Chapter 39 A Hidden Bond
The late afternoon sun filtered through the tall, arched windows of the castle corridors, casting long shadows on the cold stone floor. Liora’s heart raced as she crept along the hallway near the library, clutching a small, wriggling bundle in her arms. Its tiny wings fluttered against her chest, soft and delicate, and she felt a shiver of both awe and fear.
“What is that?” a low, familiar voice asked from behind her.
Liora jumped slightly, nearly losing her grip on the creature. “Mattheo! Don’t—don’t startle me!”
He stepped closer, dark robes flowing, expression unreadable as he leaned against the wall. “I didn’t startle you enough?” His voice held that calm, teasing edge she had learned to recognize, the one that could make her nerves flutter and her pulse quicken simultaneously.
“I… I found it,” she admitted, lowering her voice. “In the courtyard. It… it looked hurt.” She held the small creature—a moon-coloured flitterpuff, rare and delicate—closer. Its tiny eyes blinked at her, and its wings shivered, barely strong enough to flutter.
Mattheo’s sharp gaze softened, and he stepped forward, careful not to frighten the creature—or her. “You shouldn’t have taken it out here,” he said, almost admonishing, yet there was no true anger in his tone. “It could have flown off—or someone could’ve seen you.”
“I couldn’t just leave it,” she whispered. “It looked… vulnerable.”
He nodded slowly, crouching beside her. “Good instinct,” he said quietly, almost to himself. “But instinct alone isn’t enough. You need caution, too.”
Liora glanced at him, surprised by the rare praise. “Caution?” she repeated, her eyes wide.
“Yes,” he said, studying the creature as she held it. “Magic draws attention. Even small, seemingly harmless things. That’s why you need to think ahead.”
She nodded, realizing he was right, though the fluttering in her chest made it difficult to focus on anything else. There was something about the way he moved—silent, precise, protective—that made her feel simultaneously exposed and safe.
“Where should we hide it?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Mattheo scanned the corridor, eyes narrowing as if the shadows themselves could give him answers. Then he pointed to a nearby alcove, hidden from the main pathway. “There,” he said. “No one should find it here. Quick, place it gently.”
Liora stepped into the shadowed nook, pressing the small creature against the folds of her robes. Mattheo’s hands hovered near hers, fingers brushing the edge of the fabric as he guided her movement. The proximity sent a shiver down her spine.
“Careful,” he murmured. “It’s fragile.”
“I know,” she said, trying not to betray how aware she was of his closeness.
Together, they lowered the flitterpuff into a shallow nest of enchanted leaves Mattheo conjured with a flick of his wand. The creature settled, its wings folding neatly against its tiny body. Liora exhaled, relief and excitement flooding her chest.
“You did well,” Mattheo said quietly, standing and brushing a bit of dust from his robes. His eyes, dark and intense, lingered on hers. “It’s safe… for now.”
Liora smiled, feeling a warmth bloom between them. “Thanks… for helping me. I didn’t… I mean, I couldn’t have done it alone.”
He tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “I know,” he said. “And that’s why I’m here.”
They lingered in the alcove, the small space feeling impossibly intimate. Neither spoke for a moment, just breathing in the quiet, listening to the faint rustle of the flitterpuff’s wings. Liora felt the electricity in the air, a charged anticipation neither fully understood.
As she reached to adjust the creature’s blanket of leaves, her hand moved closer to Mattheo’s. His hand, in turn, hovered near hers, as if drawn by some invisible force neither of them could resist. Their fingers trembled on the edge of contact, almost touching, but not quite. The tiny gap between them felt enormous, magnetic, and full of possibility.
Liora’s heart pounded. Why does it feel like this… like something is waiting to happen?
Mattheo’s gaze flicked downward for a brief second, and she could see the faintest trace of a smile. He knew. Or maybe he didn’t, and that made it even more intense. Neither of them moved, and yet the near-touch created a shared tension that was palpable—an unspoken acknowledgment of their growing connection.
Finally, Liora stepped back slightly, allowing space between them, though the warmth of the moment lingered. “We should go,” she whispered. “Before someone finds us.”
He nodded, though his eyes never left hers. “Yes… before someone ruins our little secret.”
As they walked silently back toward their respective common rooms, Liora couldn’t shake the memory of the alcove, the hidden creature, and the almost-touch. It lingered in her mind like a charm, bright and undeniable, and she realized with a thrill that this shared secret had created something more than just intimacy—it had created trust, closeness, and the faintest spark of something that might grow into… more.
And somewhere in the shadowed corners of her thoughts, she could feel that Mattheo was thinking the same thing.