are you doing here?" I ask the moment we're farther apart and the effects of his body warmth on me fizzle out - the moment I can think clearly and remember that he's here after so long.
I remember that I'm angry.
"What am I doing here? I said I was going to be back," he laughs nervously, trying to pass it off, but I don't let him, folding my arms below my chest.
"Yeah, three days ago after you disappeared for two."
He sighs. "I'm sorry... I wish I could have shown up sooner, but my schedule's tighter. My father is making sure I don't have the slightest chance to do anything else but prepare for this wedding."
"I thought you weren't going to do any of that, but now you're having succession classes? You said you'd handle it."
"And I am... I just need more time," he says with a pained expression.
I can easily tell just how much all of this is taking a toll on him as well, how much he's been trying to figure out something for us.
But I can't help it.
I can't help the anger burning inside me like flames, at the thought of how everything has played out, how I'm just expected to do nothing and wait helplessly.
Always the damsel in distress that has to wait to be rescued or helped.
"I don't know, Artemis, how long I have to sit and wait for you, for something to happen."
"Sera..." he tries to say something, but the words don't come out.
He hangs his head, biting his lips and saying nothing more.
Suddenly, all the sparks are gone, and I have a bitter taste in my mouth. Suddenly, I want to be alone and figure things out without him being here and making me feel things I don't need right now.
"Maybe you should leave."
"Sera!"
"I don't know, Artemis. This isn't supposed to be hard. I don't know what to believe anymore... you or Lucian."
His name leaves my mouth before I realize it, and then I remember just how much the two aren't on good terms, how much they potentially hate each other.
He looks like he's been burned instantly, his brows raised with accusations while he takes a step back to look at me with hurt in his eyes.
"Lucian?" Artemis questions, a mix of confusion and disbelief in his voice as he shakes his head. A brief, hollow laugh escapes him, far from any sign of joy. "You're talking to Lucian again?"
The way he says it stings, as if he has any right to judge me at this moment.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You can't be talking to Lucian, not him of all fucking people."
I can't help but scoff, feeling a surge of anger bubbling up inside me like boiling water in a teapot. The frustration feels heavy in my chest, like a burden longing to be released.
Yet, I manage to keep my composure, holding back the turbulence of emotions.
"You don't get to tell me who I can or can't talk to, especially not when you're engaged to someone else, Artemis. Especially not when you're about to make it official in a few weeks," I retort, turning away from him, unable to hide my hurt.
"What did he say? What did Lucian tell you... is that how you know about the succession classes?"
"Why, are you surprised I found out by myself?" My words are sharp, a bitter scoff escaping me as I meet his gaze to lay my accusations, my rage spilling over.
However, the sight of him makes me regret it. He recoils, looking genuinely hurt for the first time since we started this.
"N-no, I was planning to tell you. I didn't want you to find out about the succession classes from someone else, especially not from a bastard like him who has his own motives."
I remain silent, looking away, torn between my anger and the need to understand.
"What else did Lucian tell you, Sera?" He steps closer, his hand gently holding my arm, but the room suddenly feels too hot, too small with both of us in it.
"He said you knew about the engagement before it was announced," I mumble, the words barely escaping my lips. "He suggested you didn't tell me on purpose."
He remains silent for a second, and then another.
His hand slowly falls off mine. I feel his eyes watching me, but I don't look up, already feeling too guilty for getting angry, for bringing all of this up.
For feeling this way in the first place when all he's done is try for me.
"Did you... Did you believe that?" he finally asks, his voice barely a whisper.
"No, I didn't."
He swallows hard, a visible crack in his composure.
"Please... Please, I swear I didn't know about the engagement," his voice cracks, and my resolve not to meet his eyes crumbles to dust.
I look at him, at the pain he's in from our brief squabble. His down-turned brows and contorted face makes it look like he can't breathe any longer.
"I swear," he repeats, and the distance between us vanishes as I reach out to him, my hands cupping his face.
Our foreheads touch, pressed hard against each other - a moment of silent understanding passing between us. His arms encircle my hips, pulling me closer, his body trembling with unspoken emotions.
