She nodded slowly, the memory slotting into place. “I was. Sort of.” After she realized what she’d done to Jake and those boys, she couldn’t get out of bed for days.
“I tried to find you again after I came back,” he said. “But you were always busy, and it was obvious you didn’t recognize me. So when I ran into Mel in the hallway—and then you—it felt like...like maybe the universe wasn’t done with us.”
“Maybe you’re right,” she said, and closed her eyes again.
She could hear the guitar again. Someone else calling his name.
“Give me a sec!” Kian’s voice, muffled. When he came back, it was softer. “Sorry. I have to go.”
Her chest squeezed. If everything went right somehow,he might no longer orbit her at all. He had his own life—already. A future she wasn’t sure she had a place in. And what about hers? For so long, it had pointed west. To Caltech and its clear skies and certainty.
But lately, even that felt less... fixed.
Kian’s voice dropped into something quieter, almost nervous.
“Hey, Riya?”
“Yes?”
“I promise I got you, okay?” he said. “No matter what happens. I’ve got a plan. So...” He took a breath. “Just—please trust me and wait.”
Riya’s brows furrowed. She wanted to ask what he meant. She wanted answers, more certainty.
But there was something in his voice tonight. Not curse-born certainty, but something raw and human.
Maybe her khala was right. Maybe magic didn’t bow to logic; maybe it only answered to belief. To the reckless, impossible act of trusting someone—against all odds—until you couldn’t quite remember what it felt like not to.
“...I’ll try,” Riya said softly. She stared at the faint reflection of her face in the darkened window. “Good night, Kian.”
“Good night, Riya.”
The call ended with a soft click. But her hand lingered on the cool surface of the table, as if some part of her was still reaching for him.
Then she crossed to the window, pressing her fingersagainst the glass. The stars shimmered beyond the glass, distant and untouchable—just like they’d always been.
Maybe this time, she’d meet the magic halfway.
Maybe this time, she wouldn’t run.
Chapter 33
Backstage was chaos.
Lights flared, props clattered, voices echoed off the rafters. Stagehands rushed to adjust lighting and speakers. A member of the Techno Appreciation Society dropped a cable with a loud thud, causing a student magician to curse under his breath. Somewhere, a fog machine wheezed ominously.
And amid it all, Riya moved with precision. Laser-focused. Heart thrumming. It was Monday, the 26th. The Talent Show.
She had memorized the set list. Checked every mic, every light cue, every performer’s name. Her clipboard was worn soft at the corners from so much flipping and scribbling. Snacks? Stocked. Lint rollers? Accounted for. Safety pins? More than strictly necessary.
Everything was in place. Everything except, of course, Quin.
“I should have signed up to do a performance, too,” they announced, sauntering in with coffee like they hadn’t just missed final call. “Wouldn’t it have been great if Student Council did an opening skit? Give the people what they want?”
“The show begins in fifteen minutes,” Riya replied without looking up from her clipboard.
“Exactly. So we’ve got time.”
Riya ignored them and checked her phone again. But no message from Kian. No update. No sign of him in the wings. And the longer the silence stretched, the more it pressed at her ribs.
