CHAPTER TWELVE :A Knife Behind the Smile
Lilith had felt it all morning.
The shift in the air.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9F4vejTvKl
The way shadows leaned toward her.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmj6Cvv78SP
The way the city felt too still.
She didn’t trust it.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GVhKJBKSU
And she was right.
The knock on Daniel’s apartment door was polite. Too polite.
And when he opened it, he saw a man—maybe his age, maybe not.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtgi61reze
Hair the color of lightning.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsJ5aFyV3J
Eyes like polished steel.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7r94LFuan
Smile that felt carved out of charm and calculation.
“Hi,” the stranger said.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhcGFSVYqG
“I’m Caden. New neighbor. Power went out next door. Mind if I charge my phone?”
Daniel blinked.
But Lilith—hidden behind the bedroom wall—knew.
Her blood turned to smoke.
Caden stepped in.
He smelled like incense and ambition.
And something older.
Something holy.
He passed by the bookshelf and his finger grazed a photo of Daniel and Lilith.
“Cute couple,” he said smoothly.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YnvyRH7D9
“She around?”
Daniel hesitated.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvP1OAT6LB
“She’s… sleeping.”
“Right.”
Caden smiled wider.
Lilith emerged from the shadows.
Her eyes burned.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpsu0PsR7o
Her wings shimmered beneath her skin, almost surfacing.
“You’re not here to charge anything.”
Caden turned, no surprise on his face.
“No. I’m here to offer you mercy.”
In a blink, his charm vanished.
A halo of gold flame erupted behind his head.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lgkz5ZUjx
From his back—wings made of light and bone unfurled.
Daniel stumbled back.
“Who—what the hell are you?”
“Heaven’s contingency plan,” Caden said coldly.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOQyB8IWCc
“She was supposed to burn. She didn’t. Now I clean the mess.”
But Lilith didn’t flinch.
Instead, she smiled.
“You're late. I've already chosen my war.”
Caden lunged.
A blade appeared in his hand — etched with Heaven's language, forged to pierce even divine flesh.
He aimed for her chest.
But Daniel screamed her name—22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfYDYAZHxQ
And that scream gave her speed.
She moved faster than she ever had before.
The blade sliced across her arm—but missed her heart.
She kicked Caden through the wall.
Smoke and dust filled the air.
Lilith stood panting, golden blood dripping from her arm.
Daniel ran to her.
“What the hell was that?!”
Lilith didn’t answer.
She turned toward the hole in the wall.
But Caden was gone.
Not defeated.
Just… watching.
Waiting.
And worse—
He now knew what Daniel meant to her.
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