Sinful Obsession

26. 26 – Vienna

26 – Vienna

T he room is eerily silent, the kind of silence that presses against your chest and makes you feel like the world has stopped breathing. My limbs are heavy, weighted by the drug Michael forced on me. I should be out for hours, lost in the haze they’ve been feeding me since I arrived. But instead, there’s that familiar voice I love so much.

“Get up, love.”

His voice is a whisper and a command. My eyes snap open, and for a moment, I’m still disoriented. The weight in my body is gone, the drug’s effects burned away as if they were never there. I sit up, my breath shallow, confusion and unease coiling in my stomach. Without Nevan at my side, I don’t understand. “What’s happening?”

The sharp, searing pain in my chest from earlier strikes like a bolt of lightning, tearing a gasp from my lips. My hands fly to the source, scratching at my skin as though I can claw the fire out. Tears blur my vision as I stumble from the bed, desperate for relief. I race to the bathroom and turn to face the mirror.

That’s when I see it.

The pale skin of my chest is marked with a glowing symbol, lines of fire etched into my flesh, pulsing faintly like a second heartbeat. The design is intricate, otherworldly, almost demonic. It doesn’t belong to this world—or to me. Yet it feels… familiar.

“What is this?” My voice trembles, barely audible over my erratic heartbeat. I press my fingers to the symbol, the heat of it making me wince, and as I stare, the world tilts.

A wave crashes over me, pulling me under an ocean of memories I didn’t know existed. Faces and places flash before my eyes—too fast to make sense of, yet intense enough to leave an impression. I see myself, though not as Vienna. As someone else, someone older, someone stronger. A name whispers in the corners of my mind, echoing louder with every passing second.

“Lilith,” I whisper, my voice breaking as I meet my own reflection. The name feels right, powerful, as though it’s always been mine.

The memories come sharper now, their edges slicing through the haze of my mind. I see him—Asmodeus—in every life, waiting for me, calling me back. I see the portal, its fiery depths churning as I stand before it, my hands outstretched to let the darkness pour through. This is my role. My purpose. A cycle that repeats again and again, each time ending and beginning with him.

It’s almost beautiful, this twisted game we play. A dance between worlds, between chaos and creation. And I understand now why he’s so careful, why he only comes to me in the dark. The shadows are his refuge, a veil that keeps the balance intact. If he steps into the light, the angels—the very doctors who locked me in here—would know. They’ve spent lifetimes trying to stop us, trying to keep the portal sealed. But they can’t. They’ve failed before, and they’ll fail again.

My lips curl into a small, bitter smile as I turn away from the mirror. “They don’t know who they’re dealing with.”

The power surges through me suddenly, like a dam breaking. My knees buckle, and I grip the sink, my fingers trembling as the energy courses through my veins. It’s overwhelming and for a moment, I’m certain I’ll burn alive from the inside out. But then it settles, pooling in the middle of the symbol.

And then I feel it—another crack.

The portal is weakening, its fragile prison giving way to the power behind it. I can feel the connection, the tether that binds me to it. And with every breath, it grows stronger.

“You’re close,” I murmur to myself, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “We’re so close.”

The warmth behind me is instant. I don’t need to turn around to know he’s there.

“Hello, love,” Asmodeus murmurs against the back of my neck. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

I stand to meet his gaze in the mirror, his crimson eyes glowing with a mix of pride and hunger. He looks at me like I’m the center of the universe, and for the first time, I feel like I might actually be. We stay like that for several minutes before his presence disappears, leaving me with the realization of who I am.

Lilith.