She glances back once.Just once.
Not scared.
Checking.
And when she sees me there, her shoulders drop a tiny fraction, like something inside her loosened just enough for air.
That does something to me.
Something I’m not sure I’m ready to name.
Something I’m not sure I can avoid naming much longer.
Kael stops at the bottom of the bus steps, scanning the lot.Atlas steps beside him.I slide between them and Wren, just enough to be a presence, not a cage.
Wren adjusts her bag and exhales.
“You sure you’re okay?”I ask her quietly.
She nods.“I’m better.”
And I swear—every muscle in my body softens at once.
Better counts.
Kael nods once.Atlas scans the shadows.Wren tucks her hands into her sleeves again.
And I walk beside her through the lot with this quiet, fierce truth settling into my bones:
I don’t just want to protect her.
I want her.
And I’m terrified she already knows.
Chapter 38: Kael
