Here's Chapter 11: where we shift from flirtation to fury. Aria is injured, and Kazriel unleashes the wrath of a man who just found out how much he truly can't live without her.
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Chapter 11: You Touched the Wrong Woman
The duchy gardens were unusually quiet that morning. Aria stood alone near the flowering path, wind gently tugging at her silver-blue robe. She'd come for air. For peace.
But peace never came so easily to the beloved of a rising Duke.
The silence shattered.
A blast of violet flame erupted from the trees.
Aria dodged back on instinct—but not fast enough.
A jagged line of firelight magic, the direct opposite of her wind affinity, slashed across her side.
She screamed, collapsing to one knee, eyes wide in pain.
The assassin stepped forward—hooded, confident, flame dancing on his fingertips. "You're quite the valuable piece on the board, Duchess-to-be."
But he didn't get another word out.
Because Kazriel landed behind him like a thunderclap—his aura exploding into the air.
No hesitation.
No question.
Just a blur of movement and the sound of shattering bones.
In one clean, vicious motion, Kazriel ripped through the assassin's chest with his bare hand, wind magic roaring around him like a hurricane.
"You touched her," he whispered, voice cold and low. "You made her bleed."
The assassin's body hit the grass before it had time to scream.
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Kazriel didn't waste a second.
Aria was clutching her side, breathing hard.
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes—not from pain, but from the shock.
"Kazriel—"
He didn't speak.
He just lifted her into his arms.
Like a bride.
One arm under her knees, the other around her back.
And he held her like she was made of glass and gold.
Guards and servants stared in stunned silence as the Duke of Stormlight marched back into the manor, carrying the future duchess in his arms, blood on his shirt and fire in his eyes.
He took her straight to his private chambers.
Set her gently on the silk-sheeted bed.
Then dropped to his knees beside her, pressing his forehead to her hand.
"I should've been there," he whispered. "I should've—"
She touched his cheek, despite the sting in her side. "You came. You always come."
And he did.
And he would.
Every single time ..