My stomach dropped. The world tilted, like the floor had shifted beneath my feet. I didn’t want Rowan and Kael to have anything to do with me or my child.
I blinked fast, my throat aching, and muttered, "I see."
I turned on my heel, my skirts brushing the stone floor as I headed for the door. I wasn’t going to stand there and let them rip pieces of me apart. I wasn’t going to let them decide, in cold voices, who my child belonged to.
But before I could take two steps, Kael’s voice snapped through the air. Thıs content belongs to 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥
"Where do you think you’re going?"
I stopped, back rigid.
His boots struck the floor hard, each step echoing in the chamber until he stood before me, blocking my path. He was too close, his presence filling every inch of the space, his shadow swallowing mine. His eyes glittered, sharp with mockery, but underneath I saw it, steel, something darker, something that made my skin prickle.
"You think you can just walk out while we’re still talking to you?" His voice was smooth, but beneath it was a warning, sharp as a blade pressed against my throat. He leaned closer, his breath brushing against my cheek, his words curling around me like smoke. "You forget yourself, Lisa."
My chest heaved, every breath shallow and uneven. Rage bubbled through my veins, pushing against the fear that clawed at me. My throat felt tight, but my voice cut through anyway, sharp and trembling.
"Forget myself?" I repeated the words more accusing than questioning.
"Yes." His smile spread wider, cruel and confident, as if he’d already won. "That child you’re carrying belongs to us. To all of us. You dare not hide our baby away from us." His tone was final, like a decree carved in stone, unshakable.
My heart thudded against my ribs, loud, furious, almost painful. For a moment I couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. His words pressed against me like chains, heavy and suffocating.
But then, slowly, I lifted my chin.
"Your baby?" My voice rang sharp, shaking with fury and something rawer, deeper. I spat the words like poison.
Kael’s smirk flickered, just slightly, but I saw it. And that flicker gave me strength.
"No," I said, louder now, stronger. "Not yours." I turned my gaze, stabbing it toward Rowan. "Not Rowan’s." My eyes fell briefly on Damon, softening for a heartbeat, then hardening again. "Not even Damon’s."
Kael’s smirk faltered, the edge of his arrogance cracking for the first time. I saw it, even if it lasted only a heartbeat. That tiny break was enough to give me strength.
I lifted my chin higher, forcing my spine straight though my body trembled. The tears that burned at the corners of my eyes threatened to spill, but I held them back, swallowing the lump in my throat. My hand pressed against my stomach, almost protectively, as I forced the words out, broken but sharp.
"The child is mine. Mine." My voice shook, splitting on the last word, but I didn’t stop. I pressed harder, digging my nails into my palm. "You can claim kingdoms, titles, people, whatever you like. But not this. Not my baby."
The silence that followed was like a blade pressed to my skin, sharp, heavy, suffocating. None of them spoke, not even Damon.
His expression twisted into something darker, sharper. The faint smirk disappeared, replaced with cold fury. He stepped toward me, his boots loud against the floor. I barely had a moment to brace myself before his hand lifted, his palm open, his arm slicing through the air.
He was going to hit me.
My breath caught in my chest, the world freezing around me. My body stiffened, bracing for the sting, for the humiliation of his hand across my face.
Another hand shot out, gripping Kael’s wrist midair, stopping him just inches from me. Damon.
His voice thundered through the chamber, low and sharp, almost growled. "Enough."
Kael’s head snapped toward him, eyes blazing. "She dares speak , Damon. She dares deny us!"
"She carries our child," Damon cut him off, his grip tightening on Kael’s wrist. "Have you forgotten that?"
For a moment, the two of them locked eyes. Kael’s arm twitched as if he wanted to break free, but Damon held firm. The tension between them was like a storm about to burst.
I stood frozen, my heart hammering so loud I thought they could hear it. My breath came shallow, my palms clammy. Part of me wanted to run, to scream, to fight. Another part wanted to crumple to the floor, too exhausted to stand against them.
Rowan finally spoke, his voice quiet but edged. "She should not have said it that way, Kael. But Damon is right. She carries what belongs to us. Do not raise your hand against her."
Kael’s jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring. Slowly, with a sharp jerk, he pulled his arm free from Damon’s hold. He turned back to me, his eyes narrowing into slits. "You think this is over? You think your pregnancy makes you strong?" His voice dripped with venom. "You are nothing without us, Lisa. Nothing."
Something inside me snapped again, fiercer this time. My whole body trembled, but not with fear, no, with rage. The words poured from me before I could stop them, raw and sharp as glass.
"I don’t want to be anything to you!" My voice cracked, loud and bitter, shaking through the chamber. "Do you hear me, Kael? Damon? Rowan? I don’t need your names. I don’t need your power. If being ’something’ to you means chains, humiliation, and this endless torment, then I’d rather be nothing."
The silence that followed was thick, pressing down on all of us. Kael’s face darkened, his mouth twitching as though he might strike again. Rowan’s eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable. Damon just stared, frozen, as if he hadn’t expected me to fight back this way.
I pressed my hand firmly against my stomach, my voice lowering but no less fierce. "And as for this child... don’t ask me for it. Don’t demand it. Don’t call it yours. Because it isn’t. This baby is mine. Mine. I will raise it, love it, protect it. You will not take that from me."
I hissed, the sound half anger, half pain, filling the room like the hiss of a cornered animal. My hand brushed against Kael’s shoulder, shoving past him with every ounce of strength in me.
The door slammed open under my hand.