Chapter eleven
393 Words
Kael’s Line
The room felt too small for all of them now.
Lydia stood pressed against the wall, her heart beating so fast she could barely hear anything else. The three strangers hadn’t moved much since Kael appeared, but their attention shifted instantly to him.
Like he mattered more.
Like he was the real problem.
Kael stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him without looking away from them.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said calmly.
The man in front smiled again. “And yet, here we are.”
Lydia’s gaze kept jumping between them. “Kael… what is going on? Who are they?”
Kael didn’t answer her immediately.
His eyes stayed locked on the strangers.
Then he said quietly, “Hunters.”
The word hit differently in the silence.
Lydia frowned. “Hunters of what?”
One of the men finally looked at her properly.
“You,” he said simply.
Her breath caught.
Kael’s expression tightened.
“She’s not yours,” he said.
The man tilted his head. “Not yet.”
Something in Kael’s eyes darkened at that.
For the first time, Lydia saw something else in him—something deeper than arrogance or control.
Something protective.
Dangerous.
He took a slow step forward, placing himself between her and them without even thinking about it.
“Leave,” Kael said again.
This time, his voice was colder.
The air in the room shifted immediately.
The hunters didn’t look impressed.
Instead, one of them laughed softly.
“You’re still acting like you have authority here,” he said.
Kael didn’t respond.
He just raised his hand slightly.
And the faint markings along his arm lit up again.
Golden.
Alive.
Lydia’s eyes widened. “Kael…”
The hunters noticed too.
Their expressions changed slightly.
The smile faded.
One of them muttered, “So it’s true.”
Kael’s voice dropped. “Last warning.”
Silence stretched.
Then the first hunter looked at Lydia again.
“She’s the key,” he said. “And keys always get taken.”
Before anyone could react—
Kael moved.
Fast.
Inhumanly fast.
The air cracked with force as he shoved Lydia backward just as the hunters lunged forward.
Everything exploded into motion.
And Lydia realized one terrifying thing.
Kael wasn’t just protecting her.
He was holding back something far worse than them.
- Writer
