Chapter 11 KIERAN'S CONFESSION
CHAPTER 011: KIERAN’S CONFESSION
The darkness disappear back to the light so fast. The shadow also disappear. The library was back to normal and papers scattered around us.
My chest heaved up and down in a fast motion. My hands tremble. Zev stood a few steps from me, his eyes sharp with instincts and alertness.
Sofia leaned on a shelf, breathing hard. She looked like she wanted to scream at someone, maybe both of us.
Then footsteps rushed toward us from outside the library.
“Thalira!” A voice called.
I turned and see Kieran standing at the entrance of the aisle. His hair was messy like someone who had been running. His amber eyes scanned the scene and landed on me.
“What happened?” He asked. His voice was deep but I felt the panic under it.
Zev stepped forward before I could speak. “She’s fine. I kept her safe as long as she's with me, so she's safe.”
Kieran shot him deadly glances. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
Sofia raised her hand. “Hold on can we not turn this into a bro fight Thalira almost got eaten by a ghost thing.”
Kieran’s gaze moved to her then back to me. He took a slow breath. “Are you hurt?”
I shook my head. “No I'm just shaken.”
He moved closer and stopped when Zev shifted beside me like a shadow refusing to leave.
Kieran ignored him. “We need to get you out of here, something is off in this place.”
“Really?” Sofia snorted. “Do you really think?”
Zev didn’t look amused. “The shadow wasn’t random. I think someone triggered it.”
Kieran’s eyes narrowed. “I don't understand, triggered it as how?”
Zev hesitated like he didn’t want to say too much. “She found something she wasn’t supposed to.”
Kieran turned to me. “What did you find?”
I opened my mouth to speak but Sofia stepped between us. “You can ask later but right now we're leaving.”
She grabbed my wrist, Zev moved to my other side, blocking the path that wasn’t the exit. Kieran watched us for a second, something strange in his stare. Then he turned away.
“I’ll check the rest of the library.” He said. “If someone’s still around I’ll find them.”
Sofia frowned. “Wait, are you going alone?”
“I’m not the one being hunted.” Kieran replied.
Zev’s voice dropped low. “Don’t get careless.”
Kieran didn’t look back. “Just keep her safe.”
Sofia let out a small breath. “He’ll be fine. Let’s move before something else wakes up.”
We left the archive room, we shut the door and I glanced back once, least expecting the shadow to reach out again.
Zev walked close quietly. There was something in the way he moved that wasn’t his usual smooth confidence. He felt tense like he was listening to the building breathe.
Sofia bumped my shoulder. “Next time you want to uncover dark secrets maybe you should warn me first.”
I tried to smile but it came out thin.
When we finally stepped out of the library into the hall I felt my lungs again. Zev gave a short nod to Sofia.
“I’ll take her from here.” He said.
Sofia glanced between us then shrugged. “Fine, but if anyone dies I’m haunting the both of you.”
She walked off, muttering something about needing snacks and sleep.
Zev looked at me. “You should rest. Your mind is stretched thin.”
I didn’t want to admit he was right. “What was that shadow?”
“A warning?” He said. “And a reminder.”
“For me?”
“For everyone watching you.”
I didn’t like the sound of that but before I could ask anything else he stepped back. His body blurred at the edges like smoke.
“Zev wait what aren’t you telling me?”
“Hmm… maybe everything?” He said softly. “And nothing you’re ready for.”
He vanished into the night leaving behind that faint scent of jasmine.
I stood alone for a moment before heading to my room. My thoughts run until sleep finally dragged me under.
The next morning, I was tired and restless. The sunlight made everything look normal at the same time. I barely ate breakfast. Students whispered as I passed like they sensed something had changed.
By noon Kieran found me.
He stood at the classroom doorway, tall and quiet. His eyes met mine and something in my chest skipped.
“Come with me.” He said.
I followed him through the hall, up the stairwell, all the way to the rooftop. The wind was cool, brushing against my skin.
Kieran didn’t speak at first. He stood at the edge staring out at the distant mountains. His shoulders were tight. His hands were folded in fists.
I stepped closer. “You said you wanted to talk.”
He nodded but didn’t turn yet. “I needed a place no one could listen to what I'm about to say.”
“What’s going on?”
When he finally looked at me his eyes glowed faint amber. His wolf was close to the surface.
He took a slow breath. “Last night… when I saw you in that state… something inside me snapped.”
“I’m fine.” I said quietly.
“You almost died.” He said. His voice cracked a little. “Again.”
“Kieran what are you talking about?”
He moved toward me.
“You think what Zev said was shocking. You have no idea.”
My pulse quickened. “Then tell me.”
He looked at my face with a softness. “Fifty years ago I saw you burn.”
My breath stuck. “What?”
“You died in the courtyard.” He said. “Trying to save someone. Trying to save us. I was seventeen. I tried to reach you but the fire wouldn’t let me in. I heard you scream and I couldn’t do anything.”
His voice broke on the last word. I’d never heard him sound like that. The strong calm Kieran was gone. This was someone crushed under memories.
I felt my hands tremble. “I don’t remember. I don’t remember any of it.”
“You’re not supposed to.” He said. “The academy covered it. Ravencroft erased everything but I remember every second. The smell of the smoke. The way you looked back at me before the flames took you.”
His eyes glowed brighter. “Something in me died with you.”
My throat burned. “How are you still here? You should have aged.”
He shook his head. “I stopped aging the night you died. My wolf froze. My body froze. I’m stuck at seventeen because the moment you were gone nothing moved forward for me.”
My chest tightened painfully. “Kieran…”
“When you came back this year.” He whispered. “When you walked into the academy again… something woke up. I felt it. Like a heartbeat after years of nothing.”
He moved closer until I could feel the heat of him. His hand lifted but he stopped before touching me.
“Can I?” He asked.
I nodded without thinking.
His hands cupped my face gently like he feared I’d disappear again. His thumbs brushed my cheeks. The wind blew around us. My heart beat so loud I wondered if he could hear it.
“I won’t let you die again.” He said. His voice was low and fierce and soft all at once.
Before I could breathe he kissed me.
It wasn’t slow. It wasn’t shy. It was desperate and hungry, like he’d waited fifty years for this moment.
His lips pressed against mine with a heat that made my knees weak. His hands held me like I was the only thing keeping him alive. I grabbed his shirt tight pulling him closer because something inside me answered him without understanding why.
He kissed me like a memory trying to claw its way back into the world.
When he finally pulled back our breaths tangled in the cold air, our forehead touching.
“I lost you once.” He whispered. “I’ll burn the world before I lose you again.”
The rooftop door slammed open.
Zev stood there.
His eyes glowed with something dark.
“Kieran.” He said. “Step away from her.”
Kieran turned slightly shielding me behind him.
“No.” He said. “Not this time.”
Zev’s voice chilled the air.
“She isn’t yours.”
Kieran growled low from his chest. “And she was never yours.”
Something old and dangerous stirred between them.
Then Zev looked at me.
“Thalira. You need to choose.” He stepped forward. “Between Kieran and I, who will you choose?"