I walked up to him, my hand going to his chest. I could feel the heat of his heart, the way it was still thundering. "It doesn't matter what he felt, Kaelen. He is a shadow. You are the one who gets to stay."
"Is that enough for you?" Kaelen rasped, his hands coming up to cup my face, his thumbs stroking my cheekbones with a desperate, spiritual need. "Tell me it's enough. Tell me that his hunger is nothing compared to the world I've built for you."
I looked at him—this massive, lethal man who had just stood before the world's most powerful monsters—and I felt a surge of genuine, terrifying love. But beneath that love was the "Doctor," making a silent, terrifying observation.
"You are the only one, Kaelen," I said, my voice a solemn vow.
He picked me up, my legs wrapping around his waist, and carried me out of the chamber toward the Master Suite. He kissed me then, a desperate, bruising kiss that tasted of salt and ancient musk.
