Chapter 122 CHAPTER 122
Lisa lay on her bed as dusk settled beyond the windows, the last light of the evening fading into soft shadows along the walls. The castle had grown quieter, wrapped in that familiar stillness that came just before night fully claimed the halls. She was already dressed for bed, her body tired, her mind slower than it had been all day.
“Do you feel better?” Lisa asked quietly, her voice more thought than sound.
There was a pause before Celia answered, a pause that told Lisa this question had been waiting to be asked.
“I do,” Celia said at last. “I think I do. And you? Are you still afraid I’ll disappear again?”
Lisa breathed out slowly, letting the question settle instead of brushing it away. “It’s been a few days,” she said. “And it hasn’t happened again. That has to mean something. Maybe it was a one-time thing. Maybe… whatever the ritual did, it stabilized us.” She turned her head slightly on the pillow. “Why do you ask?”
Celia hesitated again, and this time Lisa could feel the weight behind it.
“Because even without the pull,” Celia admitted, “I still find myself thinking about Kael. I wanted to be sure you were okay before I left you alone with that worry again. I didn’t want you waking up and wondering if I would come back.”
Lisa’s chest tightened, not with fear, but with understanding. “It’s okay that you’re thinking about him,” she said gently. “The bond may be blocked, but it doesn’t erase everything. It doesn’t erase care. And Kael didn’t do anything wrong.” She swallowed. “He’s suffering. If there’s a way to help him, we can’t just pretend he doesn’t exist.”
Celia’s presence warmed slightly at those words. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure,” Lisa said. “You can go check on him. I’ll sleep. When you’re done, you’ll come back.”
There was a soft ripple of relief, followed by something lighter.
“Go to sleep, don’t wait up,” Celia teased, “we both know you barely did last night. You were thinking too much about Liam beside you. You only drifted off near dawn.”
Lisa huffed a quiet laugh and turned onto her side. “That is not true. I slept fine. I’m just… still tired.”
“Of course you are,” Celia replied, amused. “I’ll be back before you wake up.”
The world shifted.
The human realm loosened its hold, and Celia let herself fall into the familiar pull of the Wolf Realm. The air changed first, cooler and sharper, filled with the scent of earth and pine. She landed softly in the open meadow where they always arrived, grass brushing against her paws, the sky stretching wide and silver above her.
She lifted her head - and froze.
Kane stood a short distance away, his dark form outlined against the morning mist. He turned at the same moment, surprise flickering through his posture as clearly as if he had spoken it aloud.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
Celia blinked once, then huffed. “I should be asking you the same thing.”
They studied each other for a heartbeat longer, and then the realization settled between them at the same time.
“Don’t tell me,” Celia said slowly. “You came because of Kael.”
Kane’s ears tilted back just slightly. “Liam’s worried,” he said. “He hasn’t found any answers yet. After what happened the last time we were here, I thought… maybe I should check on him. See if anything changed.”
He looked at her more closely. “What about you? I thought after the bond was blocked, you wouldn’t need to come anymore.”
Celia shook her head. “It wasn’t the bond that brought me. I just needed to know how he’s doing.”
Kane didn’t argue. He only nodded once, as if that answer made sense to him in a way words didn’t need to.
They walked together toward the cave, the path worn smooth by time and worry. The closer they got, the heavier the air seemed to become, thick with herbs and old magic. The healer looked up when they entered and stiffened, his eyes flicking between them with open surprise.
“You came together?” he asked.
Kane shook his head immediately. “No. It’s a coincidence.”
The healer hummed, clearly unconvinced, but he didn’t push. Instead, he stepped aside to let them through. Kael lay where he always did, his body still, his chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm that hadn’t been there before.
Celia moved closer, her steps quiet. “How is he?” she asked.
The healer sighed. “No better. No worse. The touch seemed to do something. His breathing stabilized after you left last time. He opens his eyes now and then, but he doesn’t wake. I’m running out of herbs, and even if I wasn’t…” He shook his head. “This isn’t a physical illness. It’s magic. And magic doesn’t heal the way flesh does.”
Celia sat beside Kael and placed her paw gently against his chest. She could feel it - the steady rise and fall, the warmth that proved he was still here. It hurt more than she expected, not because of the bond, but because of the familiarity. Because once, touching him had felt like certainty.
Kane shifted beside her. “What if I try again?” he asked quietly. “Like last time.”
The healer frowned. “Without your human present, it’s risky. And since he’s not worsening, the safest thing is to wait until the humans find answers. We don’t know what this magic might do to you.”
Celia looked up at Kane. “Thank you for offering,” she said. “You really do take after Liam. He has a good heart.”
Kane gave a small shrug, his gaze drifting back to Kael.
“Anything I do is for him,” he said. “If you’re at peace, Lisa is at peace. And that keeps Liam steady.”
It was true - at least, true enough.
What he didn’t say was that Liam hadn’t sent him here at all. That the thought of Celia being torn between worlds, pulled by a bond she couldn’t control, had been sitting heavy in his chest for days. That Kael’s illness frightened him not just because of what it meant for the pack, but because it kept Celia tethered to this place. He had come to realize that he cared about her and thought about her more often than he cared to admit.
Kane had hoped - quietly, selfishly - that if Kael recovered, there would be no reason for her to keep coming back here. No reason for her to stand in the space between what was broken and what could never be returned.
He hadn’t come for answers.
He had come because he was worried about her.
They stood there for a moment longer, surrounded by the quiet hum of the cave, by questions without answers. Then Kane stiffened suddenly, his head snapping up.
“I’m being summoned,” he said. “Liam needs me, he says something important has come up.”
Celia’s heart lurched. “Does it involve Lisa?”
“I don’t know,” Kane said honestly. “He didn’t say.”
“I should get going as well, Lisa may be worried as well.”
That was enough. They didn’t waste another second. The Wolf Realm released them as quickly as it had taken them, urgency pulling them back toward their humans.
Celia returned to Lisa just as the castle sounds began to stir, her presence settling back into place like a held breath finally released. Lisa shifted in her sleep, unaware of how close worry had come again, unaware of the silent promise that lingered between realms.
“You’re back.” She finally asked in her sleep.
“Yes,” Celia responded, “go back to sleep, you have school in the morning.”
“Mmm…” Lisa mumbled as she drifted off sleep, engulfed by Celia’s warmth.