The kiss ended, but the fire between them didn't.

Lilith and Elias remained pressed against each other, breathing hard, foreheads touching as if neither of them was ready to step away just yet. His hands still rested against her waist, fingers slightly curled into the fabric of her dress, like he was resisting the urge to pull her back in.

Lilith swallowed, her heart pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it. Her lips were still tingling, her skin still burning where his hands had been, and Merlin, the way he was looking at her right now—like she was something worth ruining himself over—made her feel like she was standing on the edge of something dangerously exhilarating.

Elias exhaled sharply, his hands finally loosening, but he didn't move away. "That was—"

"Shut up," Lilith muttered, still breathless, her fingers gripping the front of his shirt, like she wasn't quite ready to let go either.

He smirked, but it was softer this time, something unreadable flickering in his gaze. "Come on, Nightingale," he murmured, his voice low and teasing. "Admit it—you liked that."

Lilith narrowed her eyes, trying to fight the smirk threatening to form on her own lips. "If I did, I'd never tell you."

Elias chuckled, finally stepping back, but the tension between them didn't dissipate—it only stretched taut, like an invisible thread tying them together. The party continued around them, the music still loud, the room still swaying with bodies, but for the first time, Lilith felt like she needed air.

"Let's get out of here," she muttered, running a hand through her hair, trying to compose herself.

Elias nodded, and without another word, they started toward the exit, slipping through the crowd with ease. Their hands brushed once—just briefly—but the sensation sent a new jolt of electricity through Lilith's spine. Neither of them acknowledged it.

But they both felt it.

The corridor outside the Room of Requirement was quieter, the sound of the party muffled behind the enchanted door. The torches flickered against the stone walls, casting long shadows as they walked side by side, tension still crackling between them like an unfinished storm.

They didn't speak. They didn't need to.

Not yet.

Elias glanced at her as they approached the staircase leading toward the dorms, his expression unreadable. Lilith could still feel the ghost of his touch, the imprint of his lips against hers, the way his hands had moulded against her body like they belonged there.

But just as they reached the base of the staircase, something made her stop in her tracks.

Elias noticed immediately, his brows furrowing as he followed her gaze toward the shadows beneath the stairs.

Lilith's breath caught in her throat.

Dorian.

Her younger brother, pressed against the stone wall, lips locked with another boy.

A Ravenclaw, she realized distantly, his hands tangled in Dorian's shirt, pulling him close. It wasn't the fact that her brother was kissing a boy that made her freeze—it was the overwhelming, suffocating realization of what would happen if their father ever found out.

She felt Elias stiffen beside her. He didn't say anything, but she knew he had already pieced together what this meant.

Lilith's stomach twisted.

Dorian had no idea they were standing there, watching. He looked—happy. Carefree. Completely unaware of the weight that could crush him if Caspian Nightingale ever discovered this secret.

For a moment, Lilith wanted to turn around and pretend she hadn't seen anything. To let him have this moment, untainted by fear or expectation.

But then Dorian shifted, and his gaze flickered upward—

—and met hers.

His eyes widened, and in an instant, the carefree moment shattered.

Lilith's breath hitched, a thousand emotions flickering across her face in the span of a second.

Dorian pulled away from the boy as if burned, his expression shifting from shock to outright panic. His lips parted like he wanted to say something, to explain, but no words came.

The silence stretched unbearably.

Elias was the first to move. He stepped forward slightly, placing himself just enough in front of Lilith, not as a barrier, but as a silent message: It's okay. We're not telling anyone.

Dorian's shoulders sagged slightly in relief, but the fear was still there, raw and sharp in his eyes.

Lilith inhaled deeply, forcing herself to meet her brother's gaze. And then, softly—so softly only he could hear it—she said, "It's okay."

Dorian swallowed, his throat bobbing, but he gave the smallest nod.

Lilith hesitated for just a second longer before she reached out, giving his wrist a reassuring squeeze. It wasn't much. But it was enough.

Then, without another word, she turned back toward Elias, who had been watching the interaction with quiet understanding.

"Let's go," she murmured.

Elias nodded, shooting one last glance at Dorian before following her up the stairs, the tension from before now replaced with something heavier. Something unspoken.

Neither of them said anything as they walked, but Lilith's mind was already spinning.

Because keeping her own secrets had been difficult enough.

But now she was carrying Dorian's, too.