Chapter 39 Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Chapter 39
Liora's POV

I tiptoed across the room.
Another faint sound reached my ears.
Closer this time.

My pulse thundered in my ears as I stepped silently toward the window.
A shadow moved behind it.
Someone was there.

My heart slammed hard against my ribs.
I pulled the curtain aside in one swift motion, blade already raised and then I froze.

A familiar figure crouched on the balcony railing, shadowed wings folded tightly, and those familiar silver eyes wide in surprise.

“Kysen?”
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved.
Then he let out a quiet breath, relief flashing across his face.

“Hi,” he said softly.

The dagger slipped from my fingers and clattered onto the floor, the sound in sharp contrast to the quiet night.
And all the fear in my chest collapsed into something I could not quite describe.
Because he was here.
He had come anyway, despite everything, despite what was at stake.

And suddenly, I couldn’t breathe for an entirely different reason.

His gaze dropped briefly to the dagger on the floor, then back to me, like he was still making sure I was actually real.

“You were going to stab me,” he said quietly, his voice a hushed whisper.

“Kysen!” I hissed again, my voice low, this time not a question. I was trembling with panic, edging on a line between disbelief and fury.

He opened his mouth to respond, but a reflection of fire from lit torches from down below passed across the balcony, throwing shadows into the room. I froze instinctively, my eyes snapping behind him.
The guards were patrolling, as they always did.

“Shh,” I whispered sharply, spinning toward him and grabbing his arm before he could say anything. His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden contact.
“Are you insane? Do you have any idea where you are?”

“I-” he started, but I cut him off, tugging him inside the room, pressing him lightly against the wall. My pulse thundered in my ears, as I glanced behind him and out the window, making sure the shadows of light were gone, before closing them.

“You could have been caught! Guards are literally everywhere! Do you know what this-” My voice dropped to a whisper, sharp and filled with fear, “What this could have led to?!”

Kysen’s silver eyes were wide, like he did not expect me to get so angry, like he didn’t know whether to argue or apologize.
“I needed to see you. I couldn’t wait-”

“You couldn’t wait?” I snapped, tugging him further from the balcony, “You’re telling me that sneaking into my room, into the palace, was a good idea?!”

He swallowed, gaze flicking nervously toward the window. “Maybe not, but I… I just needed to know you were okay.”
At the sound of the softness of his tone and the statement he made, my anger melted completely, into a puddle. Almost like it was never there.
I sighed, “Kysen, this is way too dangerous. You’re literally risking getting arrested, or even worse, your head”

He opened his mouth again, about to talk, but I pressed my hand to my lips, signaling him to stay quiet, as I turned fully towards my room door and walked towards it.

I pressed my ears against the door, before carefully locking it, trying not to make a sound.

I turned to him again and took a shaky breath, trying to steady myself, before walking back to him.
My room was mostly dark, save for the rays of the moon that bounced off surfaces. It illuminated his figure as I walked back to him, but I had no idea he was already watching me until I was arm’s length close to him.

His eyes traced my entire body, very slowly, and that was when I realized I was wearing my very thin and short nighties. Heat crawled up my cheeks as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“My eyes are up here!”I exclaimed, and he visibly struggled to drag his eyes back up.

I grunted before rushing across the room to grab my robe and I quickly slipped into it.

“I’m sorry, Altharos, but you are just so…” he trailed off, his eyes still trained on me, even in my robe.

“So what?” I asked, my cheeks now so hot, I was sure it could boil soup.

“So beautiful,” he ended breathlessly.

If I was already red, I wasn’t sure what colour I had become from hearing that.
Dear Green.

I cleared my throat as I tied my robe to my waist and made my way back to him.

“What are you doing here, Dravon?” I asked as he walked further into my room, his eyes assessing it.

“I already told you” he said and I frowned.

I narrowed my eyes at him, “Yeah, but-”

“Nice room,” he said, cutting me off.

I looked around the space and raised a brow.
“You can’t even see anything, it’s dark.”

“I can,” he argued and I rolled my eyes, watching him as he walked towards my bed and lowered himself to the floor, sighing in relief, as he leaned his back on the bed.
At that moment, he looked more tired than anything.

I walked closer to him, and lowered myself, sitting beside him.
I watched him as he stared ahead, my eyes scanning his face. He looked so worn.

Like the past three days had not been any easier for him than they had been for me.
I swallowed as I considered my next move, slightly hesitating, before eventually just going through with it.

My hand wrapped around his, instantly catching his attention. His hand was so cold, probably from the long flight from his place to mine.
Our families made it a point to live so far away from each other.
His eyes were now trained on my hands.

“Hey… are you okay?” I asked, genuinely so worried.

He looked up at me, his eyes meeting mine, and I was taken aback by how emotional he looked. His eyes were glazed over with so many things, I could barely point to one.
I had never seen Kysen display so much emotion at once, and it made my heart ache.
I almost gasped at the sight.