The night had left the ruins cold and silent, but the air still hummed with residual energy. Ariana stayed close to the twins, her body pressed against theirs as though her presence alone could shield them from the unseen dangers lurking in the mist.
She didn't look at Jayden. She couldn't. Not after last night—after the almost-confession, the almost-revelation, the way his golden eyes had burned into her soul.
But she could feel him. Always there. Watching. Waiting. Protective, tense, impossibly close.
"They're still coming," one of the twins whispered.
Ariana pressed a finger to the child's lips. "I know," she said softly. "Stay quiet. Don't react. Not yet."
The twins nodded, small faces pale in the moonlight. Their powers hummed faintly beneath their skin, pulsing in rhythm with the danger they didn't fully understand.
And Jayden could feel it too.
He had followed them silently, moving with predator-like precision, his senses stretched across the ruins and surrounding forest. He didn't need to see the twins to know they were reacting to him. Every instinct screamed it, every fiber of his being recognized the bond—even if he couldn't name it yet.
Ariana sensed him tense behind them. She knew he wanted to intervene, to take control, to protect—but she wouldn't let him. Not now. Not when the stakes were too high.
A sudden rustle in the mist made her flinch. Shadows shifted, and before she could react, three figures emerged—rogue vampires, dark-eyed and hungry, flanked by low whispers of magic.
"They're testing us," Jayden muttered, appearing at her side as if from nowhere. The air around him thrummed with energy. "Get the twins behind me."
Ariana obeyed, feeling heat rush through her at the proximity. His coat brushed hers, a faint warmth she couldn't ignore. She could feel the pull again, that magnetic tension between them—dangerous, undeniable, intoxicating.
The twins' hands glowed faintly, energy sparking from their fingertips, forming protective shields instinctively. Ariana's heart tightened. They were responding to him, just as she had feared.
"Stay with me," Jayden ordered softly, voice low, commanding yet tender. "I won't let anything happen to you."
She nodded, though her stomach twisted with a mix of fear, longing, and frustration.
The fight erupted with blinding speed. Shadows clashed with golden power, energy whipping through the ruins in arcs of silver and darkness. Ariana fought beside Jayden, their movements instinctively synchronized. Every brush of skin, every near-touch, sent electricity through her veins. Her pulse hammered in time with his, her body reacting before her mind could catch up.
One attacker lunged toward the twins, a blade of shadow aimed to strike. Ariana's instinct flared—power surged from her hands, wrapping around the twins in a shield of energy. Sparks danced across their fingers in tandem with hers.
Jayden froze mid-step, eyes widening as recognition flared again. The pull is undeniable.
She clamped her hands around the twins, heart hammering. "Not here! Not now!"
Jayden growled low, heat and frustration coiling in the sound. "They respond to me."
"I know," she said, voice tight. "But you can't—not yet."
He stepped closer, and the brush of his coat against hers made her knees weaken. "Ariana," he whispered, voice rough, intimate. "I can feel everything. Don't hide it from me."
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to step back, to maintain the barrier between them. "I can't," she admitted softly. "Not now. You don't understand the danger—not theirs, not yours."
"And I will," he said, voice dropping to a growl. "I'll understand. I'll protect. I'll—"
Ariana's breath caught. She wanted to collapse into him, wanted to let the tension between them ignite fully—but she couldn't. The twins needed her, and the prophecy loomed closer than ever.
After the attackers finally fled, dissolving back into the mist, Ariana sank to her knees, the twins clinging to her as they trembled from the residual energy. Jayden approached cautiously, eyes fixed on them, jaw tight.
"They're powerful," he said quietly, almost to himself. "And they trust me… even if you won't admit it."
Ariana's heart thudded painfully. She swallowed, shaking her head. "They… respond instinctively. It doesn't mean anything—yet."
But Jayden didn't look convinced. His gaze softened slightly as he crouched beside her, careful not to invade her space too closely. "You're lying," he said. "They're yours—somehow. And you know it."
Her stomach twisted. That was dangerously close again. Too close to the truth.
"I'm not lying," she whispered, though even she felt the hesitation in her words. "I just… can't tell you everything. Not yet."
He exhaled sharply, jaw tight, eyes flicking between her and the twins. "Ariana," he murmured, voice low, rough. "I've waited five years for this moment. I can't walk away again. Not from you. Not from them."
Her chest tightened painfully. Desire, fear, and love collided violently inside her. She wanted to lean into him, to let the tension explode, to confess—but she couldn't. The twins were too young. The prophecy was too dangerous.
She pushed herself upright, forcing control. "We need to move," she said, voice steady though her heart raced. "Before more come."
Jayden nodded, understanding. But the way he lingered, eyes locked on the children, told her everything she needed to know: he was already drawn into their world—into her world—in ways she could no longer control.
The night deepened around them. Mist swirled like living shadows, and the ruins seemed to hold their breath. Ariana guided the twins carefully, every step deliberate, every glance over her shoulder filled with tension. Jayden followed close behind, silent but vigilant, instinctively guarding the children without even realizing why.
Ariana's pulse raced. The pull between her and Jayden was dangerous, intoxicating, impossible to resist. And the prophecy—the third child, the twins' destiny, the blood that bound them all—loomed closer with every passing moment.
The fragile balance between trust and danger, desire and restraint, was threading tighter. And Ariana knew, with a sinking certainty, that it would not hold forever.
Not when Jayden was this close.
Not when the twins' powers were awakening.
Not when the prophecy was beginning to speak.