---- 283. I''VE ALWAYS WATCHED OVER YOUR EVERY STEP NARRATOR "No, of course not!" Laziel eximed, breaking out of the imperturbable image he always showed. "I knew you could control it, my love, you were never in danger, Lavinia..." "Sure, because you set me up with a test, but you were still watching to see if I screwed up... Did you trust me or not?... And don''t touch me!" She pped his hand away when he reached to caress her face.

    For the first time, Lavinia saw a crack in her male''s perfection as he slowly withdrew his hand. Something hadn''t gone the way he''d nned. "Lavi "Call me Lavinia, because that nickname is really bothering me right now," she shot back mercilessly, watching Laziel''s jaw muscles tighten under the strain. His eyes held storms Lavinia had never seen until now. "I did it to make you stronger; your specter was missing her motivation, you gave her a reason to stay and obey you...

    truly ---- obey without resisting." Laziel slowly exined what Lavinia had already figured out. When he found Electra''s mate-specter, he saw a chance to bnce the scales. Electra was powerful but unstable, dangerous for Lavinia, full of too much darkness. Lavinia burned too much energy keeping her in check, proving who was in charge, and that wouldn''t hold forever.

    Now that her specter had found the missing half of her soul, that he could pry into her sins, maybe she''d yield and take the bond seriously. "All that is great, Laziel, but I didn''t like this game, the way you like to control everything... even my life..." Lavinia stepped back and turned to walk away. She was truly upset this time with his unteral decisions. However, she didn''t get far. Her whole body trembled as strong arms caught her and wrapped around her like chains.

    Laziel pressed against her, not leaving a single inch of her back uncovered. ---- Skin to skin, the heavy thud of his heart beating against her and his rough breath blowing in her ear. Lavinia was a little surprised to feel the small spasms in his muscles. Unease in the man she''d always seen unppable, even when the world was falling apart.

    "If anything ever happens to you, I die with you, Lavinia," that vibrant voice whispered, sounding too dark "I never understood what my father''s obsessive love for my mother meant until I had you in my arms and I got it." A lump formed in the sorceress''s throat. "I''m sorry if I went too far, if I pushed you toward an oue; I don''t want you thinking I did it for fun, I just wanted to bring out your best," he confessed, and she knew it was the truth.

    Laziel seemed so cold and indifferent, but she had discovered how much heat lived under those frozenyers. "For you to ovee Electra by your own power, for you to believe it, like all those times you practiced opening portals until you fainted." Lavinia''s eyes went wide... How had Laziel found out about ---- those embarrassing moments not even her mother knew? Insecurity always lived in her heart. She grew up in a realm full of restrictions, unable to talk to anyone about her strangeness.

    Later, when she met the supernatural beings of the other realm, the incredible Selenias, deep down she had always felt lesser. The worst was when she discovered him: a being who had been unique since birth. Laziel was impressive. He was often her motivation to fight for her own magic. "How... how did you know?" she stammered, trying to remember. She would sneak out of the castle and hide to practice in the forest.

    Later, when she grew up and gained independence, she spent seasons at the old swamp manor owned by her duchy. With the diary of her ancestresses by her side. She was too embarrassed to ask anyone else; her siblings didn''t have her magic, and her mother couldn''t answer all her doubts either.style

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