Entry One: Dawn's Quiet Heat
The morning light spilled across the wreckage of my room like a guilty secret, golden and soft, catching on shards of broken glass and singed cloth. The air still held the scent of scorched magic — smoke and ozone — tangled with something wilder: desire, danger, and the weight of the bond that pulsed like a second heartbeat between Kael and me.
I lay curled against his chest, one of his arms draped lazily over my waist. His skin was hot and bare, the fire in him a living thing even in sleep. My fingers traced the hard lines of his collarbone, brushing over a faded scar just below his throat.
Kael stirred, turning his head slowly until his lips grazed my hairline. "You always trace that scar," he murmured, voice husky and heavy with sleep. "You like it or something?" "I like that you're still here," I said. "Even after all the chaos."
His chuckle was a low rumble. "You call that chaos? That was barely the first explosion."
We both laughed — quietly, intimately — like we were sharing a secret only we understood. But beneath the humor, the bond shimmered with tension. Every touch, every breath felt like kindling.
Kael leaned in closer, lips brushing just under my jaw. "You know," he whispered, voice darker now, "we could do one more round. Just one. No one's awake yet."
I turned to face him, nose to nose, breath to breath. "You're insatiable," I said, trying not to smile.
"And you're not?" he teased. "You melted half the floor, and the headboard."
"I regret nothing."
His mouth caught mine in a kiss that was slow and deep — the kind that made the rest of the world vanish. My hand slid up his chest, his fingers tangling in my hair, the bond flaring like a second sunrise behind my eyes.
That's when the knock came.
Three sharp, deliberate raps on the broken door.
I froze.
Kael groaned into my mouth. "You've got to be kidding me." Entry Two: Morning Breaths and Close Calls
The knock came again. Louder this time.
Kael swore under his breath and rolled out of bed with the fluid speed of someone trained to vanish without being seen. His bare skin still shimmered faintly from the power that had surged through us hours ago, his hair mussed, lips swollen. He looked like sin incarnate.
"Someone's at the damn door," I whispered, breathless and already pulling a sheet over my body.
"No shit," he muttered, grabbing his shirt off the floor and darting to the corner where the shadows pooled thickest. He didn't need to be told — if anyone saw us like this, the questions would never end.
I smoothed down my hair and wrapped the sheet tighter around myself, heart pounding as I crept to the ruined door, still hanging crooked on its hinges.
I cracked it open.
Jaren.
He stood there in full uniform, wind-swept hair falling into his eyes, which immediately dropped to take in the state of me: flushed skin, wild hair, torn room.
His brow furrowed. "Are you… hurt?"
"No," I said too quickly. "I'm fine. Just… bad dreams. A surge, maybe."
His eyes scanned the wreckage — the scorched curtains, the half-melted mirror, the broken bed frame — and settled back on me. I knew what he saw. I was wearing only a thin slip of a nightshirt that barely covered my thighs, and my pulse was still racing like I'd run from a war zone. Jaren stepped inside before I could stop him.
"Did someone come here last night?" he asked, voice tight, scanning the corners. "Elara… if someone hurt you—"
"No," I said again, this time more firmly. "It wasn't like that."
He didn't believe me. I could see it in the way his fists clenched and his jaw ticked. He took another step forward, eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to hear something I wasn't saying. The bond thrummed at the edge of my mind — not with Jaren, but Kael, still hidden, still burning.
Kael hadn't moved. Shadows clung to him in the corner, silent and sharp, the tension rolling off him in waves.
Jaren's voice softened. "I know you've been distant lately. Something's going on, and I just…" He looked at me again, slower this time, eyes lingering on my bare legs. His ears flushed slightly. "I just want to make sure you're safe."
I nodded. "I am."
"I don't want to lose you," he said under his breath, and something in his tone sent a chill up my spine.
A sound from the hallway broke the moment. Lira's voice: "Jaren? You good?"
He blinked, gaze tearing from mine. "Yeah," he said without looking back. "She's okay."
Another long pause. Then, reluctantly, he stepped back out into the hall.
When the door shut, I didn't move. Not until the shadows shifted and Kael stepped silently back into the room.
"You okay?" he asked, voice quiet but roughened with restraint. When the door shut, I didn't move. Not until the shadows shifted and Kael stepped silently back into the room.
"You okay?" he asked, voice quiet but roughened with restraint.
"I should be asking you that."
He smirked faintly, then looked toward the door. "Jaren saw too much."
"He didn't see you."
"Doesn't matter." Kael walked to me, brushing his fingers lightly down my arm. "He's not blind. And he's not stupid."
Neither was I.
Entry Three: Secrets in the Shadows
Kael didn't move right away. He just stood there, close enough that his warmth eased the shiver left behind by Jaren's voice.
"He's suspicious," I murmured, wrapping the blanket tighter around my shoulders.
"He doesn't know about the bond," Kael said, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "But he knows something's different with you."
I met his eyes. "He saw me half-naked, Kael. And my room looks like a battlefield. He definitely knows something happened."
Kael tilted his head, smirking. "It did."
I rolled my eyes. "Not helping."
The smile faded a little. His fingers grazed my jaw. "Then let's stop pretending. Whatever's between us... it's not going away. The bond might've pulled us together, but that's not all this is."
I felt the weight of his words settle between us. It wasn't just the bond. It was him — the way he looked at me like I was the only steady thing in his world, the way he never flinched from my darkness, the way we burned brighter together, even when it was dangerous.
"So what are you saying?" I asked, breath catching.
"I'm saying…" He leaned in closer, his voice dropping. "Let's stop denying it. Let's do this. You and me."
A long pause. The shadows curled around our ankles, calm now, as if listening.
"I want that," I whispered. "But we keep it quiet."
His brow lifted. "Why?"
"Because the academy wouldn't understand. Because Jaren's already suspicious. And because if anyone finds out what we are to each other…" My voice trailed off.
Kael nodded once. "Then it's just ours."
No promises carved in stone. No oaths made in fire. Just the quiet, shared truth between us.
Later that morning, we lay together again — this time wrapped in fresh sheets from Kael's quarters, where no one had dared knock.
His fingers traced lazy lines across my back, his body warm against mine. Outside, the sun climbed higher, melting the last traces of moonlight from the sky.
"Now that we're dating…" he began, voice teasing.
I turned my head, raising a brow. "Secretly dating."
He grinned. "Right. Secretly dating. Does that mean I can steal one more kiss before you run off to your training?"
I rolled toward him, brushing my lips to his. "Only one?"
He rolled over, pinning me playfully beneath him. "What if I want more than just a kiss?"
I laughed softly. "We're going to be late."
"Worth it."
But before lips could meet again—
Knock knock knock.
We both froze.
Lira's voice rang out through the heavy door. "Elara, if you're in there, we're heading to the sparring ring. Neris says if you're late again, she's gonna put you through obstacle course drills in full armor."
Kael groaned, rolling onto his back. "Your friends have horrible timing."
I pressed a kiss to his cheek before slipping off the bed. "They're also suspicious. Especially Lira."
Kael reached for my hand, brushing his thumb along my knuckles. "Then we'll just be better at hiding."
Our fingers lingered for a moment longer.
Then I was gone — slipping back into my uniform, wrapping the shadows around me once again, and stepping into the sunlight with a racing heart and Kael's warmth still clinging to my skin.