CHAPTER 61
Lyria had grown used to silence.
Not the peaceful kind, but the heavy, unmoving silence that came from waiting too long for something that refused to happen. It had settled into Kael's room, into her chest, into the very air she breathed.
She sat beside him as she always did, her fingers wrapped gently around his hand, tracing the faint lines of his palm as though memorizing them all over again. His skin was warmer now than it had been months ago, but not warm enough. Not alive enough.
"You said you would come back to me," she whispered, her voice barely more than a breath.
Her head dipped slightly, her forehead almost touching his arm. "I kept my part… I stayed."
There was no answer.
There never was.
Still, she stayed.
Days had turned into weeks. Weeks had stretched into months. Eight months of watching, hoping, breaking quietly, and putting herself back together just enough to continue.
Her thumb moved slowly across his knuckles. "If you can hear me… then stop being stubborn."
A faint, tired smile touched her lips. "You always hate losing."
Before the silence could swallow her again, a sudden noise shattered it.
Shouting.
Loud.
Panicked.
Lyria's head lifted immediately. Her brows drew together as she turned toward the window. The noise came from outside the house, from the center of the village.
More voices followed, overlapping, urgent.
She stood quickly, her heart beginning to beat faster as she moved toward the window. When she looked out, her breath caught.
Men were being carried in.
Some supported by others, their arms draped over shoulders. Some dragged. Some barely conscious.
Blood.
Too much of it.
Her grip tightened against the window frame.
"They found our weakness!"
The voice cut through everything.
Lyria stilled.
Another voice answered, confused and disbelieving. "What do you mean? I thought we were leading. I thought we were winning."
The wounded man coughed, struggling to stay upright. "We were… but now it is different."
"Different how?"
"They know," he said, his voice breaking slightly. "They know what hurts us… just like we know what hurts them."
A pause fell, heavy and suffocating.
"We are on equal ground now."
Lyria frowned, confusion settling deep within her. She did not understand everything they were saying, but she understood enough to feel the shift.
Something had changed.
Something dangerous.
Her mind was still trying to catch up when a loud crash sounded from inside the house.
Her heart jumped violently.
She turned sharply.
Another sound followed—footsteps, uneven but forceful.
Then a voice.
Rough. Hoarse. Furious.
"Who are you?!"
Lyria froze.
Her breath stopped.
"Where is my mate?!"
Her entire body trembled.
"…Where is Lyria?!"
Everything else disappeared.
The world narrowed into that voice.
She ran.
Her feet barely touched the ground as she rushed out of the room and down the short hallway, her heart pounding so loudly she could hear it in her ears.
She reached the doorway—
And stopped.
Kael was standing.
Unsteady, yes. His body still weak, his posture strained—but standing.
Alive.
Awake.
His eyes were wild, scanning the room, filled with anger and something deeper—fear.
"What have you done to her?" he demanded, his voice low but shaking with restrained violence. "Where is she?!"
"Kael…"
The word broke from her lips before she could stop it.
His head snapped toward her.
Their eyes met.
And everything changed.
The anger vanished.
The tension shattered.
All that remained was recognition.
"Lyria…"
She didn't think.
Didn't hesitate.
She ran straight into him.
Her arms wrapped around him tightly, her fingers clutching his clothes as if letting go would make him disappear again. Tears spilled instantly, uncontrollable, overwhelming—but they were not born from pain.
They were relief.
"You're awake," she cried, her voice breaking against his chest. "You're awake… you're really awake…"
For a moment, Kael didn't move.
As if he needed to be sure this was real.
Then his arms came around her.
Strong.
Certain.
Possessive.
He pulled her closer, holding her as though he had been denied this for far too long.
His hand pressed against her back, anchoring her to him.
"I heard you," he said quietly, his voice rough from disuse.
Lyria pulled back slightly, her tear-filled eyes searching his face. "What?"
His hand lifted, brushing gently against her cheek, wiping away tears that refused to stop falling.
"I could not move," he said. "I could not speak."
His gaze softened in a way she had never seen before.
"But I heard everything."
Her breath caught.
"Every word you said to me," he continued. "Every time you sat here… thinking I was gone."
Lyria shook her head quickly, tears falling faster. "Don't say that—"
"I wanted to answer you," he interrupted softly. "I tried."
His fingers curled slightly against her skin. "But my body would not listen."
She pressed herself against him again, unable to hold back the emotion crashing through her. "You're here now… that's enough… that's all I need…"
Kael closed his eyes briefly, tightening his hold on her.
Feeling her.
Alive. Warm. Real.
"…I missed you," he admitted quietly.
The words settled deep between them.
Before anything else could follow, the door opened.
Lyria turned slightly.
Rina stood there.
Behind her, her parents—and others from the village—gathered.
They had heard the noise.
They had come to see.
And now—
They saw him.
Standing.
Awake.
Watching them.
The room fell into complete silence.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
But the air changed.
Lyria felt it instantly.
Something cold.
Something sharp.
She slowly pulled away from Kael, her hand still holding onto him.
Kael noticed it too.
His posture straightened slightly despite his weakness, his instincts rising quickly to the surface. His gaze moved from one face to another, studying them carefully.
Their expressions were not what he expected.
There was no relief.
No gratitude.
No welcome.
Only tension.
And something dangerously close to fear.
"…Who are they?" he asked quietly.
Lyria hesitated.
"They're the ones who saved us," she said softly.
Kael didn't relax.
If anything, his eyes sharpened further.
Because the way they were looking at him—
Was not how people looked at someone they had rescued.
It was how people looked at something they had just realized…
They should never have brought into their home.
And for the first time since waking—
Kael understood one thing clearly.
They were not safe.
Not here.
Not anymore.