I slowly pushed myself up from the floor after Kael left.
The room was quiet again, but it didn’t feel peaceful.
It felt heavy.
Like something was pressing down on my chest, refusing to let me breathe properly.
I stayed still for a moment, staring at the spot where Kael had stood earlier.
Nothing about this world made sense anymore.
Aurora wasn’t acting like the character I wrote.
The male leads weren’t following any path I remembered.
And worst of all…
There were things happening that I never wrote at all.
I exhaled shakily and finally stood up.
“I need to stop thinking,” I whispered to myself.
But even as I said it, my mind refused to calm down.
I began pacing.
One step.
Then another,
Then another.
Each step made my thoughts louder.
Lucien was unstable.
Kael was suspicious.
Sylas was watching from somewhere I couldn’t even see.
And the others…
I pressed my fingers together tightly.
The others were becoming harder to understand every day.
A memory suddenly flashed in my mind.
The morning of the first trial.
I had been standing in my room while the maids prepared my outfit.
Everything had felt normal at first.
Until I suddenly stopped.
Because it felt like someone was watching me.
I remember walking slowly toward the window.
Step by step.
My reflection in the glass looked back at me, pale and uncertain.
And that’s when I saw it.
A single raven feather resting near the curtain.
Black.
Still.
Out of place.
At the time, I told myself it was nothing.
Probably just wind.
But now…
Now it didn’t feel like nothing anymore.
My fingers tightened unconsciously.
I exhaled and turned away from the window.
“Focus,” I told myself.
“I have to focus.”
I couldn’t waste time getting lost in mysteries I didn’t understand yet.
First, I had to deal with the people I could see.
Lucien.
Kael.
And the others.
Especially Cassian.
I barely finished the thought when.
I collided with someone.
A hand caught my waist instantly before I could fall.
Warm.
Steady.
Familiar.
Cassian.
My breath caught slightly as I looked up at him.
A relaxed smile was already on his face, like he had been waiting for this exact moment.
“You really should watch where you’re going, Master,” he said softly.
I stepped back immediately.
“When did you even get in here?”
Cassian tilted his head slightly.
“A while ago.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He smiled.
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You were watching me again, weren’t you?”
His expression didn’t change.
“I was observing you.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“It’s not.”
“It is.”
Cassian let out a quiet laugh.
“You were pacing,” he said calmly.
“I wasn’t pacing.”
“You were.”
“I was thinking.”
“You think by pacing.”
I froze.
Cassian continued, unfazed.
“You also clench your hands when you’re stressed.”
I immediately hid my hands behind my back.
That only made his smile deepen.
“And you avoid eye contact when something is bothering you.”
My eyes shifted away before I could stop myself.
Cassian leaned slightly closer.
“Should I help you relax, Master?”
My heart skipped.
I stepped back quickly.
“C-calm me down how?”
Cassian’s gaze softened in a way that made my thoughts feel slower.
Like time itself was hesitating.
He reached toward me slowly.
Not rushing.
Giving me time to stop him.
But I didn’t move.
His fingers brushed a strand of hair away from my face.
“You look tense,” he murmured.
“I’m fine.”
“That’s a lie.”
I opened my mouth to argue—
But he was already closer.
His hand moved gently to my face.
His thumb brushed lightly near my lips.
“You smudged your lipstick.”
I froze.
That simple touch did something completely unnecessary to my thoughts.
Cassian noticed.
Of course he noticed.
His smile softened, just slightly.
“You always react like this,” he said quietly.
“Like what?”
“Like you don’t know what to do with yourself.”
My chest tightened.
Cassian leaned in a little more.
His hand rested against the wall beside my head.
Trapping me.
Not forcefully.
Just enough to make me aware of how close he was.
“Master…” he said softly.
My breathing slowed without permission.
His gaze dropped briefly to my lips.
Then returned to my eyes.
And for a moment…
Neither of us spoke.
The silence stretched.
Not uncomfortable.
Not tense.
Just… waiting.
Cassian suddenly paused.
His eyes flicked toward the door.
“…Looks like someone is there,” he said casually.
My eyes widened instantly.
“Where?”
I turned quickly.
The doorway was empty.
No footsteps.
No voices.
Nothing.
When I turned back,
Cassian was watching me–Smiling.
“You actually believed that.”
My face went hot.
“You’re unbelievable!”
Cassian laughed softly, clearly enjoying himself.
And for some reason…
I couldn’t stay angry.
A small laugh slipped out of me too.
The tension that had been building in my chest all day slowly loosened.
Cassian’s laughter faded first.
His eyes stayed on mine.
And the air between us shifted again.
Quieter.
Slower.
Warmer.
Neither of us spoke.
Cassian’s expression softened completely.
No teasing now.
No jokes.
Just him.
My heart started beating faster again, but differently this time.
Not from panic.
From awareness.
Cassian lifted a hand slowly.
Brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.
And then he leaned close.
My breath stopped.
I didn’t move.
Neither did he.
The world outside that moment disappeared.
No palace.
No trials.
No Aurora.
No chaos.
Just the space between us narrowing inch by inch.
Cassian’s voice dropped into something barely above a whisper.
“Master…”
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t.
Cassian didn’t move immediately.
For a second… he just stayed there.
Close enough that I could feel his breath.
Close enough that if I leaned forward even slightly
I would cross a line I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t seen.
My chest tightened.
This wasn’t teasing anymore.
This wasn’t a game.
It was real.
Too real.
My fingers twitched slightly at my side.
I should step back.
I should say something.
Anything.
But I didn’t move.
Cassian’s eyes didn’t leave mine.
And then
very slowly
he leaned in again.
Not sudden.
Not forced.
Like he was giving me one last chance to stop him.
My breath caught.
This is going to happen.
The thought didn’t feel like fear.
And it didn’t feel like acceptance either.
It felt like standing at the edge of something I couldn’t name anymore.
His gaze dropped briefly,
then returned to mine.
And I didn’t look away.
That was the moment everything stopped being avoidable.
Cassian closed the distance
And then—His lips met mine.
And everything else stopped.
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