"In the depths of the Academy? In whatever trials Year Four holds? In the truths that have been hidden from me about my own heritage?"
Silence stretches between us.
Then he smiles.
Not the smirk I've grown accustomed to, not the predatory curve that accompanied his more aggressive advances. This is genuine—warm in ways that transform his features entirely, making those shifting eyes sparkle with light that seems to come from somewhere deep within rather than from external sources.
Beautiful.
He's beautiful when he truly smiles.
He leans closer.
Close enough that I can feel his breath against my lips, close enough that the space between us becomes charged with potential that makes my pulse race.
"Fine," he whispers, the word carrying weight that suggests formal agreement rather than casual acceptance. "You may call me as you wish, my Queen."
His lips hover a hairsbreadth from mine.
"But the day of our victory, I get the first dance, yes?"
First dance.
He's thinking about celebration.
About victory.
About a future where we've survived whatever challenges await and emerged triumphant enough to dance.
I pout at the presumption, at the way he's already claiming pieces of a future we haven't earned yet.
"First dance?"
But even as the protest forms, something clicks into place.
His features that never quite settle.
The mention of an "opposite side" named Kai.
The bipolar tendencies he described so casually.
Two aspects.
Two names.
Two... halves?
"Wait." I stare into his eyes, searching for confirmation of the suspicion crystallizing in my mind. "You're a hybrid, aren't you?"
The question emerges with the particular confidence of someone who has just solved a puzzle they didn't realize they were assembling.
His grin is answer enough.
"Yes."
The single word carries confirmation that opens more questions than it closes.
"What's your other half?"
