Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 131

POV: Seraphina

There was no triumph in his destruction. As I walked away from the central plaza, Killian a silent, steadying presence at my side, I felt no thrill of victory, no satisfying catharsis. All I felt was a profound, bone-deep exhaustion, as if I had just single-handedly fought a long and bloody war. My heart, which had been a frozen, numb thing during the confrontation, now began to ache with a dull, throbbing pain.

The emotional armor I had donned had been brutally effective, but it was impossibly heavy. Back in the quiet sanctuary of my private suite, I dismissed my concerned staff and Jax with a weary wave of my hand. I needed to be alone. I methodically stripped off the severe black dress, the uniform of the ice queen, and changed into a simple set of soft, grey sweats. The act of shedding the role felt like a physical relief, but it left my soul feeling raw and exposed.

Killian had not left. He hadn't followed me into my rooms, but I knew he was just outside, a silent guardian in the living area. He had ordered a tray of tea and food to be left there, and had instructed everyone, including my brother, to give me space. He didn't offer words of comfort; he offered the far more valuable gift of his quiet, undemanding presence. He was standing guard not against external threats, but against my own ghosts.

I didn't want his comfort. I didn't want anyone's. The brief, foolish warmth I had felt for him now seemed like a dangerous liability. My heart had betrayed me by daring to feel again, and Damian's arrival was the universe's swift, cruel punishment for my lapse in vigilance. I retreated into the cold, safe silence of my own mind, the door to my heart not just locked, but sealed with ice.

Just as the emotional storm inside me began to quiet to a low, miserable hum, a real one began to rage outside. The sky, which had been a clear, crisp blue, had turned a bruised, angry purple. A ferocious wind began to howl, whipping the sea into a frenzy of towering, white-capped waves that crashed against the island's breakwaters with the force of cannonballs.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify