They told me exorcisms were a battle for souls. They didn’t warn me about him.Lucien—tall, charming, impossibly smug—was supposed to be the evil I drove out. Instead, he’s the temptation that moved in. He laughs when I recite holy verses, leans in close enough to make me forget the words, and insists he’s not wicked—just lonely.Every time I tell him to leave, he just smiles and asks what’s for dinner. And maybe I’m damned already… because I keep cooking for him.It started with stolen glances and teasing touches. Now he’s in my space, my thoughts, my bed—whispering things that make me ache, promising pleasures no mortal has a right to crave. I swore an oath to protect the innocent. I never imagined I’d risk it all for the one thing I was trained to destroy.Banishing him would be easier if I didn’t crave the way he says my name.