The academy did not sleep that night.
Wards shimmered over every tower, glowing faintly silver and blue, as if Romance Academy itself had wrapped its arms around its students in fear. Guards patrolled the corridors. Professors whispered in tight circles. The forbidden sanctum was sealed, its doors scorched black as a reminder of how close everything had come to ruin.
Yet none of that mattered to Lyra in that moment.
She sat on the stone steps outside the infirmary, knees drawn to her chest, moonlight spilling softly across the courtyard. Her body still trembled faintly from the aftershock of the ritual. Not pain—never pain—but something deeper. A pull. A tightening.
A deepening.
Kael stood a few steps away, speaking quietly with Headmistress Selvara. His posture was rigid, protective, like a wolf refusing to turn its back on danger. Even from a distance, Lyra felt him—felt the steady thrum of his presence like a second heartbeat.
When Selvara finally left, her expression heavy and unreadable, Kael turned immediately toward Lyra.
Their eyes met.
The world narrowed.
He crossed the space between them in long strides and knelt in front of her, his hands hovering for just a moment before gently resting on her knees, as if afraid she might vanish.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked softly.
Lyra nodded, though emotion tightened her throat. "I think so. I've never felt… that before."
His brow furrowed. "Felt what?"
She searched for the words. "Like my soul stretched. Like something ancient reached for me—and instead of being afraid, I felt… anchored. Because of you."
Kael exhaled slowly, as if he'd been holding his breath since the sanctum. "Lyra, when the ritual exploded—when that light came from you—I felt it tear through me too. Not pain. Not fear." His voice dropped. "Certainty."
Her chest warmed.
He shifted closer, lowering himself onto the step beside her. Their shoulders brushed, and the bond responded instantly—flaring, humming, alive.
"I was so afraid," Lyra admitted quietly. "Not of the ritual. Of what I might lose. I saw Ivy's bond break, Kael. I heard the sound it made. I didn't know if I could survive that."
He turned fully toward her now. "Look at me."
She did.
His eyes were intense, silver-dark under the moonlight, stripped of the composure he showed the rest of the world.
"I don't love you because the bond exists," he said. "I love you because you chose me—again and again—even when it would have been easier not to."
Her breath caught. "Kael…"
"When the unclaimed tried to pull you away, when doubt whispered in your ear, when fear circled this academy like a predator—you stayed." His voice wavered, just barely. "Do you know what that did to me?"
She shook her head.
"It made me want to be worthy of you."
Tears filled her eyes.
Lyra reached out, her fingers curling into the fabric of his sleeve. "I was so scared the bond was doing all the choosing. That maybe… if it vanished, so would we."
Kael covered her hand with his, warm and steady. "Then listen to me carefully." He leaned in, forehead resting against hers. "If the bond disappeared tomorrow, I would still find you. I would still choose you. I would still fight the world for you."
Her wolf surged, purring deep in her chest.
The bond tightened—not painfully, but deliberately. Like threads weaving closer, stronger, inseparable.
Lyra laughed softly through her tears. "You're terrible for my heart."
He smiled faintly. "You should see what you've done to mine."
They sat there for a long moment, breathing each other in, letting the chaos of the day fade into something quieter, more intimate.
Eventually, Lyra spoke again. "When the ritual was happening… I heard something."
Kael stiffened slightly. "Heard?"
"A voice," she admitted. "Not threatening. Not kind either. Ancient. Like it was surprised by me." She hesitated. "It knew our bond. It called it… rare."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Selvara didn't tell us everything."
"No," Lyra agreed. "But whatever this is—it didn't wake because of fear." She met his gaze. "It woke because of love."
Something unreadable crossed his face. Awe. Fear. Reverence.
"That means they'll come for you," he said quietly.
She smiled softly. "They already are."
He reached up, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face with surprising tenderness. "Then I'll stand between you and every threat this academy can conjure."
Lyra leaned into his touch. "You don't have to stand in front of me all the time."
"I know." His thumb lingered at her cheek. "Stand beside you, then."
The bond responded again—warm, bright, almost joyful.
Inside the infirmary, another bonded couple laughed weakly through tears. Somewhere down the hall, a girl sobbed into her mate's arms. Love and fear tangled together, inseparable.
Romance Academy had always been a place of trials.
But tonight, it felt like something else too.
A place where love—real love—was choosing to endure.
Kael finally stood, offering her his hand. "Come on. You should rest."
Lyra took it without hesitation, rising easily. The moment she stood beside him, the bond settled into something deeper, calmer—no longer flaring, but steady. Permanent.
As they walked back toward the dormitories, Lyra spoke softly. "Kael?"
"Yes?"
"If the academy falls… if the world outside turns against us… if fate itself demands a price—will you still stay?"
He stopped walking.
Turned.
And held her face in both hands, his voice unwavering.
"I will stay," he said. "In every lifetime. In every version of this world. Bond or no bond—I am yours."
Lyra's heart ached in the best way.
She rested her forehead against his chest, listening to the rhythm that now felt inseparable from her own. "Then whatever's coming," she whispered, "we'll face it together."
Kael wrapped his arms around her, holding her beneath the moonlit sky as if the universe itself might try to pull them apart.
But the bond held.
Stronger than fear.
Stronger than fate.
Stronger than anything Romance Academy had ever seen.
And deep beneath the academy, the ancient magic stirred again—no longer curious.
Now, it was watching.