I narrow my eyes. The last thing I want is help from him. But the thing I want even less…is getting stuck down here with no clue how to get out.
I narrow my eyes. “If it’s dangerous, why are you down here?”
Kael’s smile tilts, slow and easy.
“I’m a demon,” he says simply. “Dark and dangerous is comforting company.”
The words slide over my skin like silk and ice. My fingers twitch at my sides.
He watches me for another beat. Then gestures again, palm up, graceful and patient.
“But you’re not built for this part of the school yet.” His gaze lingers on mine, unreadable. “Come. I’ll show you the way out.”
I hesitate.
He doesn’t move. Doesn’t coax. Just waits as if he’s unbothered, like he already knows what I’ll choose.
The bond with Raiden still coils in my chest, a live wire I can’t unplug. But Kael? He feels like still water. No tug, no pulse. Just cool indifference, wrapped in shadow.
Maybe that’s why I take his gloved hand.
His fingers close around mine, warm despite the chill in the air, steady as he turns without another word and starts down a corridor I swear wasn’t there a second ago.
I have to quicken my pace to keep up. His steps are silent. Mine echo like accusations off the stone floor.
“You always hanging out in creepy parts of the school?” I ask, trying for casual, but it comes out brittle.
Kael glances at me, mouth curving just slightly. “You think this is creepy? You haven’t seen anything yet.”
I shiver—but not entirely from the cold.
We pass ancient-looking doors and broken statues tucked into alcoves like they’re being punished. Everything smells of dust, secrets, and the spell-ink we use in Runic Arts. The scent is oddly floral at first, lavender and something earthy, but it leaves a static prickle in your nose like raw power
“You’ve been watching me,” I say before I can stop myself.
His gaze slides back to me. “Only when it matters.”
A beat of silence stretches between us.
“Why?” I ask.
Kael stops in front of a cracked stone archway, shadow pooling thick around his feet.
“Because you’re trouble, and I don’t trust easy,” he says. “And neither should you.”
Then he steps aside and motions toward a narrow stairwell carved into the wall, spiraling upward into dim light.
“This leads back to the eastern wing,” he says. “You’ll recognize the rest from there.”
I stare at the stairs, then back at him. “That’s it?”
Kael tilts his head. “Unless you want to stay here with me.”
A challenge? A joke? I can’t tell.
I shake my head, brushing past him. “Thanks for the exit, cryptic demon boy.”
His chuckle follows me up the steps. “Anytime, sunshine.”
