Morning sunlight crept across Shyla's desk, glinting off the silver curve of the locket. It lay open, still and silent, like it was waiting for her to notice.
Shyla's hand hovered over it. The faint hum that usually came from within, when Leo's presence was there, soft but steady.
"You know what happens when you silence me," Leo's voice whispered faintly in her mind. "You'll be unguarded."
She swallowed. "Just for today," she said quietly, closing her fingers around it. "I need to breathe without you telling me what to do."
The locket pulsed once, as if in protest. "He will be near."
"I know," she replied, voice sharper than she meant. "Maybe I want to see what happens when you're not."
For a heartbeat, silence. Then, a final murmur... soft, resigned. "Be careful, Master."
She set it gently on the desk, the chain curling like a sleeping serpent, and walked out of her room before she could change her mind.
The day felt strangely lighter without the locket's constant warmth against her skin. The air sharper, freer. She caught her reflection in the bus window on the way to college, that was different, almost unrecognizable.
For the first time in weeks, she didn't feel watched. Or maybe, she thought, she just didn't feel warned.
When she reached the campus courtyard, Ash was there.Not waiting, simply just existing, as if the world had placed him there for her to find.
He turned at her approach, a faint smile playing at his lips. "You're not wearing it."
Her steps faltered. "How—"
He shrugged lightly. "You always touch it when you're nervous. Today, you didn't."
A chill crept down her spine. "You notice too much."
He tilted his head, studying her. "You hide too much."
They stood there for a long moment, the chatter of students around them fading into the background hum of their silence.
"Why do you keep following me?" she asked finally.
"I don't," he said softly. "You keep finding me."
She wanted to argue, to walk away, but something about his tone was calm, steady, that anchored her. Without Leo's warnings whispering in her mind, her thoughts felt… quieter. And dangerously open.
He stepped closer, close enough for her to see the faint shadows under his eyes. "You shouldn't be afraid of me, Shy."
"I'm not," she lied.
He smiled, barely. "Good." His hand brushed hers light, deliberate and the contact sparked through her like static.
For a moment, she thought she heard a faint whisper in the back of her mind, distant and strained: "Shyla… come back…" But she ignored it.
When he walked away, she realized her heart was pounding, but not from fear. It was something else... something she didn't dare name.
And miles away, on her desk, the locket stirred faintly... a pulse... then another. The chain shifted, almost like it was breathing.
"She doesn't understand," Leo murmured into the empty room. "He's already inside."