My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 419

Chapter 419: Chapter 419 BATTLES WAITING

SERAPHINA’S POV

Kieran hadn’t said a word since we left the clearing.

I leaned back against the door of our room for a second, watching him.

He moved through the space with quiet efficiency. He lit a low lamp by the bed, his hands trembling as he set things in place with an almost painfully precise care. The faraway look in his eyes was edged with worry, as if each motion was his way to fend off some rising dread.

The tension sat in his shoulders, in the slight rigidity of his movements, in the way his jaw tightened and loosened with every breath.

“You’re brooding,” I said softly.

He didn’t turn to me.

“I’m not,” he replied.

I raised a brow, even though he couldn’t see it. “You are.”

A pause.

Then a quiet exhale.

He turned to face me, and the instant our eyes met, frustration flashed sharp and raw across his face before he reined it in.

“I’m thinking,” he corrected.

“Dangerous,” I murmured.

That earned me the faintest flicker of an almost-smile.

“About you,” he added.

I pushed off the door and stepped toward him, the blanket still wrapped loosely around me.

“I’m fine,” I said.

He scoffed. “Your favorite lie.”

I pursed my lips, holding back my instinct to argue. Because he wasn’t wrong.

“You think I’m being reckless,” I said instead.

“I can’t believe you want to go back there after what just happened tonight.”

“I handled tonight.”

“You nearly collapsed.”

“I didn’t.”

“You would have if I hadn’t caught you.”

I exhaled slowly, closing the remaining distance between us.

“Kieran,” I said, softer this time, reaching for him. “I’ve done this before.”

“Yes,” he said, voice tightening, “You’re forgetting I was there, Sera. I felt the agony you went through in that room, and now you want to go again.”

“It’ll be different this time,” I promised him. “I know what to expect.”

“How can you be so sure?”

I lifted my hand to rest on his chest so I could feel the steady, familiar beat of his heart beneath my palm.

“Alina is whole now,” I said. “Not fractured. Not weakened. Whatever the Archives show me, I won’t be facing it alone.”

It wasn’t disagreement that flashed in his eyes—it was conflict.

“I still don’t like it,” he admitted.

“I know.”

“You’re asking me to let you walk into something we barely understand.”

“I’m asking you to trust me.”

His gaze searched mine, deeper this time. I knew that deep down, he wasn’t questioning my strength or ability; there was something else.

“I do trust you,” he whispered.

“Then what is it?”

The silence that followed was heavy.

“I hate this,” he said finally, letting out a sigh.

“What?”

“This,” he repeated, his voice low. “Standing back while you’re the one taking all the risk. Watching you push yourself to the edge while I—”

He stopped, his jaw tightening again.

“While you what?” I pressed gently.

His eyes flicked away for a second before returning to mine.

“While I can’t do anything about it.”

Oh.

It wasn’t frustration with me.

It was frustration with himself.

“Kieran...”

“I’m supposed to protect you,” he continued, quieter now, but no less intense. “That’s not just instinct. That’s who I am. And every time something like this happens—something I can’t fight, can’t stop, can’t even step into—it reminds me exactly how useless I am in that moment.”

“That’s not true.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify