Chapter 5 KAI
LYRA
“I don’t care if it’s big or small,” she said, swinging our linked arms. “Just one that feels right. Like it sees me, you know? Not just the dress or the ribbons.”
I swallowed the ache in my throat. “Yeah. I know exactly what you mean.”
We reached the heart of the lower market, where the paths narrowed into a lively maze of tents and wooden stalls. The smell of honey cakes hit us first, warm, sweet, with hints of cinnamon and toasted nuts. Old Mira’s stall sat tucked between a spice merchant and a leatherworker, its awning faded but inviting.
A small line had formed, mostly locals and a few Academy servants in plain tunics.
“Stay here,” I told Selene. “I’ll get them. Pick out some ribbons from that stall over there while you wait, the one with the silk ones. I’ll be right back.”
Selene nodded, already drifting toward the ribbon display, her fingers brushing over colorful strips that shimmered in the light. I joined the line at Mira’s, my mind half on the cakes and half on the secret uniform waiting back home. One more day.
The thought made my stomach flutter with nerves and hope.
I was reaching for my small coin pouch when a familiar voice, low, teasing, and impossibly close, murmured right behind my ear.
“Still sneaking around for sweets, Lyra Voss? Some things never change.”
I startled, nearly dropping the coins. Before I could turn fully, strong arms wrapped around me from behind in a quick, warm hug that lifted me slightly off the ground. The scent of clean leather and faint ozone like the air after a storm filled my nose. Black hair brushed my cheek as the person pulled back just enough for me to see his face.
Kai.
His green eyes sparkled with mischief, the same vivid shade I remembered from childhood, though now they carried a sharper edge, tempered by years at the Academy. His black hair was tousled, longer than I recalled, falling messily over his forehead in a way that looked effortlessly charming rather than unkempt.
He wore plain clothes, a simple dark tunic and trousers that blended with the market crowd, no rider insignia in sight. But there was no hiding the confident set of his shoulders or the subtle strength in his build from years of flight training.
“Kai?” I breathed, a grin breaking across my face despite the surprise. It had been a full year since I’d last seen him, maybe longer, if you counted real time together and not just quick waves across crowded squares.
We’d grown up side by side, from sticky fingered kids chasing each other through the alleys until I was fourteen and he turned seventeen. That was the year he stood for the Choosing and got bonded with his dragon, Zephyr. Everything changed after that.
Three years at the Academy, his father’s legendary status pulling him into the spotlight. Ripples turned into waves, stories of his skill in training flights, his steady hand with even the most temperamental winds. He barely left the Academy walls anymore.
I hugged him back fiercely, my arms wrapping around his middle. He felt solid, real in a way the distant roars from the training fields never quite captured. “I can’t believe it’s you. Here, of all places. Sneaking around like the rest of us common folk?”
Kai laughed, a warm rumble that vibrated through his chest. He released the hug but kept one hand on my shoulder, green eyes scanning my face like he was memorizing changes.
“Guilty. Father’s got me running errands for some ‘discreet’ supplies. Thought I’d blend in without the uniform drawing attention. But then I spotted that unmistakable purple hair cutting through the crowd. Couldn’t resist.”
I self-consciously tucked a dark violet strand behind my ear, feeling the familiar weirdness of it against my skin. “Unmistakable, huh? Lucky me. Most days it just gets me weird looks.”
“Not from me,” he said softly, his grin turning genuine. “It’s good to see you, Lyra. Really good. It’s been too long.”
“Way too long,” I agreed, my voice catching a little. The market noise faded into the background, the chatter of vendors, the clink of coins, the distant call of a street musician.
Memories flooded in: us as kids, sharing stolen apples from the upper orchards, him teaching me how to skip stones across the river while I braided wildflowers into his hair just to annoy him. Then the gap after his Choosing, letters that grew shorter, visits that never quite happened because Academy rules and expectations swallowed him whole.
Selene appeared at my side then, her yellow hair bright against the market bustle. She carried a small bundle of ribbons, pinks and silvers peeking from the wrapping.
Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink when she saw Kai, eyes widening with obvious admiration. “Kai? Oh—hi. It’s been ages.”
Kai turned his charming smile on her, polite and easy. “Selene, right? Looking more grown up every time I see you. Excited for the Choosing?”
Selene nodded, twisting the ribbon bundle in her hands. “Very. Mother’s been preparing nonstop. Lyra’s helping with… gifts.” Her blush deepened, and she glanced at me quickly before looking back at him. It was subtle, but I caught it, the way her gaze lingered on his black hair, the rugged line of his jaw, those green eyes that seemed to pull people in without effort.
Who wouldn’t like Kai? He had that effortless presence, the kind made from confidence and competence. Handsome in a charming, slightly rugged way, like he belonged equally on the back of a dragon or wandering a market stall.