Chapter 24

Tori’s POV

I blinked again, and he was gone.

One second, Kieran stood right there, untouched by the chaos, his dark cloak falling perfectly over his shoulders while everyone else ran like their lives depended on it.

The next second, there was nothing but bodies crashing into each other and voices rising in panic.

My heart started racing.

No, he had to be around. He couldn’t have gone that far already. I was sure I was right and my eyes wouldn’t deceive me this way.

I turned sharply, my eyes searching through the crowd, my breathing uneven as I pushed past people without thinking.

"Kieran..." I called under my breath, my fingers trembling slightly as I moved.

Someone shoved into me from behind, and I stumbled forward, barely catching myself. My chest tightened as I kept looking, scanning every face, every movement

He couldn’t have just disappeared, my stomach twisted at the thought of it.

"Kieran!" I tried again, louder this time, but my voice got swallowed by the noise around me.

"Tori!"

I froze at the sound of my name. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

I turned quickly, relief hitting me as I spotted Laura making her way toward me, her hair slightly out of place, her breathing uneven like she had been running.

"Laura!" I rushed to her, grabbing onto her arm without thinking, my fingers tightening around her sleeve.

"Are you okay?" she asked immediately.

"Did you see him?" I asked, my words coming out too fast. "A man! he was standing there. Everyone was running but he didn’t move."

She frowned slightly. "Who?"

"He was dressed in black," I continued, my voice dropping a little as the image replayed in my head. "He was just staring at me."

Her expression changed, but it was quick.

"I didn’t see anyone like that," she said slowly.

My grip loosened slightly.

"No! He was there," I insisted, even though doubt started creeping in. "I saw him."

She didn’t argue.

She just watched me for a second, like she was trying to understand something I couldn’t explain myself.

My chest still felt tight as we stood there, the noise slowly fading behind us.

"We have to go back now, an explosion happened and it’s too dangerous for us to be here." Laura urged, her voice interrupting my thoughts.

*****

By the time we got back, Kael was already waiting. The moment his eyes landed on me, something shifted.

He moved toward me immediately, his steps quick, controlled, but the tension around him was impossible to miss.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

His voice was low, but it hit hard.

I blinked, still trying to process everything. "Tell you what?"

"That you were going out," he snapped, his jaw tightening.

"I was with Laura—"

"That’s not the point." The way he cut me off made my chest tighten.

He wasn’t yelling. He didn’t need to and why he was over reacting though? The anger sat right under his skin, sharp and controlled.

I glanced at Laura without meaning to. I saw her facial expression, she took in a deep breath while her eye blinked faster than usual.

The warmth from earlier wasn’t there anymore, and I didn’t know why that bothered me as much as it did.

It seemed like Kael heard everything that happened when we were outside. I watched as she walked away while Kael still scolded me. What was she probably thinking?

*******

Later that night, I sat on the bed, my fingers pressing lightly into the sheets as my thoughts refused to settle.

Kieran.

Everything that has happened today was refusing to leave my head

I exhaled slowly, leaning back slightly, staring at the ceiling without really seeing it. The door opened without a knock.

I didn’t need to turn to know it was him.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice quieter now, but steady.

Kael stepped in and shut the door behind him, his presence filling the room instantly.

"I want to see that man again," I said, sitting up properly, my eyes finally meeting him. "The one from the competition. Nicholas or whatever your brother called him."

His gaze darkened slightly.

"No.

Just one word, and it seemed like he wasn’t really going to do it.

My brows pulled together. "What do you mean no? I really need to, it involves my life and that’s how important it is."

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he reached for his shirt and pulled it off in one smooth motion like it meant nothing.

My breath hitched before I could stop it.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my fingers tightening slightly on the bed. "This isn’t your room."

"I know." His voice stayed calm. "I’m sleeping here tonight."

My heart skipped.

"What?"

But he was already walking toward me. His strides were slow and gentle, and that made me wonder what he was really doing here. Each one makes the air feel heavier.

My back straightened without me realizing, my body reacting before my mind could catch up.

"Kael..." I started, but my voice didn’t sound as strong as I wanted it to.

He stopped right in front of me, and he was close enough for me to feel the warmth coming off his skin, he was close enough to make it hard to think straight.

"You keep asking questions you shouldn’t," he said quietly, his eyes locked on mine.

"And you keep hiding things you shouldn’t," I shot back, even though my fingers had curled slightly into the sheets.

Something flickered in his gaze. His hands reached to my face rubbing his palm across, his fingers moved slowly under my chin enough to tilt my chin upward so I had no choice but to look at him properly.

My breath caught.

"Then stop looking," he murmured.

"I can’t," I whispered before I could stop myself.

The words hung between us.

His eyes dropped to my lips for a second, and that was all it took.

Something snapped. He closed the distance without warning.

His lips crashed against mine, hard, sudden, like he had been holding back for too long.

My body tensed instantly, my hands pressing against his chest, but I didn’t push him away.

I couldn’t.

My breath hitched against his as the kiss deepened, messy, desperate, pulling something out of me I didn’t want to acknowledge.

"Fuck you, Kael," I breathed out against his lips when we broke for air, my voice shaking.

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth before he leaned in again, slower this time, but just as intense.

My fingers tightened in his hair before I even realized what I was doing, my body giving in while my mind tried to fight it.

We finally fell back onto the bed, tangled in each other, my heart was racing for reasons I didn’t want to admit.

His hand reached for the rope that was attached to my tunic losing it, his lips sucked mine while he did. I eventually gave in to him this way and I hated the fact that I still couldn’t stop it.

My hands clenched to the sheet while our body rubbed against each other aggressively. Moan escaped from my mouth, while arms found its way back to his body pulling him closer.

He paused. His eyes were staring deep into mine. He fell to the other side of the bed, our breathe panting.

Fuck me! I promised Laura I wouldn’t do this