The sun had barely dipped below the horizon when Lyra slipped back onto campus.The air smelled of damp grass and early autumn, a faint reminder of the week she had spent far from the shadows of Kael's world.Her suitcase trailed behind her, heavier than it should have been,as if it carried more than clothes.
She paused near the main courtyard, scanning familiar faces....Cassian leaned against a pillar tossing a small coin in the air with a practiced flick,Riven's sharp gaze tracking the same students he was observing,and Serene sat on the library steps sketching in her notebook.
Lyra's chest tightened,Kael wasn't there,he hadn't greeted her,hadn't appeared in the open as he often did..the absence was louder than any presence.
Inside the library,she tried to focus on her studies, but every shadow,every flicker of movement made her heart skip.She found herself thinking about the letters she'd written over the break—the ones Kael had yet to respond to.
A soft shuffle of footsteps behind her made her look up.
"Lyra."
Kael's voice controlled,quiet and deliberate.
He stepped into the dim light,just close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from him,just far enough that the shadows clung to him like a cloak.
"I didn't expect to see you this early," she said softly.
"Nor did I," he replied. His eyes flicked briefly to the library windows, then back to her. "But you're here. That's what matters."
Lyra's fingers curled around the strap of her bag. She wanted to ask so many questions, but the words wouldn't come. Instead, she nodded and let herself breathe.
Kael's lips twitched in something that might have been a smile,but disappeared almost immediately. He stepped closer. "You need to be careful," he murmured. "They're watching."
Outside,Alessia lingered near the courtyard exit,her posture casual but her eyes sharp. She noticed Kael's focus on Lyra,and a small,calculating smile played at her lips.If she couldn't have his attention,no one else would.
Inside,Lyra didn't see Alessia,she only felt the weight of Kael's gaze,his control,the subtle danger that seemed to cling to him.
"You're not just a student," he said softly, almost to himself. "You're… something else."
Lyra swallowed. "Something else?"
He nodded slowly. "And being here… it puts you at risk."
"Then let me face it," she said quietly, her voice firm. "I can't stay hidden anymore."
Kael's jaw tensed. That old, centuries-deep instinct warred with something else—something fragile and human. He could control this. He should control this. But the pull toward her, the desire to make her safe…
It was dangerous.
A sudden rustle of paper at the far end of the library drew both their attention....Alessia. Her timing perfect,she had left a book strategically so Lyra would stumble over it, just close enough to disrupt the moment.
Lyra's heart jumped as she bent to pick it up.
Kael's hand brushed hers—light, unintentional, and electric. The sparks of proximity made her pulse race.
"You shouldn't…" he began, then stopped himself. Words had always been tricky around her. Actions spoke louder, and his almost-touch said everything he hadn't dared voice.
Alessia called from across the room, casual but cutting, "Lyra! Didn't see you there!"
The moment shattered,Kael stepped back, shadows retracting like a tide,Lyra felt both relief and disappointment.
Later,in the quiet of the hallway,Lyra opened her notebook and began writing:
I felt him there. So close. And yet… the world is always in between us. What am I supposed to do with this?
A shadow moved behind her. Kael's voice, low and deliberate:
"You'll learn soon enough," he said. "How much of my world you can touch—and how much it will touch you."
Lyra's fingers froze over the page. She looked up. His eyes were dark, unreadable, centuries of restraint in one glance. And yet, for a fraction of a second, she saw the human beneath—the man who wanted nothing more than to keep her safe.
This is just the beginning, she thought. And I can't turn back now.