CHAPTER THREE — Something Inside Me Wakes
832 Words
Elara
By lunchtime, I’m convinced of two things:
• Blackridge High runs on drama.
• Kael Rivenheart is trouble.
The cafeteria is loud, chaotic, and packed. I slide my tray onto an empty table and force myself to breathe.
Just one normal day—that’s all I want.
But the universe clearly hates me.
I’m halfway through a bite of pasta when it happens.
A sharp spike of heat spreads across my chest—fast, sudden, electric. My breath stutters. My heart races like I’m sprinting, even though I’m sitting still.
It feels like someone grabbed an invisible thread inside me and pulled hard.
I look up.
Kael is across the cafeteria.
Not talking.
Not eating.
Just standing there at the entrance—
Staring at me.
Not a casual glance.
A stare that hits me like a physical touch.
My fork slips from my fingers.
The buzzing under my skin intensifies, rising, vibrating, like something deep inside me is trying to wake up.
I can’t look away from him.
I don’t want to look away.
His eyes darken, blue swirling with something else—silver? No, impossible. I blink, but it’s still there.
My breath catches.
He starts walking toward me.
Slow, purposeful strides.
Students part around him like he’s a wildfire.
People whisper.
“It’s happening again.”
“He’s tense—look at his shoulders.”
“Who’s the girl?”
“Oh God, Lyra is going to freak.”
Lyra.
I spot her across the room before Kael reaches me.
She’s frozen, staring at him, face twisting with disbelief.
Then rage.
She moves fast, slicing through tables until she steps in front of him.
“Kael, seriously?” she hisses loud enough that half the cafeteria hears. “Stop.”
He doesn’t.
He just keeps walking.
Like she isn’t even there.
Lyra grabs his arm. “Kael!”
He growls.
Not loudly.
Not humanly.
Deep, low, vibrating.
The room goes dead silent.
A chill runs through me.
Kael looks down at Lyra like he’s seconds away from snapping, then shifts his gaze back to me—as if I’m the only anchor keeping him from losing control.
His voice is rough, dangerous, restrained.
“Move, Lyra.”
She steps back immediately.
Fear flashes in her eyes.
He keeps coming until he’s standing right in front of me, towering over my table. The heat between us is unbearable—like my skin recognizes his, like my body leans toward him without permission.
My voice is barely a whisper. “What are you doing?”
His chest rises sharply.
“Trying to breathe.”
My stomach flips wildly.
“Why—why can’t you breathe?” I ask, even though I already feel the answer in my bones.
His jaw flexes.
He looks pained.
And furious.
And pulled toward me like gravity is stronger here.
“You,” he says, voice husky and rough. “You walked in today and everything went to hell.”
My lips part. “What does that even mean?”
He leans closer—too close—his breath brushing my cheek.
My whole body lights up like a live wire.
“I told you,” he whispers, “this place isn’t safe for you.”
A shiver runs down my spine.
“Why?” I breathe.
His eyes flicker again—blue swirling with silver, like a storm in motion.
He opens his mouth, about to say something—
Then someone slams their tray onto my table.
I jump.
Rian slides into the seat across from me, expression calm but eyes sharp and alert.
“Kael,” Rian says slowly, carefully, “you need to step back.”
Kael doesn’t move.
Rian’s jaw clenches. “You’re slipping.”
I blink. “Slipping?”
Kael growls again—quiet, but enough to make the hair on my arms rise.
Rian sighs. “You’re going to start a scene. And you know what that means.”
Kael finally tears his eyes from mine and glares at Rian like he wants to tear him apart.
Then he does the last thing I expected.
He turns away.
In one swift motion, he storms out of the cafeteria. The tension that held the room hostage evaporates instantly.
Lyra runs after him, calling his name.
Students start whispering again.
Rian watches them leave, then looks back at me with an expression I can’t read.
“You okay?” he asks.
No.
Yes.
I don’t know.
My voice comes out small. “What was… that?”
He hesitates.
Then gives me a soft, careful smile.
“Let’s just say… Kael isn’t the kind of guy who usually loses control.”
I swallow. “So why did he?”
Rian’s gaze lingers on me, warm but almost… startled.
“Because of you.”
My stomach tightens.
“But why me?” I whisper.
Rian holds my gaze.
And answers so quietly I almost don’t hear it:
“That’s the question everyone’s asking.”
- Writer
