Chapter 20 Trying to make conversations
Kai’s POV
Zara’s voice sliced through the air like a blade dipped in cold suspicion.
“Why are you two together in an enclosed space?”
I jerked slightly, not because I was guilty, but because my body still throbbed from whatever Mira had done to neutralize Dr. Voss’ device. My back felt like it carried a burning signature only I could sense.
Mira just huffed nonchalantly. It was like she was leaving it all to me to explain.
Testing the waters, I must say.
"Stay calm. Stop acting weird." Mira spoke through our mind link.
Right. Easier said than done when my entire existence felt like it was glitching.
“We were just…” Mira began, her tone smooth, but I cut her off.
“Talking,” I said, wiping the last edge of pain from my face.
“She wanted to discuss something about Dr. Voss”
Zara’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t convinced, but she also wasn’t the type to pry if she sensed discomfort. She simply folded her arms, looking between us like she was scanning for lies she didn’t quite understand.
Mira arched an eyebrow at me then towards Zara as she sent another silent message:
"Play it cool. Play it normal. Play it like nothing almost killed you in that office."
And I tried. I swear I did.
But the moment I stepped out of that dim hallway into the bright corridor, everything hit me again, the memory lapses, the weird emptiness in my mind, and the echo of Dr. Voss’ nails ripping into my wrist. The dull ache pulsed in rhythmic beats, like a warning drum.
"Too much control can make people slip from your hands."
Mira’s words replayed in my head. I remembered that I wanted to ask her what she meant by that. Maybe I'll do it another time.
I needed to know what exactly Dr. Voss had installed in me, why I blacked out, and why Mira looked terrified for me, for the first time since I met her.
But I didn’t.
Because Zara was right in front of us, staring with concern mixed with curiosity.
Because Mira had already said enough.
And because the truth…
The truth felt too heavy for this moment, So I waved everything off. Literally.
When Zara stepped closer, worry softening her eyes, I forced a tiny smile.
“It’s nothing serious,” I said.
“Dr. Voss was just pushing too hard today. I needed some air.”
Zara frowned softly but nodded.
"Okay. Just don’t overdo things, Kai. You’ve looked… off.”
"And... I didn't hear from you since morning."
Mira coughed lightly, covering the subtle warning glare she gave me.
Zara missed it.
I didn’t.
“Let’s just head out,” I suggested, throwing an arm loosely around Zara’s shoulder to try and appear more normal than I felt.
“I think we all need a break.”
And that was how I convinced myself that I didn't need to think about Dr. Voss, or ask Mira more questions, or dwell on the fact that a device might be chilling somewhere beneath my skin, humming low and dangerous.
No.
Not today.
I needed distraction.
I needed normalcy.
I needed anything that wasn’t the chaos Dr. Voss brought.
Which was exactly when the universe, with her twisted humor, delivered not normalcy… but company.
We were heading down the stairs to the open quad when two figures approached from the far end of the hall, moving like they owned the very ground they walked on.
Rex and Luna.
I recognized them immediately.
Mostly because their energy came like a wave before their bodies even came into view.
And that scent!! Damn! That scent...
Rex was tall, broad, effortlessly intimidating and the type of person who looked like he wrestled shadows for fun.
His presence pulsed like controlled lightning.
Luna was the opposite, graceful in a way that looked almost celestial, her hair shifting in soft waves like it carried a life of its own. Her eyes were sharp but warm, the kind of gaze that saw everything without judgment.
Zara halted beside me.
"Why are they acting like they own the place?"
Mira stiffened slightly, but kept her expression blank.
Rex gave a lazy two-finger salute.
"It would be nice to play catch up with them. C'mon. I've had a long day."
Luna smiled.
“We’ve been wanting to see the Academy with our own eyes. And maybe talk to you all. Get to understand you."
Her gaze lingered on Zara in a way that made something primal stir in me, really not jealousy, but recognition. Like Luna saw something in Zara that others didn’t.
Something… dormant.
“Well,” I said carefully,
"Can we all not have any issues today and just get to know each other."
“Same thoughs here.” Luna finished, surprising all of us.
Mira’s eyes sharpened, but she didn’t respond.
“Oh?” Zara asked, tilting her head.
"I guess we can do that."
Luna only smiled.
Rex chuckled, stepping closer.
“Relax. We don’t bite.”
Zara blinked before chuckling slightly.
“Do people even say that anymore?”
“They do when they might mean it,” Mira muttered under her breath.
I snorted quietly. But it was the first real laugh I’d had today.
We ended up walking together across the courtyard. Talking and trying to be free with each other.
Shockingly, it wasn’t awkward.
Rex turned out to be annoyingly funny.
Luna matched Zara’s curiosity beat for beat.
And the four of them ended up debating which class was more unbearable, Dr. Elric’s History of Evolution, or Tech-Neural Mapping 101.
Zara laughed. I mean actually laughed most especially when Rex imitated Dr. Elric’s old-man shuffle.
And for a few minutes, I forgot about:
The device under my skin
Dr. Voss’ threat
The blackout
The pain
The memory loss
Everything.
We found a spot under a chrome-leafed tree, the sun dipping low and warm across the Academy grounds. The conversation spiraled into light teasing, inside jokes forming faster than expected.
Somewhere in that chaos of introductions and laughter, I realized something:
These two, Luna and Rex. They weren’t just new faces.
They felt like missing pieces.
Like we’d always been meant to cross paths. Like this strange sense of unity forming between us wasn’t random at all.
A breeze swept past, stirring the air with an energy that raised goosebumps along my arms.
Zara nudged me softly.
"You okay?”
I nodded.
“Yeah. Actually… yeah.”
For the first time today, I meant it. Deep down, though, I knew one thing:
Whatever storm was coming…
We’d need every single one of us.
Together.