CHAPTER 26 — QUIET WATCHER
Night draped itself over the fortress like a heavy cloak, muffling sound and softening light. The hallways felt colder, sharper, as if Lysandra's presence still lingered in the stones.
Aria sat on her bed with her knees pulled close, staring at the moonlight spilling through the window. She hadn't spoken much since the confrontation earlier. Every time she remembered Lysandra's voice — "You don't belong here." — her chest tightened all over again.
Seraphina had already finished her duties and slipped away hours ago, leaving the room too quiet, too still.
Aria rubbed her arms, trying to shake off the chill.
She didn't hear the footsteps outside her room. Not the soft shift of weight beside her door. Not the faintest exhale of someone standing just on the other side.
Kael.
He'd walked past her chamber twice already, telling himself he was simply patrolling, checking the wards after his sister's unexpected arrival.
But each time, his feet brought him right back to her door.
He didn't knock.He didn't enter.He just stood there — listening.
He could hear her heartbeat.
Soft. Unsteady.A little too fast.
She was frightened again.
He hated that he could tell.
Kael closed his eyes briefly. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't care. He shouldn't feel that tight coil of anger in his chest every time he replayed Lysandra's words — the way she looked at Aria like something unworthy, something disposable.
His fingers curled around the doorframe.
Inside, Aria whispered to herself, barely audible:
"…maybe she's right."
The words pierced Kael sharper than claws.
Aria didn't know he heard them. Couldn't know.
He took a slow breath, trying to force logic over the heat in his blood. She was human — fragile, unused to wolf politics, freshly traumatized, surrounded by people who didn't want her there. of course she felt misplaced.
But hearing her doubt herself…
That struck him in a place he didn't have a name for.
Aria shifted on the bed, hugging her knees tighter. "I don't belong anywhere," she breathed.
Kael's jaw clenched. He stepped closer to the door before he even realized he'd moved.
He almost knocked.
For the briefest moment, his knuckles hovered inches from the wood. He imagined her turning toward him, startled. He imagined telling her—what? That she was safe? That she mattered? That Lysandra's words meant nothing?
He didn't know.He wasn't good with softness.But something inside him longed to try.
Aria sniffed quietly, wiping her face with the back of her hand.
Kael's chest tightened.
He lowered his hand, letting it fall uselessly at his side.
He wasn't ready.Not yet.Not when the council questioned him, the borders trembled, and danger was slithering too close to Aria already.
If he stepped inside now… he wouldn't maintain the distance he needed.
Instead, he placed one palm gently against the door. Just a touch. Just enough for him to feel the faint warmth of her presence.
"You're not alone," he whispered under his breath — words only the empty hallway heard.
Then he forced himself to step away.
Aria looked up abruptly, sensing something. The room felt different for a moment — warmer, less suffocating, as if a presence had just left.
She rose from the bed slowly, walking to the door. Her hand hovered over the handle. A strange calm washed over her — fleeting but real.
She wasn't sure why.
But for the first night since she arrived…
She didn't feel entirely abandoned.