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    “Take him down right now,” Althea cried to Gavriel. She could no longer bear watching Kael being poisoned and slowly consumed by the darkness.


    “Strike through his heart,” she added when she saw the ck heart coiled around Kael’s own, pulsing like a parasite feeding on him.


    Gavriel did not hesitate.


    He moved instantly and drove his still-sheathed sword straight toward Kael’s chest.


    The moment the de struck, a burst of white me erupted from it and spread across Kael’s body in a swirling wave of holy light. Althea watched as Lionel’s power surged forward, crushing the ck, beating heart wrapped around Kael’s own.


    Kael screamed.


    But the scream that followed was not entirely his


    Another voice rose with it… sharp, furious, and filled with agony as the demonic spirit inside him was forced into the light.


    By the time Kael copsed to the ground, Althea quickly ran to his side and knelt beside him, taking his hand tightly in hers.


    “Kael, renounce it,” she urged softly but firmly. Renounce the demonic spirit living inside you. You have to fully reject it so it won’te back. Please… listen to me and let me go.”


    Her voice trembled, but she did not look away from him.


    “You need to move on. Don’t let yourself be consumed by your thoughts and your desire to have me, because I am truly happy now where I am.” She tightened her grip on his hand slightly. “Gavriel is already my home… my heart belongs to him alone.”


    Althea saw the demonic spirit copse onto the ground after being forced out of Kael’s body. It had split into two twisted halves.


    Yet even then, it still crawled forward, dragging itself across the marble floor, its shadowy fingers wing desperately toward Kael,


    “He’s mine!” the creature shrieked. “His body is my home! That is mine!”


    Althea narrowed her eyes at it,


    “No,” she said calmly.


    Then she lifted her gaze slightly.


    “Aurus, please destroy it,” she asked her angel.


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    At once, a bolt of lightning split the air inside the throne hall. It struck the crawling spirit directly.


    The creature let out a final distorted scream before its form shattered into ash and scattered across the floor like burnt dust carried by an invisible wind.


    Silence followed.


    Weakly, Kael stirred.


    “Althea…” he whispered.


    She leaned closer, her expression soft again now that the darkness clinging to him was gone.


    “It’s alright,” she said gently. “You’re safe now.”


    Her voice lowered slightly.


    “But that doesn’t mean you’re no longer in danger. You still need to close the open doors in your heart, Kael.”


    Before he could respond, his strength finally gave out. His body went limp. He lost consciousness.


    “Osman,” Gavriel ordered immediately, his voice returning to itsmanding tone. “Bring him to the infirmary chamber. Assign two guards from the special deliverance unit to watch over him.”


    “Yes, Your Majesty.”


    Osman moved quickly. His men stepped forward at once and carried Kael away from the throne hall.


    The moment they were gone, Gavriel turned back to Althea.


    Without warning, he lifted her into his arms.


    “Put me down,” she protested immediately. “I can walk.”


    But even while saying that, her eyes followed Kael’s unconscious figure being carried away through the doors.


    “Stop looking at him,” Gavriel muttered darkly. “I don’t like it.”


    Only then did she notice the jealousy clearly written across his face.


    And more importantly-


    the change in the air around him.


    Her gaze shifted slightly behind him.


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    His three guardian angels were already moving.


    They were striking down several low-level unclean spirits hovering nearby, shadowy things that had crept closer when Gavriel’s emotions weakened his guard.


    Althea frowned.


    “Your guard is lowering,” she scolded him quietly. “You’re opening doors again because of your jealousy.”


    Gavriel’s jaw tightened.


    “I told you,” she continued gently but firmly, “you still need to work on your emotions.”


    “It’s hard,” he admitted through gritted teeth. ” still remember that moment when you were willing to lose your life for him. And now seeing you so concerned—”


    Before he could finish, Althea wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward.


    She kissed him. Softly at first. Then with quiet certainty.


    The tension in his body eased almost immediately.


    It always worked.


    When she pulled back slightly, her forehead rested against his.


    “I chose you,” she whispered. “Not just once. I keep choosing you.”


    His hold around her tightened instinctively.


    “And I’ll keep choosing you too,” she added with a small smile. “So stop letting shadows convince you otherwise.”


    Finally, Gavriel’s expression softened, the heaviness leaving his face as he carried Althea back to their chambers.


    She let him.


    “Remember,” she reminded him with a small pout as they entered, “you have to keep choosing what is right. Don’t let negative emotions consume you.”


    Gavriel gently ced her on the bed the moment they stepped inside. Instead of stepping away, he lowered himself in front of her, almost kneeling as he rested his hands carefully over


    hers.


    “I’m trying,” he admitted quietly.


    Althea cupped his face and leaned closer.


    “I know you are,” she said softly. “But you mustry harder. If you keep getting jealous like this … it feels like you don’t trust me enough.”


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    “Of course not!” Gavriel replied immediately, his voice firm with urgency. “I trust you. I told you that already.”


    He exhaled slowly before continuing more honestly.


    “I just hate it when others receive too much of your attention. I’m afraid…” he admitted. “We didn’t start the right way. You hated me at first.’


    His voice lowered further. “And I heard something.”


    Althea frowned slightly. “What is it?”


    Gavriel hesitated for a moment before finally saying it.


    “Kael has been spreading rumors since he arrived,” he said. “He’s telling people that what you feel for me isn’t real.”


    Althea’s brows drew together.


    “He’s saying your love is only a captive’s attachment,” Gavriel continued carefully. “That you were under pressure… under threat. That you convinced yourself you loved me because staying beside me was safer than resisting me.”


    His jaw tightened. “That you mistook survival for love.”


    Silence filled the chamber for a moment.


    Then Althea’s expression changed. Slowly, she reached forward and held his face again, guiding his gaze back to hers.


    “Then he doesn’t understand me at all,” she said gently.


    Her thumb brushed lightly along his cheek.


    “Yes, I was afraid of you before,” she admitted honestly. “Yes, I hated you at the beginning.”


    Her lips curved slightly. “But love isn’t something fear can create.”


    She leaned closer. “If what I felt was only fear, I would still be afraid of you now.’


    Her forehead rested against his. “Instead, I feel safe with you.”


    Her hand moved to his chest, over his heart. “If hel thinks this is captivity, then he has never understood what freedom in love feels like,”


    Gavriel stared at her for a long moment. Something inside his chest finally loosened.


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