And I’m not sure whether my heart is pounding harder from the knock—or from the almost-kiss I’m still drowning in.
Kael crosses the room in two long strides, shadows slipping off him like reluctant smoke. He pulls the door open.
Raiden pushes past him immediately—not aggressive toward Kael, just frantic, like he’s been holding his breath for hours. His eyes find me in an instant.
“Linds,” he exhales, voice cracking with relief. “You didn’t show after your rounds. I—I waited, and then when you didn’t come, I started looking everywhere. Are you okay?”
He looks wrecked. Sleepless. Haunted.
“I’m alright,” I promise softly.
Raiden drags a shaking hand through his hair. “I should’ve gone with you. I should’ve insisted. If something happened?—”
Kael steps forward.
“She wasn’t alone,” he says.
Raiden’s gaze snaps to him. “Yeah, I figured that out once I traced her scent here.”
A taut silence stretches.
Raiden crosses his arms, grounding himself. “I should’ve found her sooner. I should’ve come here first.”
Kael doesn’t blink. “Why would you? You had no reason to think she’d be with me.”
Raiden’s jaw tightens. “Clearly I should have.”
Kael lifts one shoulder in a slow, deliberate shrug, shadows curling faintly at his boots. “Are you jealous?”
Raiden lets out a short, scoffing breath. “Jealous? Of you?” He shakes his head. “No. I know you’re connected to her as much as I am.”
Kael’s expression doesn’t change, but something in the air tightens.
Raiden steps closer. “But you need to communicate better with the rest of us. When you have her, maybe send a message instead of vanishing with her.”
Kael’s eyes flick briefly to me, then back to Raiden.
“I wasn’t hiding her,” he says quietly. “I was taking care of her.”
Raiden swallows hard, the last of his adrenaline ebbing. “I know that.” His shoulders drop a fraction. “But I need to know she’s safe too.”
Kael’s stare softens by a degree—barely visible unless you’re looking for it.
“I hear you,” Kael says.
THIRTY-FIVE
LINDSAY
The campus is buzzingwith preparation that afternoon—sigils being repainted, lanterns being strung, fae muttering over ritual components I don’t recognize. Students move in brisk clusters, all sharpened by the same shared nerves.
Once Raiden saw I was safe, I practically shoved him toward his dorm and told him tosleep. Actual sleep. The kind where he closes his eyes and stops hovering like an overprotective magical gargoyle. Before turning to Kael and ordering him to sleep too.
They both resisted. Obviously. But they finally gave in.
Because patrols tonight? They aren’t romantic strolls under moonlight. They aredangerous.
And I need them rested. Ready.
