Chapter 34 Chapter 34

Chapter 34 Chapter 34
Liora's POV

He let go of my wrist, which had now turned slightly red from how tight he was holding it but I paid it no attention.
I was determined to know exactly what was making him lash out.

“Not everything is about you, Liora,” he said and I scowled.

“I know that!” I retorted, choosing not to let the statement offend me.

“Are you sure?! Because you are definitely making this about you”

“I'm not! You are! You're the one taking whatever this is out on me, so tell me if I'm wrong to think it has something to do with me”

Silence crashed between us.
He looked away.

My wings slowly lowered.
“So, tell me now. What happened this morning?” I asked softly.

“Family,” he finally said, a sigh following suit, “And they don’t like surprises.”
Oh.

That… made a terrifying amount of sense.

I let out a harsh breath, and sucked in a full one.

I looked around us, and spotted a jagged pavement of rock.

I reached out to him and pulled his hand, “Come on”

He followed me, barely pulling back.

I led him over to the jagged slab of rock near the cave wall and sat down first, tugging him with me. He hesitated, for just a second, before he finally lowered himself beside me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.
I picked at a loose thread on my glove, pretending my heart wasn’t trying to escape my ribs.

I studied him again, and my eyes traced his face. Up close, the messiness was worse.
Dark circles under his eyes, a cut at the corner of his mouth, random bruises here and there…

I felt protective all of a sudden and all I wanted to do was find whoever laid a finger on him and return the energy ten fold.

“I don't think I've ever seen a single bruise on you, Kysen. What happened?” I asked and he sighed.

“Did they find out about us and our meetings?” I asked quietly, as it dawned on me that it might be a possibility.

His shoulders stiffened.

“No,” he said. “Well, somewhat”

“That’s not comforting.”

He huffed a humorless breath. “It wasn’t meant to be.”

“They started talking about my future,” he started, “About alliances, expectations. The usual Dravon nonsense.”

My jaw tightened as I realized exactly what he meant.
“Marriage.”

He didn’t answer right away.
Which was actually answer enough.

“I shut it down,” he said eventually. “And attempted to walk out in the middle of it.”

“Sounds very on brand for you,” I muttered.

That earned the faintest twitch of his mouth. Then it vanished.
“Then, they mentioned you,” he added. “And they were definitely not happy”

Dear Green.

“What did they say?” I asked and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Someone told them we've been hanging out,” he explained and I sighed, as I picked at my fingernails subconsciously.

“Who would even do that?” I said, mostly asking myself.
We've not been hanging out in public. We made sure to keep up that image of being rivals.
So, who could it be?

“I have a good idea of who it might be,” he suddenly said, and my ears perked up.

“Who?” I asked, as I leaned in unconsciously.

“Joan,” he said, and I could hear the anger in e his tone.

“What makes you so sure?” I asked, even though I believed it a hundred percent.

“My father kept talking about us having something romantic. She is the only one that has seen us look at each other differently. Plus, the whole thing from yesterday,” he explained and I nodded.

“I denied everything.” He stated and I sighed.

“Then, everything is fine then?” I asked but he shook his head.

“Far from it” he sighed, before he continued to talk, “They were making threats and all. To you. And I couldn't have them hurting you, so I- I…”

“Go on,” I said softly, urging him.

“I walked out on my father and uncles,” he chuckled wryly.
“Well, I attempted to, which resulted to this” he ended, gesturing to his bruised skin.

“You shouldn't have done that,” I said, realising he got hurt because of me.

“I had to do something to avoid going crazy, Liora,” he glanced at me, “I cannot stand the mere thought of you getting hurt”

My breath caught for a second.

“Plus, it's my fault for letting Joan know about this whole thing” he added and I shook my head.

“Joan was probably triggered because of me,” I said, and he looked at me with clear confusion.

“We might have had a little argument before I met with you in the library yesterday,” I said and he shook his head immediately.

“That's not out of the ordinary. She has a… thing for me, and I don't see her that way. I've told her a million times. What I should not have done was put you in harm's way by basically telling her I have something for you,” His head was hung low, his hair falling over his face.

He looked so… defeated like that.

Not the sharp tongued, fire-blooded Dravon heir everyone feared.
Just another tired, bruised fae.

My chest tightened.
“You didn’t put me in harm’s way,” I said quietly. “You trusted the wrong person. That’s different.”

He let out a slow breath, still staring at the ground.
“I still hate that you’re even part of this mess now.”

“I was part of it the moment I started sneaking out to meet you,” I replied softly.

That finally made him look at me.
His eyes were darker up close. And for the first time, I could see the emotions on his face. His eyes were stormy… guilty.

“And I’m sorry,” he said. The words came out rough, like they scraped his throat on the way out.

“For earlier. For snapping at you like it was your fault.”
I hadn’t realized how badly I needed to hear that until he said it.

“You were scared,” I said. “I understand that”

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

“No,” I agreed. “But it makes it understandable.”

He studied my face like he was waiting for me to take it back. When I didn’t, his shoulders dropped just a little.

“I would never hurt you on purpose,” he said quietly. “Not with my words. Not with my hands. Not ever.”

My throat went tight.
“I know,” I whispered.

Silence settled between us again, but this time it wasn’t as heavy as before. It was more fragile than anything. Like glass you didn’t want to breathe on too hard.

I reached out before I could overthink it and brushed my fingers over the cut at the corner of his mouth.

He sucked in a sharp breath.

“Does it hurt?” I asked.

“Only when I talk,” he said dryly.

“Then stop talking,” I murmured, still tracing the edge of the bruise with feather-light care.
His gaze dropped to my hand. Then slowly, he lifted his own and softly wrapped his fingers around my wrist, his thumb slowly tracing the light bruise.

“I don’t deserve you being this kind to me right now,” he said.

“Too bad,” I replied. “You’re getting it anyway.”
That almost-smile flickered again. Softer this time.

“You should be angry,” he added. “I snapped at you like you were the enemy. When in fact, you had nothing to do with it.”

“I was angry,” I admitted. “But I also saw the way your hands were shaking.”

His thumb stilled against my skin.
“They were?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “You were scared, Kysen. You were not trying to be cruel.”

He exhaled slowly, like something inside him finally unclenched.
“I don’t know what I’d do if they touched you,” he said. “If my family ever-”

“They won’t,” I cut in gently. “Because you won’t let them.”

“And if I fail?”

“Then you won’t be alone,” I said. “You don’t get to carry this by yourself anymore.”

His eyes searched mine like he was memorizing my face.
“Say that again.”

“You don’t get to carry this alone.”
For a second, he didn’t move.
Then, carefully, like he was afraid he might break something, he leaned his forehead against mine.

I didn't move, I just stilled and stayed in his embrace.

“I don’t know how this ends,” he murmured.
“Neither do I,” I said. “But at least, we have each other.”

His breath brushed my lips when he exhaled.
For a second, neither of us moved.
The world felt like it had narrowed to the space between our faces.

His forehead stayed against mine, but his hands shifted. One slid from my wrist to my waist, resting there like a question he hadn’t asked yet.
My heart raced wildly in my chest, and I subconsciously held my breath.

His voice dropped.
“Liora…”

“Yes?” I whispered breathlessly.

His thumb traced a slow, careful line along my side, instantly sending a shiver through me.

“Can I…?” he started, then stopped himself. He pulled back just enough to really look at me.
“Can I kiss you?”