Chapter 21: What They Almost Lost
200 Words
Lyra didn’t realize she was shaking—
Until Kael’s hand found her arm.
Steady.
Grounding.
“Lyra.”
Her breath came uneven.
“I hesitated.”
Kael didn’t respond immediately.
“I shouldn’t have.”
“No,” he said quietly.
“You shouldn’t have.”
That wasn’t comfort.
That was truth.
And strangely—
She needed that more.
Lyra looked at him.
Really looked.
“We can’t pretend this is just… us anymore.”
Kael’s expression darkened.
“I never was.”
A pause.
Then—
“This is why I told you to leave.”
Lyra stepped closer.
Not backing down.
“Not happening.”
Kael’s voice dropped.
“You could have been killed.”
Lyra’s fire flickered again—
But this time it wasn’t anger.
It was something deeper.
“And you could have lost me.”
That landed.
Hard.
Because that—
That was the part he hadn’t said.
The part he hadn’t wanted to face.
Kael’s grip tightened slightly.
“I won’t.”
Lyra’s voice softened.
“You don’t control that.”
Silence.
Then—
Even quieter—. . . . . . .
“But you don’t have to face it alone.”
- Writer
