Chapter 27 Pressure Points
Kai didn’t let go of me until the ground stopped settling.
Even then, his hands stayed firm on my shoulders, like he was afraid I might disappear if he loosened his grip. The split ground behind us groaned softly, with dirt sliding inward as if the rupture itself was embarrassed to have been seen.
My legs finally gave out.
Kai caught me before I hit the ground, lowering me carefully onto the grass.
Pain flared along my ribs, it was sharp, and insistent…But I bit back a cry. I refused to be weak right now. Not when something had just tried to erase me.
“Stay with me,” Kai said again, his voice low but edged with panic he didn’t bother hiding this time.
“I am,” I breathed. “I’m not…I’m not fading.”
He searched my face, his eyes glowing faintly, and scanning more than just skin and bruises. Whatever he was sensing made his jaw clench.
“You pushed back,” he said. “Hard.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know,” he replied. “That’s what scares me.”
Red and blue lights flickered at the edge of the street. Neighbors were spilling out of their houses, with their voices rising in confusion. Someone shouted about a gas line. Another said an earthquake.
Kai cursed under his breath.
“We can’t stay here.”
He helped me to my feet just as Ethan came sprinting across the lawn, breathless, and his eyes wide.
“Luna,” he said. “I felt it…”
“I almost died,” I snapped, the words bursting out before I could stop them.
Ethan froze.
The silence between us was sharp, and uncomfortable.
Kai stepped subtly in front of me, not blocking Ethan completely, but making his position clear, like a protector. Line drawn.
Ethan swallowed. “I know. That’s why this can’t happen again.”
“You think I planned that?” I shot back.
“No,” he said quickly. “But you’re the trigger. And someone is pulling it.”
My head spun. “Then tell me who.”
Ethan hesitated.
Kai’s voice cut in, dangerous and cold. “You’re running out of time to choose a side.”
Ethan met his gaze, something hard flashing behind his eyes. “I already chose. A long time ago.”
“Then start acting like it,” Kai growled.
Sirens wailed closer.
Ethan backed up a step. “We’ll talk tomorrow. At school. Somewhere public.”
“And if something else wakes up before then?” I demanded.
Ethan’s expression faltered. “Then… you won’t be alone.”
He ran before I could stop him.
Kai swore again, dragging a hand through his hair. “I don’t like this.”
“You never do,” I said weakly.
He looked at me then, he really looked at me, and the anger drained from his face, replaced by something raw and frighteningly tender.
“That thing went for your core,” he said. “Another second and…”
“But it didn’t,” I said. “I’m still here.”
Because of you, he didn’t say. But I felt it anyway.
That night, Kai didn’t leave.
He sat on the floor beside my bed while I lay curled under my blankets, with my ribs wrapped, body aching, and my mind buzzing too loudly to rest. My grandmother hovered in the doorway earlier, her eyes sharp and knowing, but she didn’t ask questions. She never did when the answers were dangerous.
The house was quiet now.
Too quiet.
“You should sleep,” Kai said softly.
“I don’t think I can.”
“That’s okay,” he replied. “I’ll stay awake.”
I turned my head to look at him. “You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
That was his way of saying he wasn’t going anywhere.
Minutes passed. Maybe longer. My breathing slowed, even if my thoughts didn’t.
“Kai,” I murmured.
“Yes?” he replied.
“Was that… was that meant to kill me?” I asked.
He didn’t answer right away.
“Yes,” he said finally.
My throat tightened. “Why now?”
“Because you’re stabilizing,” he said. “Your power’s learning you. That makes you harder to manipulate.”
“So they tried to break me instead.”
“Yes.”
A chill slid down my spine.
“What happens if they succeed next time?” I asked.
Kai’s eyes darkened. “They won’t.”
I believed him. That terrified me too.
The next day at school felt surreal.
Whispers followed me down the halls. Rumors about sinkholes and structural damage spread faster than the truth ever could. Teachers acted nervously. The principal made an announcement about “safety inspections.”
None of it touched the real danger.
Ethan found me by the lockers before lunch.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
I studied him. The familiar tilt of his smile. The tension in his shoulders. The way his gaze flicked to Kai across the hall before settling back on me.
“I’m alive,” I said. “Which feels like a low bar right now.”
He winced. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I asked. “Not warning me? Or not stopping it?”
“For believing I could control how this unfolded,” he admitted.
“That’s a problem,” I said. “Because someone else thinks the same thing.”
His eyes hardened. “Selene isn’t in control.”
“No,” I agreed. “But she’s not the only one pushing.”
He stared at me. “You’re starting to see it.”
“I don’t want to,” I said. “But pretending hasn’t worked so far.”
Kai appeared beside me, silent but solid. Ethan exhaled slowly.
“Prom,” Ethan said suddenly. “It’s in three days.”
I blinked. “Prom?”
“Yes,” he said. “And whatever this is…whatever’s waking up…it won’t ignore a gathering that big.”
Kai’s jaw clenched. “They’ll use it.”
Ethan nodded. “Or you will.”
My pulse spiked. “That’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking,” Ethan said. “Large emotional spikes. Packed space. Music. Lights. It’s a perfect catalyst.”
I looked between them, with dread pooling in my stomach.
“So what,” I asked, “I just don’t go?”
Kai and Ethan exchanged a look I didn’t like.
“No,” Kai said slowly. “You go.”
“And you don’t face it alone,”
Ethan added.
I swallowed hard.
Because suddenly prom wasn’t just a dance.
It was a battlefield.
And whatever nearly took my life had just found its next opportunity.