The mansion was too quiet.
Lilith stood by the grand window, staring out at the garden that hadn’t bloomed in years. Not since their forced wedding. Not since she married the man who once swore to destroy her family.
And she him.
Cassian.
His name tasted like blood and honey—both familiar and dangerous.
Their marriage had been a treaty, forged from betrayal and bitterness. Two enemies, chained by law and spite. The nights were silent wars. The days colder than the stone halls they wandered through.
But then came the fire.
An assassination meant for her. A blade, poisoned and precise. She remembered falling, the world spinning—until strong arms caught her.
Cassian.
He bled for her that night. Killed for her. Whispered her name like it was the only word he trusted.
Since then, silence lingered between them not like war—but like mourning. Mourning the years they lost hating each other. Mourning who they could’ve been.
A door creaked behind her. She didn’t turn.
“You never look at me the same,” he said.
Lilith’s lips twitched. “You never used to save me.”
He stepped closer. “You never used to need saving.”
“And now?”
Now, he was at her back, his breath warm against her neck. She remembered the venom in his voice years ago, how he promised to ruin her. But he never did. Instead, he’d ruined himself—by falling in love with his enemy.
“I still have your dagger,” she whispered. “The one you dropped when you caught me.”
Cassian chuckled darkly. “Keep it. I have no use for weapons anymore.”
She turned to him, slowly. The shadows in his eyes were still there, but they no longer frightened her. They matched hers.
In the quiet, they kissed—not like lovers finding each other, but like soldiers surrendering.
Love didn’t bloom in peace for them. It grew in the ashes.
---
Would you like a part 2 to this? Or a version from Cassian’s point of view?
