Chapter 32 Run

Chapter 32 Run
Lyra

For a second, I almost listened.

That was the terrifying part.

Even after everything, even after the truth, even after realizing Kael had been planning to use me from the beginning, my first instinct was still to trust him when he said run.

My body even reacted before my mind caught up, my foot shifting slightly against the cold stone floor, my breath catching like I was about to bolt.

But I didn’t.

Because something in his voice had changed.

It wasn’t just urgency.

It wasn’t just warning.

It was restraint.

Like he was holding something back with everything he had left.

“I’m not leaving you,” I said, my voice shaking but firm enough to surprise even me.

A low sound tore from his chest.

Not anger.

Not pain.

Something in between.

“You don’t understand,” he said, but the words dragged, uneven, like they were being forced through something heavier than language. “If you stay—”

“What?” I cut in, stepping closer despite the fear clawing at my ribs. “You’ll hurt me?”

His head snapped up.

That was the wrong thing to say.

I saw it instantly.

The way his eyes darkened, the way his body tensed like something inside him had just been acknowledged, recognized, invited.

“Yes,” he said.

The word came too easily.

Too honestly.

Silence swallowed the room.

Behind him, Elias watched with quiet interest, like this was exactly what he had been waiting for. Mara’s expression didn’t change, but her fingers tightened slightly at her sides. Silas just smiled, like this was entertainment.

I ignored all of them.

My focus stayed on Kael.

“Then why are you telling me to run?” I asked, softer now.

His breathing grew heavier.

“Because I still can.”

The answer hit deeper than anything else.

Before I could respond, he staggered back a step, his hand coming up to his head like he was trying to physically hold something in place.

“Kael—”

“Don’t come closer,” he snapped.

I froze.

Not because of the words because of the tone.

It wasn’t fully his anymore like something else had found its way into it.

“You said you needed me,” I said, my voice quieter now, more careful. “You said my blood could help you. So let me help.”

A mistake.

I realized it the second I said it.

His head tilted slowly.

Too slowly.

“Help me,” he repeated, and something about the way he said it made my stomach twist.

Silas let out a soft laugh. “There it is.”

“Shut up,” Mara muttered under her breath, though she didn’t look away.

Kael took a step toward me.

I felt it before he even got close.

That pull.

Stronger than before.

Not from the room.

Not from whatever lived in this place.

From him.

My chest tightened painfully as something beneath my skin responded, rising, shifting, like it recognized him.

Or what was inside him.

“Lyra,” he said.

My name sounded wrong.

Too full of something that didn’t belong to him.

“Stop,” I whispered, shaking my head.

But he didn’t.

He kept moving.

Like he was fighting every step and losing anyway.

“You said you weren’t going to touch me,” I added, my voice breaking slightly now.

“I said they wouldn’t,” he replied.

That chilled me.

My feet moved back instinctively, but the space behind me was limited, the walls too close, the air too tight.

“You’re still in there,” I said quickly, forcing the words out. “I can see it. You’re fighting it.”

His expression flickered.

For a second—

Just a second—I saw him again.

“Go,” he said, his voice sharper now, more desperate. “Before I lose it completely.”

“I’m not leaving you like this!”

“You don’t have a choice!”

The words echoed, louder than before, but this time, they weren’t just his.

They layered. Overlapped.

Something else spoke with him..

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“Kael…” I whispered.

He stopped moving.

Right in front of me.

Close enough that I could feel the heat of him, the tension, the instability, like he was holding himself together by force alone.

“Do you feel it?” he asked suddenly.

The question caught me off guard.

“What?”

“That thing inside you,” he said, his voice lower now, more controlled again, but strained. “The one you keep denying.”

My breath hitched because I did feel it.

I had been feeling it. Since the forest.Since the attack.

Since the moment everything changed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, but the lie sounded weak even to me.

His lips curved slightly.

Not a smile something sharper.

“You do.”

My chest tightened.

“No.”

“Yes,” he insisted, his voice dropping further, pulling at something inside me whether I wanted it or not. “And it’s answering me.”

That made my stomach drop.

“Stop,” I said again, but it came out quieter this time because I could feel it now.

Really feel it.

Something that had been waiting.

My vision blurred slightly as that same pressure built beneath my skin, spreading through my chest, my arms, my veins.

Kael’s expression changed.

He saw it.

“Good,” he murmured.

That word—That tone—It wasn’t him.

“Kael, don’t,” I whispered.

He reached for me.

This time—I didn’t move back.

Not because I trusted him because I couldn’t.

My body locked as that pull intensified, dragging me forward just slightly, just enough that when his fingers brushed my wrist—

Everything snapped..the world didn’t explode.

It shifted violently.

The air cracked around us, the markings on the walls flaring to life all at once, brighter than anything I had seen before. A sharp, ringing sound filled my ears as something surged through me, fast and overwhelming, like my body had suddenly been plugged into something far too powerful to control.

I gasped, my knees buckling slightly as heat flooded my veins, burning, spreading, consuming everything in its path.

Kael’s grip tightened.

Not to hurt me to hold on.

His head dropped forward, his breath rough against my skin as whatever was inside him reacted instantly, violently, like it had just found what it was looking for.

“Yes…” he breathed.

The word sent a chill down my spine.

Behind us, the others stepped back.

For the first time—They looked uncertain.

The light from the markings pulsed harder, faster, like something was breaking through layers that had been sealed for too long.

“Kael—” I tried, but my voice failed me as the heat intensified.

“Don’t fight it,” he said, his voice barely holding together now. “This is the only way.”

The only way for what?

I didn’t ask because I was starting to understand.

This wasn’t just about saving him.

It was about something else.

Something neither of us fully controlled anymore.

My vision flickered. The room blurred.

And for a split second—I saw something else.