Lyra didn’t step back.
That was the first mistake.
Or maybe—
It wasn’t a mistake at all.
The silence between them deepened, thick with everything neither of them had said. Kael’s hand was still on her arm, warm, steady, grounding and unsettling at the same time.
“Lyra,” he said again, softer now.
She felt it.
Not just the pull.
Not just the tension.
Him.
Close enough that it was impossible to ignore.
Her breath slowed, but her heart didn’t. It pounded harder with every second they stayed like this, every second she didn’t move away.
“You should stop me,” she whispered.
But she didn’t mean it.
Kael’s gaze held hers. “You don’t want me to.”
It wasn’t a question.
Lyra didn’t answer.
Because she couldn’t.
Because he was right.
The truth sat there between them, unspoken but c
