Kaelira’s POV
The air between us didn't settle after what just happened. It lingers tight, sharp, pressing against my skin like something alive.
I kept my chin up anyway. Even as my chest still burnt from the force of his test. Even as my pulse refused to steady. I won’t give him that. I won’t let him see what it cost me to stay standing. His gaze was still on me.
Heavy. Unmoving.
Waiting.
Measuring.
I rolled my shoulders back slowly, forcing the stiffness out of them, and met his eyes head-on.
“If that was supposed to break me,” I said, my voice steady despite the dryness in my throat, “you’ll have to try harder.”
A flicker passes through his expression..so quick I almost miss it.
Not surprising.
Recognition.
Then it’s gone, replaced by that same cold restraint.
“You’re alread
