The motel room hummed with a low, electric charge.
Liam's fingers traced slow, deliberate paths along Maya's bare shoulders, sending shivers that tangled with the heat pooling between them. His breath came in soft bursts, lips grazing the sensitive skin beneath her ear as the late-night city lights flickered through the cracked blinds — casting restless shadows across her glowing veins.
Maya's eyes fluttered closed, heart pounding in time with the thrum of their connection — every inch of her craving, every nerve alive and aching. Their bodies pressed closer, skin meeting skin, lips desperate to rediscover the fire they had nearly lost.
His hands slid down her spine, pulling her deeper into the moment, igniting a hunger that threatened to consume them both.
But just as Liam's mouth dipped to the curve of her collarbone, a sudden sharp pulse ripped through Maya's chest.
Her breath hitched. The glow beneath her skin flared — electric blue veins swirling wildly like a storm breaking free.
A whisper, impossibly close and impossibly cold, echoed inside her mind.
"Don't lose yourself. Not yet."
Maya froze.
Liam looked up, confusion and concern darkening his eyes. "Maya? What is it?"
Before she could answer, the room flickered — the shadows twisted unnaturally, and the broken mirror across the room shimmered to life.
From the fractured glass, Kai's face emerged, half-lit by the fractured reflection — his silver eyes locking onto Liam's.
"Not now," Maya hissed under her breath, heart clenching with pain and longing.
Liam's brows knit in alarm, taking a cautious step back. "Who… who's that?"
Kai's voice was low, almost a growl, yet laced with something desperate. "I'm the part of her you don't understand. The truth she's fighting to hold on to."
Liam reached for Maya, steadying her trembling frame. "You're scaring me. This isn't just about us, is it?"
Maya's skin still pulsed with Kai's presence — the seductive fire between her and Liam now tangled with an icy, dangerous current.
"I'm not just Maya anymore," she whispered, voice raw. "And Kai… he's coming back."
Liam's protective instincts surged — but so did his fear.
"If Kai's part of you, then what happens when you can't keep him at bay? What if he takes over?"
Maya's eyes darkened with fierce determination, the flicker of vulnerability barely visible beneath her resolve.
"I won't let that happen."
But as Liam pulled her close again, the tension between desire and dread hung thick in the air.
Because Kai was there — a shadow waiting for his moment to claim the light.