Chapter 22: The Distance He Creates
303 Words
The silence after the fight felt heavier than the battle itself.
Lyra stood in the clearing, the last traces of her fire fading from her hands. Smoke curled into the night air, disappearing just as quickly as the cloaked figure had.
Gone.
But not finished.
She could feel it.
And so could Kael.
But when she turned to him—
Something was different.
Subtle.
But unmistakable.
He had stepped back.
Physically… only a few feet.
But it felt like more.
A lot more.
“What are you doing?” she asked quietly.
Kael didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he turned away from her slightly, his gaze scanning the trees again—like he was focusing on anything except her.
“Kael.”
That got his attention.
But not his closeness.
“You need to leave,” he said.
The words hit harder this time.
Because now—
There was no softness in them.
No hesitation.
Lyra’s chest tightened.
“No.”
His jaw set.
“This is no longer safe.”
“It never was.”
“That was before.”
“And this is now.”
The tension snapped tight between them.
Lyra stepped forward.
“You don’t get to push me away after everything that just happened.”
Kael’s voice dropped.
“I do if it keeps you alive.”
Her fire flared instantly.
“So that’s it?” she shot back. “You decide what I can handle and I just—what—walk away?”
“Yes.”
That single word—
Was a blade.
Sharp.
Final.
Lyra stared at him.
Hurt flashing across her face before she could stop it.
“You don’t mean that.”
Kael didn’t move.
Didn’t soften.
Didn’t fix it.
“I do.”
That was worse.
Because now—
She believed him.
- Writer
