Chapter Two: Stay Close to Me
923 Words
“Run.”
Lena didn’t think. She ran.
Her boots slipped on the polished marble as shouts rose behind them. Music did not return. Laughter died. Only footsteps and angry voices followed.
“Kael!” the man in crimson called, his voice smooth and sharp. “You can’t hide her.”
Kael’s hand wrapped around Lena’s wrist.
“Don’t look back,” he said.
“I’m trying not to die,” Lena panted.
They turned down a narrow hall lined with mirrors. The mirrors did not show Lena’s face. They showed shadows. Some had horns. Some had wings.
She gasped. “Why don’t I have a reflection?”
“Because you don’t belong to this realm,” Kael said. “Keep moving.”
A guard stepped out from the side.
“Halt!”
Lena screamed as the guard reached for her.
She reacted without thinking.
She grabbed the nearest object a silver tray resting on a table and swung it.
The tray hit the guard’s mask with a loud clang.
He stumbled back, shocked.
Lena stared at the tray in her hands.
“I… I did that?”
Kael’s eyes flicked to her, sharp and surprised.
“Good,” he said. “Again.”
She dropped the tray and ran.
They burst through a door and into darkness.
Kael slammed it shut and pressed his shoulder against it.
Lena’s back hit the wall.
Her chest rose and fell fast. Her hands shook.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly. “Okay. I officially regret touching the door.”
Kael laughed once. Short. Tense.
“This room is warded,” he said. “They won’t find us quickly.”
“Quickly?” she echoed.
He turned to her.
Up close, the room was dimly lit by blue fire floating in glass bowls. It cast shadows across his face, sharp and dangerous.
“You’re shaking,” he said.
“So are you,” she replied.
He looked down at his hands.
They were shaking.
Silence fell between them.
Not empty.
Heavy.
“You shouldn’t be near me,” he said.
“Because you’re a prince?” she asked.
“Because I’m cursed,” he said.
Her stomach tightened. “Cursed how?”
He stepped closer before he realized it.
The air warmed.
“You don’t need to know,” he said.
“I do if I’m stuck here,” she replied. “You said dawn.”
“Yes.”
“And until then, what happens to humans who wander into your magic ball?”
His jaw clenched.
“They disappear.”
Her heart dropped.
She forced herself to stand straighter.
“I won’t disappear quietly,” she said. “If I have to fight, I will.”
Something soft flashed in his eyes.
“Brave,” he said. “Or foolish.”
“Both,” she admitted.
Footsteps echoed outside.
Kael raised a finger to his lips.
They froze.
The footsteps paused.
A voice whispered, “She’s close.”
Lena’s breath caught.
Kael pulled her behind him.
“No,” she whispered. “Don’t.”
“I won’t let them touch you,” he said.
Their bodies pressed together.
Too close.
Her cheek brushed his chest. She could hear his heart fast, strong.
She looked up.
He looked down.
The world shrank to that space between them.
“Kael,” she whispered.
“Don’t say my name like that,” he said hoarsely.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re asking me to forget everything.”
The door handle rattled.
Kael cursed softly and pulled Lena deeper into the shadows behind a tall curtain.
They were hidden now. Barely.
Her back hit the wall again. His hands came down on either side of her.
Trapped.
She swallowed.
“This is a bad idea,” she said.
“Yes,” he agreed.
He didn’t move away.
“You’re not afraid of them,” she said. “You’re afraid of me.”
His breath brushed her lips.
“I’m afraid of what I want,” he said.
Her pulse thundered.
“Then don’t want me,” she whispered.
He laughed quietly, bitter.
“Too late.”
The footsteps moved away.
The room fell silent.
Kael didn’t move.
Neither did she.
Slowly, carefully, he lifted his hand and touched her chin.
His fingers were warm.
“Tell me to stop,” he said.
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
His thumb brushed her lower lip.
Her breath hitched.
He leaned in
A sharp pain exploded in Lena’s chest.
She cried out.
Kael froze. “Lena?”
She gasped, clutching her chest.
“I I can’t breathe.”
Light flared beneath her skin, glowing white-blue through her sweater.
Kael staggered back.
“What are you?” he whispered.
“I don’t know!” she cried.
The light grew brighter. The walls shook.
Magic screamed.
Kael dropped to one knee, shielding his eyes.
“The bond,” he said. “No… this can’t be happening.”
The door burst open.
The man in crimson stood there, smiling like a victor.
“Well,” he said softly. “So it’s true.”
Lena collapsed.
Kael caught her as the light faded.
The crimson man clapped slowly.
“A human bonded to my cursed brother,” he said. “How beautifully tragic.”
Kael looked up, fury blazing.
“Touch her,” he growled, “and I will burn this realm to ash.”
The crimson man’s smile widened.
“Oh, brother,” he said. “That’s exactly what I want.”
- Writer
