“Why are you all wet?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer. He just stares past me as if I never said a word. The silence stretches. I slip away to grab a small towelfrom the hidden latrine in the back, thinking maybe if I help, he’ll talk?
When I come back, he hasn’t moved. I gently dab at his shoulders, careful not to press too hard. Only the top half of him is soaked—his hair, his shirt, dripping water as if he’s been plunged headfirst. As I press the towel against the edge of his sleeve, the fabric shifts just enough for me to see it: a deep bruise, blooming purple and yellow on his upper arm.
I pause.
But Kai jerks away as if I’ve burned him.
“Drop it,” he snaps, pushing past me into the center of the study room.
“Kai,” I say, more firmly this time. “What happened?”
He whirls around. “I said drop it, alright?” His voice is sharp, but it wavers at the edges. I don’t move, I don’t look away. Instead, I lift my hand and whisper a small spell under my breath.A soft shimmer of warmth curls through the air. It wraps around him, the water evaporates from his hair and clothes in seconds, leaving him dry.
Kai goes still.
“It’s okay if you don’t wanna tell me,” I say. “But… You don’t have to push others away.”
His stare gets weird. Shiny, like he might cry, but not really. However, Dad shows up right at this instant, and I don’t say anything else.It’s gonna be a secret, just mine and Kai’s.Forever, if he wants.I won’t be another person who lets him down.
I snap backto the present in an instant. The vision passed much faster than I’m used to, and thank Kvirr,there’s no trace of it on my face this time. The General is still lost in his own thoughts. He frowns, not in confusion, but irritation. As if the answer is right on the tip of his tongue, and it drives him mad that he can’t figure it out.
“You remind me of someone,” he finally announces, his voice colder now. “Your father probably…” A bitter laugh slips out, and he exhales sharply through his nose, waving the thought away as if shaking loose a haunting ghost. The sneer returns, and I let out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
Shit.
That was a close call. My suspicion was right; the battle left a ripple in the spell.
“Except, of course, that doesn’t change the facts; you haven’t earned the privilege of being called a Legion. And you sure as hell don’t belong next to my son. He is destined for greatness. Do you really think someone like you, a mundane, can be next to him?” The General spits the last words, the air tinted with his disgust. I don’t move, but the fire inside me rises, and my chest begins to burn.
“You think he sees you as an equal?” The General’s voice is cruel, each word a calculated strike. “He sees a broken mess, a problem to fix. You don’t lift him, Miss Rey. You’re dead weight, a parasite he hasn’t figured out yet, is poisonous.” He steps in, his presence, his disdain—choking. “So here’s what’s going to happen. You’ll keep your distance. Stay in your lane. Do your job, if you can manage that much. And if you have even a shred of real care for Kai, you’ll walk away now before you ruin his future.” My pulse pounds in my ears, but I don’t flinch, and I can’t help but scoff at him.
The irony, his audacity, it’s sickening. This is it, I’ve had enough. Taking a step closer, eyes locked on his.
“You talk about belonging? About being a threat? You’re right. I don’t belong in your world of power plays and polished lies. And as for a threat… Trust me, you havenofucking idea what I’m capable of. But I do know what love looks like, and it sure as hell isn’t whatever twisted version you think you gave your son.” The General’s expression curdles, the mask finally cracking. His jaw clenches, eyes narrowing, a man staring down at something he judges beneath him, something he’s desperate to crush.
My expression doesn’t waver, head held high. “And yet, with everything you’ve moulded him into, every order, every expectation, the only time he ever looks free, happy…Truly.It’s when he’s with me.” I let the silence do its job before I coldly add. “You know why, General?” He doesn’t answer, mouth turned into a hard line.
“Because I see him, not as a weapon. Not as a legacy. As a person. Something you’ve never allowed him to be.” Randall’s expression darkens, but I don’t stop. “You didn’t raise a son. You raised a soldier who flinches when he talks about his childhood. Who carries every scar you carved into him and still tries to make you proud. That’s not greatness, it’s survival.” I ignore the warning, I continue, voice full of anger as the General’s expression gives way to the true monster he is. “You raised a weapon that still bleeds when no one’s looking. And that’s onyou.”
Something cracks behind his eyes. The General’s hand movessofast–but in an instant, Kai bursts in, a force of nature. Eyes wild, breath heavy, fury rolling off him in falls.
“Don’t you dare to fucking touch her!”
Before the General can react, Kai’s already on him. Slamming his father against the wall, thunder against the earth. Forearm across his throat, teeth bared in a snarl. The desk jolts, papers scatter, and trinkets crash to the ground. The General chokes onsurprise more than pain, but the fear in his eyes is unmistakable.Real terror, because this isn’t the boy he controlled with commands and consequences.
This is the weapon he made and can no longer control.
“I warned you,” Kai growls, voice shaking with restrained violence. “Not to touch her.”
“Kai—” I breathe, still frozen, still processing what just happened. But his focus doesn’t shift, not for a second.
“You’ve used fear your whole life as a leash,” he seethes, eyes burning into his father’s. “You trained me to follow orders, to silence myself, to crush emotion because it made meweak. But she—” he pauses, just for a second, breathing hard, “she showed me who I am outside your cage.” Kai shoves the General again.
“Kai, he’s not worth it,” I whisper, as my hand softly touches his arm. He pushes his father one last time before stepping back. Because Kai still knows how to choose restraint, even when his instinct demands otherwise.
The General gasps for air, straightening his uniform as if his pride isn’t cracked down the middle.“This isn’t over,” he rasps.
