Chapter 5 - No Escape.

His fingers brush my wrist and everything Stops.

It’s like a shock runs through me. Not painful. Just… overwhelming. My breath catches, my body goes still, and for a split second, the world narrows down to that single point of contact.

What the hell was that?

He pulls back like he’s been burned. His entire expression changes.

Cold, sharp and dangerous.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he says, his voice darker and cold now. “Binding magic. Trying to confuse me.”

I blink at him. “What?”

Magic?

Is he actually serious right now? I’m the one that was kidnapped, accused of being a spy and now magic? What the hell is going on here. And here I thought I was the weird one.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, completely thrown.

But he’s not listening.

He’s watching me like I’ve just confirmed something terrible.

Okay… this man is insane.

A sharp knock cuts through the tension before I can say anything else.

Tyson turns slightly, his focus shifting instantly.

The door opens and Aiden walks in, looking tense.

“There’s movement at the eastern boundary,” he says quickly. “Five of them. They’re not hiding.”

My body goes cold.

Five.

Of course, of course they found me. They always do.

Tyson notices. I can feel his gaze snap back to me.

“They’re not rogues,” Aiden adds. “Not hunters either. I don’t recognize them.”

A chill runs down my spine. Something else.

Great.

Just what I needed.

Tyson’s expression hardens. “Get everyone ready. No one gets in.”

Aiden nods, but his eyes flick toward me. “What about her?”

There’s a pause. I hate that pause.

Tyson looks at me again, really looks. Like he’s trying to decide something important.

And I suddenly don’t like whatever conclusion he’s about to reach.

“She stays with me,” he says.

My head snaps up. “Excuse me? No, I..”

The air shifts again. But this time, It’s not him, it’s something else.

A low, distant sound rolls through the air, deep enough to vibrate in my chest. My breath catches, my instincts screaming before my mind can even catch up.

They’re here. How do they manage to find me every single time?

Tyson feels it too, I can see it in his eyes. But what makes my stomach drop… Is the way he looks at me.

“You said no one sent you, yet you lead them here. You lied,” he says quietly. “Of course all spies lies.”

I swallow hard. “I said no one sent me here, I never said no one was chasing me.”

Silence.

Aiden swears under his breath.

Tyson steps closer again, and this time I can’t ignore the way my body reacts tense, alert, but something else too… something I don’t want to name. Something like desire.

“If they’re here for you, then that means you led them here, whether you are a spy or not,” he says, his voice dangerously calm, “you’re not leaving my sight.”

I let out a shaky breath. “That’s not exactly comforting.”

He doesn’t respond. And the look in his eyes… it doesn’t tell me if I’m safer with him…

Or in even more danger.

For a second, no one moves, not me, not Tyson, not even Aiden. It’s like the whole world is holding its breath.

Then Tyson turns.

“Go,” he tells Aiden, his voice sharp, commanding. “Get everyone in position. No one engages until I say so.”

Aiden hesitates. His eyes flick to me again, full of distrust.

“I don’t like this,” he mutters.

“Noted,” Tyson replies coldly. “Now move.”

Aiden leaves.

The moment the door shuts, the room feels… different. Quieter, but somehow more dangerous. Because now it’s just me and him. And whatever the hell is happening between us.

“Tell me everything.” Sharp, straight to the point, brutal.

I push myself off the wall, ignoring the slight weakness in my legs. “Let’s get something straight,” I say, forcing strength into my voice. “I don’t know who those people are, but they’ve been chasing me for a year. I don’t lead them anywhere, I run from them.”

Tyson doesn’t respond immediately. He’s watching me again. Always watching. Like he’s trying to peel me open layer by layer.

“Why?” he asks finally.

One word.

I laugh under my breath, but there’s no humor in it. “If I knew, do you think I’d still be running?”

His gaze narrows slightly. He believes I’m hiding something.

Maybe I am.

Just not on purpose.

“I’ve been to seven different places,” I continue, my voice quieter now, more real. “Different cities. Different jobs, different names sometimes. They always find me.”

A flicker of something crosses his face. Concern?

No, probably calculation.

“You expect me to believe you’re just… unlucky?” he asks.

I shrug. “At this point, yeah. That or cursed.”

Silence again. Then…

“Come here.”

I blink. “What?”

His tone hardens. “I said come here.”

Yeah, no.

I cross my arms. “I think I’ll stay right here.”

His eyes darken. And then he moves.

Too fast.

One second he’s across the room, the next he’s right in front of me, his hand gripping my arm, not painfully, but firmly enough to remind me I can’t fight him if he really tries.

“Hey!..”

“Be still,” he says.

And something in his voice… It makes me obey.

I hate that. Hate it. But I freeze anyway.

His other hand lifts slowly, hesitating just a fraction before hovering near my neck.

I can feel the heat of his skin without him even touching me.

“What are you…”

His fingers press lightly against my throat.

And everything goes quiet. Not outside. Inside me.

Like something just… clicked.

But as much this weird stranger’s touch makes me feel as if I have found what my soul has been yearning, searching for, I can’t forget the fact that my enemies who want my head, are just outside waiting for Tyson.

Is he going to hand me over to them,

Though the real question should be, is Tyson a part of them?