Chapter seven
363 Words
Don’t Turn Around
Lydia’s body refused to move.
Kael’s words sat heavy in the air between them.
“Don’t turn around.”
Her throat tightened. “What is it?”
He didn’t answer.
Of course he didn’t.
Instead, he slowly stepped closer, placing himself slightly behind her like a shield. His presence was steady, controlled—but Lydia could feel the tension in him now.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The room felt colder, like the heat had been sucked out of it completely. The faint sound of breathing was still there, but now it wasn’t just in her head.
It was real.
Behind her.
Lydia swallowed hard. “Kael… I can’t see anything.”
“I know.”
That didn’t help.
Her fingers trembled at her sides. “Then why am I still standing here?”
“Because it wants you to turn around,” he said quietly.
Her stomach dropped.
“Wants me?”
Kael’s eyes stayed fixed ahead, sharp and unblinking. “Whatever is behind you doesn’t show itself unless it’s invited.”
That made her feel worse.
A soft sound came again. Like something shifting in the air.
Closer this time.
Lydia squeezed her eyes shut for a second, trying to steady her breathing. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You don’t need to,” Kael said. “You’re marked.”
At that word, her wrist burned sharply again.
She gasped, instinctively grabbing it.
Kael noticed immediately.
“Don’t touch it,” he warned.
Too late.
The glow spread up her arm for a split second before fading again.
And then—
The temperature in the room dropped even further.
Kael moved instantly, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind him completely.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered.
Lydia peeked out slightly, despite everything.
“What is it?”
Kael’s voice lowered.
“Something that feeds on marked souls.”
A pause.
Then, quietly—
“And it just found you.”
A dark ripple formed in the corner of the room.
Not a shadow.
Something deeper than that.
Something that didn’t belong in light.
Lydia’s breath caught.
And for the first time, Kael looked slightly worried.
- Writer
