CHAPTER TWELVE :A Knife Behind the Smile
Lilith had felt it all morning.
The shift in the air.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwkLOnVs7L
The way shadows leaned toward her.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHTl0zsA1f
The way the city felt too still.
She didn’t trust it.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICT9fWJjEr
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtJE6NNOde
Hair the color of lightning.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTz7ZKisAx
Eyes like polished steel.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DEpFwOWRM
Smile that felt carved out of charm and calculation.
“Hi,” the stranger said.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAz367e32m
“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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4oVj04ADF
“She around?”
Daniel hesitated.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJh47vPfkUr
“She’s… sleeping.”
“Right.”
Caden smiled wider.
Lilith emerged from the shadows.
Her eyes burned.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJptuInyip
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YTkNGQ3HK
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX34d8eXSVl
“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—23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbhMTt4TFm
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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