Nine – Threads of Jealousy chapter 9
649 Words
Lisa’s eyes glimmered with cruel delight as she leaned across her desk toward her two closest friends.
“She thinks she’s special. Always with those faraway looks, answering questions like she’s some ancient scholar.” Her nails drummed against her notebook. “Kael won’t waste his time on her once I’m finished.”
Her friends giggled nervously. Lisa’s plans rarely ended clean.
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That evening, Selene hurried through the market streets, clutching her satchel tight. She had hoped for peace, just a quiet walk home. But the voice stopped her cold.
“You carry it, don’t you? The strip.”
Selene turned. The cloaked woman stood by a cart of herbs, her silver hair wild, her eyes darting like a crow’s.
Selene stepped closer, desperate. “Tell me what it means. Why me? Why do I see them?”
The woman smiled crookedly, revealing teeth stained by age and secrets. “Because your blood is marked. Because you are not just mortal. The souls know it. The demons crave it. And he…” Her gaze flicked sharply over Selene’s shoulder, “…he hunts it.”
Selene whipped around. No one was there. But the weight of being watched pressed harder than ever.
When she turned back, the woman was gone. Only the faint scent of herbs lingered.
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The next day at school, the announcement rattled the class.
“Another transfer?” Mira muttered. “This is getting weird.”
The boy who walked in was nothing like Kael. His hair was golden-brown, his smile warm, his eyes deep green that seemed to hold laughter in them. He bowed slightly, polite and easy.
“My name is Adrian,” he said. “I hope to get along with everyone here.”
Selene felt her chest lighten unexpectedly. There was no dark weight around him, no hidden chill. Just warmth. For the first time in days, she smiled without forcing it.
Adrian’s gaze caught hers, and his smile widened.
Kael saw.
From his seat behind her, his hand tightened into a fist. His silver eyes burned faintly. The air around him seemed to shift, as though the shadows themselves leaned closer.
Lisa, watching him, caught the flicker of his jealousy. Her lips curled. “Interesting…”
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At lunch, Adrian sat near Selene and Mira, his presence disarming, his voice easy.
“I’ve seen those symbols in the library before,” Adrian said casually, pointing to the rune Selene had been sketching absentmindedly. “But you draw them like you know them.”
Selene’s cheeks warmed. “I… I just recognize them.”
Mira arched a brow. “You mean like yesterday when you answered the binding rune? Yeah, she knows them.”
Adrian grinned. “Then maybe you can teach me sometime.”
Kael appeared at the end of the table. His shadow fell long across them. His voice was quiet but edged like steel.
“She has nothing to teach you.”
Adrian blinked, then smiled coolly. “Funny. She doesn’t seem to belong to you.”
The air snapped cold. Selene gasped as she felt it — Kael’s aura bleeding through his disguise, a pressure that made the very air heavy, like thunder before a storm. His silver eyes glowed faintly, power trembling at the edge of breaking free.
Mira gripped Selene’s arm. “What’s happening?!”
Selene’s heart pounded. If Kael revealed himself now…
She forced herself to step between them. “Stop it! Both of you!”
For a moment, Kael’s gaze burned on Adrian, a silent promise. Then, with a breath, the pressure vanished. The cafeteria noise rushed back, students oblivious to what had almost happened.
Kael turned his eyes on Selene, softer now, but no less intense. “Be careful who you trust.”
And then he walked away.
Selene stood trembling, caught between fear, anger… and something she didn’t want to name.
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