CHAPTER NINE - The space between us
1088 Words
Waking up, the chilling weather of Obsidian hits me, stretching to my side I grab my blanket which lays on the other side of the bed.
Mara is still asleep, facing the wall.
Vera mumble unintelligible words , she probably must be dreaming.
The morning sun sets, making the sapphire and pearl walls gleam with warm radiance
But deep down I don't still feel safe, the recent happenings have really placed me on the edge.
I press against my chest, it feels blocked, probably as a result of the cold or maybe something else .
Calm down, Nyra.
Still the feeling doesn't budge .
Walking through the corridors, the whispers starts again
They always do.
I don't hear it clearly but I hear fragments
"…haven't seen them together"
"…you know how nobles are"
I keep my eyes forward.
"They are talking again, but pay them no mind," Mara informs me, taking my arm as we walk Toby
"I know," I say quietly.
"They are bored, trust me if it wasn't you till me someone else," Vera adds
But unfortunately it is me.
And it is him.
Kael.
I haven’t seen him since yesterday, he's been avoiding for reasons beyond me, which is confusing because he told me to report everything to him.
Now Everytime I look at him, he doesn't even spare me a glance.
I spot him near the eastern hall.
My heart skips several beats .
Kael stands with the girl, the one who he's bethroted to, his girlfriend, they're talking, she giggles at everything he says, holding hands with him, he looks comfortable, a bile rises in my throat, I bite back my tears, looking away I quicken my steps, trying not to get noticed by him or her.
He looks relaxed.
I hesitate.
Then I remember his voice.
Tell me everything.
So I move.
"Kael," I say.
He doesn't look at me.
I stop in front of him anyway. "I need to talk to you."
Trying to walk away. "Not now," he says.
The words hit harder than I expect.
"It's important," I insist.
"You said….."
"I said not now."
The girl beside him looks at me fully now, her eyes scanning me like I am something misplaced.
Kael shifts slightly, positioning himself subtly, between us.
The message is clear.
I step back.
"I've been followed," I say quietly. "People are watching me, something is wrong."
He exhales through his nose, impatient.
"You're imagining things."
The words hollow me out.
Yesterday, he believed me.
Today, he doesn't even see me.
I nod slowly. "Okay."
I turn away before anyone can see my face.
The rest of the day stretches long and heavy.
In class, I feel eyes on me. When I turn, they slide away too quickly. In the halls, footsteps echo behind me, stopping when I stop. At lunch, people whisper and laugh softly, glancing in my direction.
I don't eat much.
Mara nudges my arm. "You're quiet."
"I'm tired."
Vera lowers her voice. "Is it true? About you and Kael?"
"There is no me and Kael," I say flatly.
Mara frowns. "Then why does everyone think…."
"Because they need something to talk about."
But even as I say it, doubt coils in my chest.
What did they tell him?
What changed overnight?
By evening, the academy feels colder.
The lamps glow faintly as I walk alone through the garden path, my arms wrapped around myself. The air smells like stone and night-blooming flowers, sweet and heavy.
I stop.
That feeling again.
I turn.
No one.
Still, my pulse quickens.
"Get a grip," I whisper.
A footstep sounds behind me.
I spin and collide with a solid chest.
Hands grip my arms instantly, steadying me.
"Careful."
Kael.
My breath catches.
Up close, he smells like night air and something sharp—metal, maybe magic. His hands are warm through the thin fabric of my sleeves.
Too warm.
He releases me immediately, stepping back like he's touched fire.
"Why are you following me?" I ask, my voice unsteady.
"I'm not."
"You are."
Silence stretches between us.
The garden hums softly,crickets, distant fountains, the low magic that keeps the academy alive.
"You shouldn't be walking alone," he says finally.
I laugh, short and bitter. "You didn't seem concerned earlier."
His jaw tightens.
"You don't understand," he says.
"Then explain it to me."
He looks away.
That hurts more than his silence.
"I trusted you," I say quietly. "You told me to come to you. You told me—"
"I know what I said," he snaps.
Then, softer, "Things have changed."
My chest tightens. "Because of what they said about me?"
He looks back at me sharply. "Who is they?"
I freeze.
So he doesn't know everything.
"I'm being watched," I say again, slower this time. "Someone doesn't want me here, and instead of listening, you're pushing me away."
His gaze drops to my mouth just for a second.
Something pulls tight between us
"Nyra," he murmurs, my name sounding dangerous on his tongue.
A step closer.
I don't move.
His hand lifts,hesitates,then brushes my wrist accidentally.
Or maybe not accidentally.
Heat shoots up my arm.
Neither of us breathes.
For one suspended moment, the world narrows to the space between us. The silence is thick, charged, heavy with everything we are not saying.
Then footsteps approach.
Kael steps back instantly.
The distance slams into place like a door.
"You should go," he says, his voice controlled again.
"And Please, stop bothering me," he adds
And just like that, he turns and disappears into the shadows, leaving my skin buzzing where he almost touched me.
I stand there long after he's gone, heart pounding,
I am not walking back to my hostel calmly.
The garden path is quiet, too quiet, and my skin is prickling as though the air is watching me breathe. I keep replaying Kael voice in my head. The way he said my name. The way he stepped back like he was afraid of something. Or afraid of himself.
I am gripping my sleeves when I hear it.
A soft laugh.
Quite Close
I stop walking.
The sound stops too.
My heart begins to hammer.
"Hello?" I call, my voice shaking from fear.
Nothing answers.
I turn slowly, scanning the hallways and the edges
I take another step.
Something shifts behind me.
I turn sharply
But there's nothing .
But the feeling is pressing stronger now
I start walking faster.
The hostel lights are just ahead when a whisper brushes my ears
- Writer
