LILY'S POV
The pain faded but the fire remained.
That tiny spark in her palm grew and grew until it was a small flame dancing on her skin. Lily stared at it in shock. She'd done that. Her magic had done that.
Adrian watched her with cold satisfaction.
"Again," he commanded. "Bigger this time."
Lily tried. The flame got larger but it burned too hot and she panicked. The fire extinguished. She stood there panting, her palm raw and red.
Adrian didn't let her rest.
"Again," he repeated.
She tried again. Failed. Tried again. Failed.
By the third attempt her hands were shaking and her whole body ached like she'd been running all day. Adrian just stood there watching like her exhaustion meant nothing.
"I can't," Lily gasped.
"You can. You're choosing not to," Adrian said flatly. "There's a difference. Do it again."
The fourth attempt. The fifth. The sixth. Each time she failed, Adrian just said one word. Again.
No encouragement. No sympathy. No recognition of how hard she was trying.
By the eighth attempt, Lily was crying from frustration. Her body felt like it was breaking apart. Her magic was raw and painful and barely responding. She fell to her knees.
Adrian pulled her back to her feet immediately.
"Stop falling," he said. "Weakness is a choice you make. Stand."
Lily stood because she had no choice. Because Adrian held her upright with one hand like she weighed nothing.
The ninth attempt came and went in failure. Lily sobbed with frustration. This was impossible. She couldn't do this.
Adrian's voice cut through her despair.
"Tenth try. Do it right."
Lily held out her trembling palm. She was so tired she could barely see straight. But underneath the exhaustion, something shifted. She stopped trying to force the magic. Stopped pushing it like it was a separate thing.
She just let it out.
The fire that burst from her palm was beautiful and terrifying. Flames shot upward and filled the entire cottage with heat and light. Lily screamed in shock but she didn't stop it. The fire kept burning, alive and wild and absolutely hers.
Adrian's expression didn't change. He didn't smile or congratulate her. He just said the same word he'd said nine times before.
"Again. Bigger."
And Lily realized that was his version of praise.
The training continued until the sun started setting. By then Lily could summon fire at will. Could make it grow or shrink. Could shape it into different forms. A ball. A wall. A spiral dancing between her hands.
Her body screamed with pain. Every muscle ached. Her hands were burned and blistered. Her clothes were torn from the heat. She could barely stand.
But something inside her felt alive for the first time in her entire life.
She looked at Adrian and saw him watching her with an expression she couldn't read. It might have been pride. It might have been hunger. It might have been both.
"Sleep," he said. "Tomorrow we start with something harder."
Lily collapsed into bed fully clothed again. She didn't even have the energy to worry about sharing the space with a demon. She fell asleep before Adrian even lay down beside her.
The nightmares came fast and vicious.
Lily was standing in the cathedral again but everything was wrong. Rose's smile was too wide. Daniel's eyes were black and empty. Her father's voice was echoing through the halls calling her worthless.
They were all coming toward her and she couldn't move. Couldn't run. Couldn't fight.
Hands grabbed her arms. Pulling. Dragging. Voices screaming accusations. Thief. Poisoner. Traitor.
Daniel was there and he was looking at her with such hatred that it felt like he was tearing her apart from the inside.
Rose was laughing. Laughing and laughing and laughing.
Lily tried to scream but her voice wouldn't work. Tried to summon fire but her magic was gone. Tried to run but her legs wouldn't move.
She was trapped. Completely trapped. Falling into darkness that had no bottom.
Lily woke screaming.
She was thrashing in the bed, fighting against blankets that felt like restraints. Her voice was raw and broken. She couldn't catch her breath. Couldn't remember where she was or what was real.
Hands grabbed her.
Lily fought them on instinct. She tried to summon fire but nothing came. She was too disoriented. Too panicked.
"Lily. It's me. You're safe."
Adrian's voice cut through the chaos.
She realized he was holding her. His arms wrapped around her completely. She was pulled against his chest and he wasn't letting go despite the fact that she was struggling. Despite the fact that she was fighting him.
Lily's eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could make out Adrian's face inches from hers. His amber eyes were glowing softly. His expression was unreadable but his grip was absolutely certain.
He wasn't going anywhere.
Slowly Lily stopped fighting. She realized she was safe. That the nightmare was gone. That the only hands touching her belonged to a demon lord who'd decided to hold her through the terror.
Adrian didn't say anything. He just kept holding her while her heartbeat slowed. While her breathing steadied. While she stopped shaking.
She buried her face against his chest and let herself break completely. Let herself cry for everything she'd lost. Everything that had been taken from her. Everything she was still afraid of.
Adrian's arms tightened around her and his shadows wrapped around them both like a protective blanket.
"I've got you," he whispered finally. His voice was soft in a way it had never been before. "Whatever comes, you're not facing it alone anymore."
Lily knew she should pull away. Should remember that he was a demon. That he had a contract that demanded her soul in less than a year.
Instead she held onto him like he was the only real thing in a world that had become lies.
And Adrian held her back like maybe she mattered more than the contract ever could.