Page 87 of The Bound Blood
I wet my lips. “Are you… okay?”
Kael’s jaw tightens for half a second—barely visible—before his expression smooths again.
“I’m fine.”
But his shadows twitch—as though they know the truth.
He looks at the patrol schedule still in my hand. “Your first patrol is tonight. Who are you with?”
“With Dorian,” Raiden mutters under his breath.
Kael’s eyes shift slightly, a slight calculation happening behind them. As if he is weighing Dorian’s name and coming to some kind of decision.
“He won’t hurt you,” Kael says. His tone makes it sound like a fact.
But he doesn’t sayI’ll be there if you need me.He doesn’t sayI’ll watch from the shadows.He doesn’t sayyou won't be alone.He just stands there, and it feels as if something inside my chest pulls taut. Jesus, he shows me the tiniest bit of kindness and I feel like a girl just waiting on more of the same, when he’s been cryptic more than not.
“Right,” I say softly. “Good.”
Kael nods once. “Stay aware tonight.”
Then he steps back into the shadows—or maybe the shadows step around him—and he’s gone.
Raiden exhales. “Something’s off with him.”
No. Something’s offbetween us.And it’s hard not to feel like it’s my fault.
Nolan gives me a worried look. Mira frowns at her book, then at me, then at the empty spot where Kael vanished.
I try to breathe around the knot forming in my chest. “He was fine when he left us yesterday,” I say quietly. “Or… he seemed fine. I don’t know what changed.”
Raiden rubs the back of his neck. “Do you think he found something he’s not sharing with us?”
Nolan hesitates, shifting the book on the table. “He might. If it was to protect you, he absolutely would.” He glances at me, expression softening. “You should have seen him when we were fighting off the Veil creatures. I wasn’t sure he’d ever let you out of his sight.”
Heat flickers in my chest.
Nolan adds, “It looked like he was afraid something would happen to you the second he blinked.”
I swallow hard. I can’t imagine that.
Mira taps her pencil absently. “He didn’t really look angry,” she says. “Just… somewhere else.”
Raiden sighs. “He’s not good with emotions. Or people. Or communicating. Or…” He waves a hand vaguely. “Anything.”
That actually earns a tiny laugh from me, even though it hurts.
“I’ll talk to him later,” I say. “Or try.”
THIRTY-TWO
LINDSAY
The first roundof patrols begins after sundown, and the academy grounds feel different once darkness settles in. Lanterns glow pale and steady along the paths, casting long shadows across the courtyard. Students move in pairs, all of them hushed and on edge.
Raiden walks beside me toward the eastern wardline, where Dorian said he would meet me. His steps are steady but tighter than usual, his hands flexing at his sides. He hasn’t said much since dinner. He doesn’t have to. The tension rolls off him in waves.
He keeps glancing at me, then away, then back again.
