Chapter 15 – Stay Close or Die
1110 Words
Lyra thought the connection would weaken if she ignored it.
She was wrong.
Morning began before sunrise. She was already in the kitchen, sleeves damp, hands cold from washing vegetables while servants rushed around her. No one spoke to her directly unless necessary, but the glances kept coming.
They had changed lately.
Before, people looked at her with contempt.
Now they looked with curiosity.
And fear.
Because Kael Draven had noticed her.
Because he had entered the kitchen for her.
Because rumors spread faster than fire inside the academy.
Lyra hated every second of it.
“Lyra.”
She looked up immediately.
Head Maid Elira stood by the doorway, expression unreadable. A stack of thick ledgers rested in her arms.
“Take these to the east storage hall.”
Lyra hesitated. The east hall was far from the servant quarters and farther still from the training grounds.
Far from Kael.
Good.
“…Yes.”
She took the books carefully and left.
---
The academy corridors were quiet at this hour. Pale sunlight stretched through high windows and painted long shadows across the stone floor.
Lyra adjusted the ledgers against her chest and kept walking.
At first, nothing happened.
Then came the now-familiar sensation.
A faint pressure beneath her ribs.
Not pain.
Just a pull.
She slowed.
No.
She kept moving.
The farther she went, the stronger it became. Her breathing turned shallow. Her chest tightened as though something invisible had wrapped around it.
She turned into another corridor, walking faster.
The pressure sharpened immediately.
Lyra stopped beside a pillar, trying to steady herself.
What is wrong with me?
She forced herself onward.
Three more steps.
Pain struck hard enough to make her gasp.
The ledgers slipped from her arms and crashed onto the floor. Papers scattered everywhere.
Lyra caught herself against the wall before falling with them.
Footsteps approached.
Quick.
Certain.
She looked up just as Kael reached her.
His hand closed around her arm to steady her.
The moment he touched her, the pressure vanished.
Air rushed back into her lungs.
Lyra stared at him.
Kael’s gaze moved over her face, the fallen books, then back to her.
“What were you doing?”
His voice was calm, which somehow felt more dangerous than anger.
“Working.”
“You were leaving the central grounds.”
“I was delivering ledgers.”
“That far?”
“It’s none of your business.”
The words came out sharper than intended.
His eyes narrowed.
Two passing students immediately lowered their heads and hurried away.
Kael released her arm slowly.
“It became my business when you nearly collapsed.”
“I’m fine.”
“You couldn’t breathe.”
“I said I’m fine.”
Her voice trembled despite her effort.
He studied her for a moment.
Then said quietly, “You felt it too.”
Lyra went still.
Because yes.
She had.
And if he was here this quickly, then he had felt it as well.
Kael crouched and gathered the scattered ledgers without effort.
“You’re not going this far alone again.”
Lyra blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“You don’t decide where I go.”
He stood, books in one hand.
“No?”
He stepped closer.
The corridor suddenly felt too narrow.
Lyra lifted her chin. “I’m not yours to command.”
Something unreadable crossed his face before disappearing.
“Until we understand this,” he said, “you stay close enough that neither of us drops dead.”
Her anger faltered.
“That doesn’t mean you control me.”
“It means I stop you from being reckless.”
“Why do you care?”
The question escaped before she could stop it.
For the first time, he seemed caught off guard.
Only for a second.
Then his expression turned unreadable again.
“I don’t.”
It was an obvious lie.
He started walking.
“Come.”
“I can carry them myself.”
“You already proved otherwise.”
“I dropped them because of you.”
“Then stay close enough that it doesn’t happen again.”
Arrogant.
Infuriating.
And impossible to ignore.
Lyra remained where she was.
Then the pressure returned, faint but immediate.
Kael glanced back over his shoulder.
He said nothing.
He didn’t need to.
Grinding her teeth, Lyra followed him.
---
They reached the east storage hall in silence.
Kael set the ledgers on a table. Lyra turned to leave at once.
His fingers closed around her wrist.
Not rough.
Firm enough to stop her.
She looked at his hand, then at him.
“What now?”
“Walk away.”
“What?”
“Test it.”
Lyra pulled free and headed toward the door.
Five steps.
The pressure returned.
Ten steps.
It became sharp enough to make her wince.
She stopped.
Kael crossed the room and came to stand beside her.
The sensation vanished instantly.
Neither of them spoke.
Because now there was no denying it.
This was real.
Lyra looked at him, pulse unsteady.
“What did you do to me?”
His expression darkened.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.”
He stepped aside, but his gaze stayed fixed on her.
“Until we solve it, you don’t leave my range.”
“No.”
She moved for the door.
He caught her arm again and turned her back before she reached it.
Too fast to resist.
Her back met the wall with a soft thud.
One hand braced beside her shoulder.
The other still held her wrist.
Kael leaned just close enough to make breathing difficult for an entirely different reason.
“Then test your luck,” he said quietly.
Lyra glared at him, heart pounding.
“You’re insane.”
“Maybe.”
His eyes dropped briefly to the pulse in her throat, then lifted again.
“But if you collapse somewhere I can’t reach, you die first.”
He released her and stepped back.
The space between them felt colder immediately.
---
That night, Lyra waited until the academy had gone silent.
Then she slipped from the servant quarters and ran for the outer gate.
She made it across the courtyard.
Through the archway.
Almost to freedom.
Then the bond tightened like a chain around her chest.
Her knees hit the ground.
No air.
No strength.
She clawed at the stone, gasping.
Footsteps echoed through the dark.
Slow.
Unhurried.
Certain.
Kael stopped in front of her.
“I told you,” he said.
Then he bent, lifted her effortlessly into his arms, and turned back toward the academy.
“You’re staying close.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD