Chapter 7: Watching Her Sleep

Kairos’ POV

I had been standing outside Elara Blackthorn's cell for nearly an hour, and I was beginning to question my own judgment.

The girl was asleep on the narrow cot, curled on her side with one hand tucked beneath her cheek. She had cried herself to exhaustion, judging by the redness around her eyes and the way her face tightened occasionally even in sleep. I should have been satisfied with seeing her locked away until the Elders could determine what she was.

Instead, I found myself studying her, trying to reconcile the frightened girl in front of me with the creature that had shattered a forbidden energy orb in the middle of the academy's grand demonstration.

I had seen the silver light spread across her skin. I had watched her move with a speed that no ordinary human could possess, striking the orb with enough force to break it apart and redirecting the remaining energy before it could destroy everything in its path. I had felt the strange pull inside my chest when she did it, and Klyrax had reacted so violently that I had struggled to keep my wolf from surfacing in front of the entire school. Whatever Elara was, she was not what Harlan Blackthorn had led me to believe I would receive.

She is ours, Klyrax insisted.

I clenched my jaw. I still couldn’t be sure.

I had already spent the better part of the evening arguing with him about that ridiculous conclusion. A mate was supposed to strengthen my position, someone whose lineage and abilities could stand beside mine without threatening the stability of my pack. Elara had spent years being treated as a human servant, and until today, everyone at the academy had believed the same thing about her. I had no reason to accept that she was the woman I had been promised simply because my wolf had taken an inexplicable interest in her.

And for what it was worth, she could still be a freckle human being and what we had witnessed was just something we needed an explanation for.

Yet I could not dismiss what I had witnessed.

Elara shifted on the cot, drawing her knees closer to her body. The movement pulled her dress tightly around her injured arm, and I noticed the faint swelling near her wrist, most likely from where one of the guards had handled her roughly. I remembered the way she had looked at me when they took her away. She had expected me to stop them, perhaps because I had stopped Lila from striking her. I had seen the question in her face, but I had deliberately given her no answer.

What was I supposed to tell her? That I could barely tolerate being near her without Klyrax demanding that I claim her? That every instinct in me insisted she was important, while every rational thought warned me that something about her was wrong?

I turned away from the cell, intending to leave before the guards noticed how long I had been standing there although they were clearly unaware of my presence. I was the shadow; the true god alpha. I had barely taken two steps when a familiar voice interrupted me.

"Well, this is interesting."

I looked over my shoulder to find Draven Kane leaning against the opposite wall, his arms folded across his chest. His expression carried the sort of amusement that usually preceded trouble, and his gaze moved from me to the cell before returning to my face.

"I didn't know the mighty Kairos Vale had developed an interest in imprisoned servants," he remarked. "Should I inform the Elders that you've taken up visiting the academy's cells despite their warnings that everyone stay away from the “human” girl, or would you prefer to keep this particular hobby to yourself?"

"Go find something useful to do, Draven."

He laughed quietly and pushed away from the wall, approaching the bars with the casual confidence of someone who had never learned to respect another person's boundaries. Elara did not wake, though she moved slightly when his voice carried into the cell. Draven examined her for a moment, and the amusement in his expression sharpened into interest.

"So this is the girl who caused all that commotion today. I must admit, I expected something more impressive after watching half the academy nearly lose its mind over her." He tilted his head, studying her more closely. "Still, I suppose appearances can be deceiving. Particularly when a certain Alpha starts behaving strangely around her."

I stepped between him and the cell.

"Whatever you're thinking, forget it."

Draven's eyebrows rose. "Thinking? I haven't said anything remotely offensive. I was merely admiring the academy's newest mystery." His gaze slid toward the sleeping Elara again, and a slow smile appeared on his face. "Though I understand the appeal now. There's something rather entertaining about a girl everyone considers worthless suddenly turning out to be far more interesting than any of them imagined."

"She's not your concern."

"That almost sounded like a claim."

I grabbed the front of his shirt and shoved him against the stone wall. The guards at the far end of the corridor immediately turned toward us, but neither approached. Draven was one of the Seven, and they knew better than to interfere in a dispute between us unless an Elder ordered them to do so.

"Listen carefully," I told him. "I have no patience for your games tonight. Stay away from her, and keep your mouth shut about whatever you think you've discovered."

Draven glanced down at my fist gripping his shirt before looking back at me. He wasn't frightened. If anything, he seemed pleased that I had lost my temper so quickly.

"You're taking this rather personally," he observed. "Is there something you'd like to tell me, Kairos? Perhaps Klyrax has finally found a mate and you don't know how to handle the situation."

My grip tightened.

"Don't presume to know anything about my wolf."

"Then stop acting as though the girl belongs exclusively to you."

The words silenced me for a moment. Draven used the opportunity to straighten his shirt as I released him, and the amusement on his face gradually gave way to something more deliberate. He reached inside his jacket and withdrew a folded parchment, keeping it in his hand while watching my reaction.

"I believe you and I need to discuss something," he said.

"It concerns our mutual friend, Harlan Blackthorn."

No...