---- Her sword slipped from her trembling hand, ttering onto the floor as her mouth parted in astonishment.


    Tall stature.


    Broad shoulders.


    Fibrous, powerful muscles.


    A masculine, square, devastatingly sexy face And those golden eyespiercing, devouring her with an intensity that sent a chill down her spine.


    It didnt matter that the world was crumbling around them, that just a few feet away, a woman was hanging on the verge of copse, barely clinging to life.


    For a moment, it was only the two of them.


    They stared at each other, recognizing one another.


    As if it were the first time, all over again.


    Ss felt a nervous tension in his chest.


    Now Sigrid should like him more, right? But she simply stood there, observing him, not even blinking.


    He felt...


    uncertain.


    Sigrid was in shock.


    This...


    this Adonis...


    was her Ss? The general features were the same, but...


    how? "Mydy, its...


    it?s me...


    Ss," he finally confirmed, his voice hoarse, barely holding back the urge to run to her, to crush her in his arms.


    To tell herI became stronger for you.


    I can protect you.


    I cany this world at your feet if you ask me to.


    ---- "ss...


    what...


    what happened? Why are you with the specters?" Sigrid finally snapped out of her daze, hurrying toward him.


    The center of the hall was the only part left untouched by the destruction, surrounded by shadows that held back the mes, by specters waiting, watching.


    Morgana, still suspended in the air like a broken doll, red at the scene with nothing but seething resentment.


    "Mydy, 1..." "say my name," Sigrid demanded, examining him from every angle.


    Ss was dressed in some kind of dark clothing with golden trim, and when Sigrids fingers brushed against it, it crackled with energyit was made of dark magic! She lifted her hands, pulling him down slightly to get a closer look at his faceno scars, no curses in his eyes! Her gaze traveled up to those golden orbs, and for a moment, she felt as if she were burning alive, consumed by two radiant suns.


    Sigrid swallowed hard.


    Damn.


    No wonder that perverted Lucrecia had been so obsessed with Ss.


    He had always been handsome, but now...


    thisthis sharp, masculine beauty exuded danger from every angle.


    Her brows furrowed slightly as she looked around, at the terrifying specters, then back at Sss chest, where she could no longer measure the power swirling within his soul.


    ---- A stunning, almost impossible premonition began to grow inside her heart.


    "Sigrid, dont be afraid.


    Dont fear me or them.


    I control them, and I..." Ss lowered his face, mere inches from hers, his possessive hands settling on her narrow waist, pulling her against him.


    He needed to breathe her in, to feel her magic, her presence, to slip beneath her skin and bury himself in her soul.


    "I would die before I ever hurt you," he confessed.


    "They look terrifying, but theyre just lost souls, like I was before I met you." "Dm not afraid of you, Ss, 1..." Sigrid hesitated, a thousand possibilities running through her mind.


    She had no time to discuss this right now.


    "Im just...


    amazed.


    Im so d you recovered.


    We''ll talkter." She cupped his cheek, and Ss leaned into her touch, closing his eyes with a pleased sigh, "Do you like me?" he murmured, his mouth brushing dangerously close to hers in a seductive whisper, pressing her fully against his powerful body, his fingers stroking the back of her neck with tender affection.


    Sigrids heart skipped a beat, and heat rushed to her cheeks, painting them a soft pink By the Goddess...


    if resisting him had been difficult before, now, with that sinful face inches away, that low, husky, panty-melting voice...


    what could she possibly deny him? ---- "Dve always liked you, Ss.


    Its your essence that draws me the most," Sigrid said, pressing a hand against his chest.


    "Never forget that.


    Its not about how you lookits about who you are in your heart." Then, she rose on her toes and kissed him.


    Soft, fleeting, but charged with emotions so deep, so intense, so ravenous.


    seek Morgana thought she was going to die of a heart attack right then and there.


    She was in shambles, on the brink of copseand those bastards had the audacity to romance each other right in front of her?! "Damn them!"