Lilith’s expression shifted, serious to sothing more playful. That mischievous gleam returning to her crimson eyes as she looked at Serana still held in her arms.
"You know," she said, her voice taking on that childish tone again despite her mature form, "I think I need to remind you who you really belong with~"
Before Serana could respond, before she could even process what that ant, Lilith pulled her into a kiss.
Serana’s black eyes went wide with shock. Her chained hands ca up instinctively, not pushing away, but not quite reciprocating either. Just... frozen in complete bewildernt.
Lilith deepened the kiss anyway, one hand tangling in silver hair, the other pressed against the small of Serana’s back, pulling her closer with casual dominance that suggested she’d done this before, that this was normal for them.
Several seconds passed.
Then Lilith pulled back, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction and amusent. She kept Serana pulled against her possessive embrace that spoke volus.
And while maintaining that hold, she turned her head to look directly at Thaddeus.
Raised her free hand.
Extended her middle finger with deliberate precision.
Her lips moved silently, forming words ant only for him to see:
"She’s MINE."
The gesture was pure challenge. Pure territory marking. Making absolutely clear that whatever relationship he thought he had with Serana, whatever claim fathering her child gave him, Lilith’s claim was older. Deeper. More fundantal.
And she had exactly zero intention of sharing nicely.
Thaddeus just stared. His copper eyes wide. His mind still struggling to process everything happening.
She just kissed Serana.
Serana finally recovered enough to pull back slightly from Lilith’s embrace. "Lily, that’s not... you can’t just—"
"Can’t I?" Lilith’s grin widened. "I’m the Lilith. I can do whatever I want." Her arms tightened possessively. "Including reminding my best friend that she had a perfectly good life plan before so vampire ca along and ruined it with his," She gestured vaguely at Thaddeus. "His stupid face and his tragic backstory and his ’oh woe is , my family died’ nonsense."
She looked directly at Thaddeus now, her expression shifting from playful to genuinely hostile.
"I don’t like you," she said flatly, all pretense of humor gone. "At all. You got my best friend pregnant. You made her run for months, scared and holess and constantly in danger."
Her crimson eyes blazed with actual anger.
"She should have been here. With . Safe in my realm where no one would dare touch her. But instead she was hiding in caves and ruins because of your problems, your enemies, your complete inability to keep her protected."
Thaddeus’s jaw clenched. His eyes t her blazing red ones without flinching.
"I love her," he said quietly. Simply. "Everything I did was to keep her alive. To keep us both alive."
"Oh, love," Lilith’s voice dripped with contempt. "How romantic. You love her so much you got her pregnant while being hunted by the most powerful vampire in your realm. You love her so much you dragged her into demon territory where she got captured and thrown in my dungeons. You love her so much—"
"Lily," Serana’s voice cut through the building rant. Quiet but firm. "Stop."
Lilith looked at her. Sothing complex passing across her features.
"He’s not perfect," Serana continued, her eyes eting Lilith’s crimson ones. "Neither am I. We made choices, so good, so terrible. But we survived. Together. And..." Her hand moved to her stomach. "This happened. And I’m not, I don’t regret it."
Lilith’s expression flickered. Hurt. Jealousy. Resignation. All cycling through in rapid succession.
"You really choose him?" Her voice was small now. Vulnerable in way that seed wrong coming from an ancient demon goddess. "Over everything we had planned?"
"I choose both," Serana said firmly. "You’re my best friend. He’s..." She paused. "He’s the father of my child. And I love you both. Differently. But I do."
Lilith stared at her for long mont. Then sighed dramatically, the kind of exaggerated sigh that suggested she was accepting defeat she didn’t actually agree with.
"Fine," she muttered. "But I still hate him. Just so we’re clear." She shot another glare at Thaddeus. "I really hate you. Like, a lot. If you hurt her, I’ll make what Malachai did to your house look rciful by comparison."
Thaddeus nodded slowly. "Understood."
"Good." Lilith released Serana and stepped back, her mature form already beginning to shift smaller again, returning to her preferred childlike appearance. "At least we have that established."
She moved toward the cell entrance, her hand waving to dismiss the privacy do. The shimring barrier dissolved, returning them to the standard dungeon environnt.
She paused at the threshold, looking back at them.
"I’ll arrange what I can," she said, her tone becoming more businesslike. "You two killed my demons. Trespassed in my territory. I can’t just let you roam free, I have a reputation to maintain, and if word got out that I’m going soft on prisoners..."
She made face that suggested this was genuinely annoying political complication.
"But," she continued, turning specifically to Serana, "just leave it to , okay? I’ll figure sothing out. Maybe put you in better cells. Maybe arrange ’escape’ that’s obviously my doing but I can deny publicly. Maybe just keep you here as permanent guests who happen to be chained most of the ti."
Her grin returned, mischievous, playful, but carrying genuine affection underneath.
"Trust , Sery. I’ve got this."
Then she walked out. The essence barrier snapped back into place behind her, sealing the cell once more.
Her footsteps faded down the corridor.
Leaving Thaddeus and Serana alone again in the dim purple torchlight.
They stared at each other.
"So," Thaddeus said finally, his voice carefully neutral. "You and Lilith are... best friends."
"Since we were children," Serana confird quietly.
"And you never ntioned this because...?"
"Would you have ntioned while we were running for our lives from vampire civil war?" Her tone carried defensive edge. "It’s not exactly information that cos up naturally in conversation."
"Fair point." He paused. "She really hates ."
"She’ll get over it." Serana didn’t sound entirely convinced. "Eventually. Maybe. Probably not, actually. But she won’t kill you, which is the important part."
"That’s... reassuring?" Thaddeus’s expression suggested it was not, in fact, particularly reassuring.
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