"I know you didn't know, Artemis. I believe you," I whisper, offering him the reassurance he needs, so he knows that I never doubted him.
He exhales, a breath that seems to carry the weight of the world, his body still shaking slightly. He buries his face in the crook of my neck, breathing in my scent as if it's the air he needs to survive, mirroring my own longing for this closeness.
He's missed him, and I swear by my life that I've missed him just as dearly.
Gently, he pulls back, his eyes filled with a yearning that speaks volumes, gazing into my soul as if he's trying to communicate every unsaid word. His gaze drifts to my lips, a silent expression of desire, before he leans in.
I sigh.
The kiss that follows is filled with a hunger born of our time apart, a reminder of the deep connection that still binds us, despite the chaos of our lives.
The taste of his lips reignites memories, a bittersweet reminder of what we are fighting to preserve. Just how long has it been?
My hands wrap around his neck as we deepen the kiss, burning with an unrivaled longing and devouring my will to resist. He sucks on my tongue, and I lean deeper into him, softly moaning.
Delicious sparks fly over every inch of my body, pulse quickening, and for a moment, everything feels right. Him and I, in love, without any engagement, prophecy, or impending doom.
It's almost perfect.
I lean more into him, moaning as he nibbles and ravages on my lip, teasing me. A feverish shudder runs down my spine - thrumming with my pent-up desires and hunger.
He groans roughly upon hearing my moan, a firestorm of passion, pressing himself harder against me. I gasp, feeling his erection, thicker and harder than anything I've ever known, pushed against my abdomen.
My cheeks flush, but he doesn't give me a chance to feel shy.
With ease, he lifts me off my feet, and instinctively, I wrap my legs around his waist as he moves us to my bed. His heat cocoons me - no, it consumes my body that clings so hard to him, like if for a second I should close my eyes, I might lose him forever.
I'm gently laid on my back, and he hovers over me, blue eyes me holding captive and searching deeper, unraveling the layers of my fear, of my heart and soul. A heart that has been tailored just for him.
All that while, our lips never part. And for the first time in days, I feel alive.
Urgent with need and inflamed by lust, his hands move under my shirt, swiftly unhooking my bra and caressing my bare breast, rolling my nipple between his finger, and it takes everything in me not scream for more.
The heat from his fingers, from his palm, and from his body on mine sends ripples of endless, shock-waves through me - rushing straight between my thighs, leaving me soaking and feral.
I arch into him, inviting him to take as much of me as he desires, to ruin me just like I know he craves, and he pauses, gazing into my eyes with a desperate craving.
"I love you," he whispers with such intensity that it seems he might just combust into flames if I doubted him.
"I love you," I reply, with equal sincerity, panting softly.
Yet, it seems not to be enough for him. He dives back in, kissing me harder and more desperately than before. His tongue fills my mouth, possessive and twice as conquering.
It feels like a stake of his claim this time - like he wants it imprinted right into my mind, my heart, that I belong to him, just as I know that he's mine.
His lips travel from my chin down the slope of my neck, sucking, focusing on a sensitive spot. He's kissing and nibbling until it's bare and fragile to his touch. I then feel the gentle graze of his teeth gliding across my skin.
It's not hard enough to break it, but the sensation that courses through me in an instant is almost as intoxicating as an orgasm. My body reacts like it's on drugs, and he's the substance I'm consuming.
I clasp onto him, welcoming this feeling that feels too foreign and strange, like my mind is opening up, yet too good that words can't explain.
I feel my brain overloaded with the pleasure that begins to hit all at once; I feel myself sink deeper into it, knowing it's not complete yet. It's euphoric and addictive, and a deep, desperate moan rolls out of me.
I'm about to fall and fully give myself into him when the world around me turns dark, and the images in front of me are dead bodies littered under the blaze of a raging fire.
The dead little girl from my vision turns her head to face me, as if suddenly animated, and her eyes are missing, leaving behind hollow sockets leaking out blood.
I lose my mind instantly, screaming from absolute terror and releasing a burst of energy before I can stop myself.
It comes out like a burst of wind that sends him flying to the other end of the room and right into the wall, putting an end to our make-out.