CHAPTER 3
1352 Words
She froze the moment her eyes met Mark’s.
The hallway felt colder, heavier, like the air had thickened around them. Mark wasn’t doing anything—he wasn’t raising a hand, wasn’t summoning magic, wasn’t speaking. He was just standing there, staring straight into her eyes.
Most people couldn’t hold his gaze for even a second. Some said looking into Mark’s eyes made your chest tighten, like something inside you wanted to run. Others said you’d feel your brain go empty, almost numb. Even teachers avoided him. Even adults stepped out of his way.
But she didn’t look away.
She wasn’t sure why. She wasn’t sure how she was even holding still.
But something about the way he looked at her felt different from what people described. He didn’t look angry. He didn’t look irritated. He looked like he was analyzing her, almost curious.
There was tension, definitely—thick enough she felt her shoulders tense up. But she didn’t feel like she was about to be attacked. It was more like Mark didn’t know what to do, or what he was seeing when he looked at her.
Her eyes felt warm. Not burning, just warm—like they were reacting to him.
For a full three seconds, neither of them moved.
Then her heart snapped back into motion.
She blinked fast, turned sharply, and rushed toward Kai. He was slumped against the wall, half-conscious, breathing shallowly. His magic still flickered faintly around him like smoke that hadn’t completely faded.
She didn’t hesitate. She grabbed him, hoisted his arm, and tried to get him up. But his legs weren’t helping. His body felt heavy, limp.
She didn’t think. She didn’t have time.
So she swept him over her shoulder, gripping his legs and balancing his weight as best as she could.
Mark hadn’t moved.
She didn’t look back.
She took off down the hallway at full speed, practically sprinting. Her footsteps echoed loudly. The air behind her shifted again—Mark’s magic always changed the atmosphere, like gravity had opinions—but he didn’t chase. Or yell. Or teleport in front of her.
Nothing.
She reached the end of the hall, turned the corner, and kept going. She didn’t stop until the sound of her own footsteps was the only thing she could hear.
Eventually, after several corridors and a long staircase, they slipped outside and headed to the old observatory near the abandoned gardens. Nobody went there except Kai. It was his quiet spot, his hideout, the only place he actually relaxed.
She set Kai down on a stone bench. His head dropped forward, and he took a deep breath like he was finally waking up properly.
He opened his eyes slowly and looked at her.
“You okay?” he asked, voice hoarse.
She wiped sweat off her forehead. “You’re the one who almost passed out.”
Still… he looked at her like he didn’t care about himself. He tried to sit straighter.
“You ran too fast,” he said, frowning. “Your hands are shaking.”
She stepped back from him. “Don’t—just don’t worry about me right now.”
He blinked, confused. “Why not?”
“Because you shouldn’t care this much,” she said. “Kai, you almost got hurt again. Every time something happens, you throw yourself in the way. Why?”
He hesitated. His breathing was still unsteady, but his eyes didn’t leave hers.
“I didn’t want Mark to touch you,” he admitted quietly.
She stared at him, jaw tense. “Why do you care so much about me? Seriously. You don’t hesitate. You don’t even think. You just act like I’m—”
She stopped herself.
“Like I’m important to you.”
“Because you are,” he said.
Her stomach tightened. She rubbed her face with both hands and sat down on the opposite bench.
“Kai… my eyes glowed.”
He stayed quiet, watching her carefully.
“I know you saw it,” she added. “I felt it. So tell me. What is happening to me?”
Kai leaned back slightly, thinking. “I don’t know everything. But I know what I saw. Your eyes didn’t glow like someone losing control or someone turning dangerous. It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it?”
“It looked like your magic reacted on its own. Like it was responding to something.” He paused. “Responding to Mark.”
She stared at him sharply. “Why would my magic react to Mark? I barely know him. And he’s supposed to be—”
“Untouchable,” Kai finished. “Unpredictable. Dangerous.”
“Yeah.”
“And yet you looked right at him,” Kai said. “Full eye contact. Most people can’t even glance in his direction.”
She exhaled long and shaky. “It felt like he was trying to read my mind or something.”
Kai shook his head. “Mark doesn’t read minds.”
“Then why did it feel like that?”
“Because he’s intense,” Kai said. “When he looks at you, he focuses too hard. He observes everything. He sees what people hide.”
She hugged her arms. “I don’t know why I stared back.”
“Maybe because you weren’t scared.”
“I was scared,” she corrected. “I just… didn’t feel like he wanted to hurt me.”
Kai watched her for a long moment.
“Then why did he stop?” she asked. “Why didn’t he do anything? He could’ve blocked me. He could’ve used magic. He didn’t.”
Kai exhaled. “Something held him back.”
“Me?” she whispered.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But the only thing that changed between him and us in that moment… was your eyes. They glowed right when he looked at you.”
She ran a hand through her hair, overwhelmed. “This doesn’t make sense. I’m not special. I barely know how to control my powers.”
Kai shook his head. “Magic doesn’t wait for you to be ready. Sometimes it wakes up when it wants to.”
“That sounds like a problem.”
“It might be,” he admitted, “but it doesn’t make you dangerous.”
Her throat tightened. “Kai, what if something is wrong with me?”
“Nothing’s wrong with you.”
“You don’t know that,” she shot back.
“I know you,” he said.
That stopped her.
He leaned forward, slower this time because his ribs hurt. His voice steadied a little.
“You saved me twice this week,” he said. “You don’t think before helping people, even when you should. You’re stubborn and reckless, but you’re not dangerous. If your magic is changing, then we deal with it. But I’m not afraid of you.”
She didn’t look away from him.
“And I care,” he added quietly, “because you’re the person I trust the most. Because when I’m with you, I feel like I’m not alone. Because you don’t treat me like I’m fragile or broken.”
She swallowed. “Kai…”
“And,” he continued, “because I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
The observatory fell silent again.
The night breeze cooled the sweat on her neck, and she finally let her back relax against the wall.
Kai’s breathing steadied. He was still tired, but he looked calmer than before, like finally saying the truth loosened something inside him.
She pressed her hands against her knees. “So… what now?”
“We figure out why your eyes glowed,” Kai said. “And why Mark reacted to it.”
“And if it happens again?”
“I’ll be here,” he said.
She didn’t know how to respond to that.
For the first time since everything happened, she didn’t feel like she was losing control.
For the first time, she felt like she had someone to lean on.
- Writer
