Chapter 13 Kaia
Kaia
I can’t bring myself to look away. He’s still watching me—standing there like he’s waiting for something. Or maybe just waiting.
Move, Kaia. Stop staring.
Something tightens low in my chest.
I stand and start walking toward him before I can talk myself out of it. Movement catches my eye halfway there—Malrik, walking away from Darian. Just as I look, he turns back. Eyes on me.
He smirks.
The bastard.
He’s definitely up to something. Probably been plotting this whole thing.
I turn back to Darian.
I’d like to say that every time I look at him it doesn’t do things to me I don’t want to think about.
I’d be lying. He’s cleaned up since his late-night entrance—complete with groveling.
The shadows around him move almost mechanically, there’s tension in his shoulders.
But he’s still as breathtaking as he was the first time I saw him at the academy.
Fantastic.
My shadows drift forward before I consciously decide to move. Bob positioning himself at the front, his silhouette arching taller. Linda hovering near my shoulder. Carl uncertain, flicking between me and Darian like he’s confused.
Finnick appears at my feet—sharp edges, no playfulness. Unusual for him.
Mouse’s tail is low, ears back, watchful.
They remember.
Of course they remember.
I walk slowly. My ribs protest a little with each step.
Darian goes completely still. Shoulders tight. Hands curling into fists like he’s bracing for something. His shadows twitch—reacting to mine.
I hesitate.
What am I doing?
But I keep walking.
Darian opens his mouth—probably to apologize again. I raise my hand. “Don’t.”
He stops. Swallows. Nods.
Good.
I force myself to look at him. Really look at him.
“I still hate what you did,” I say. He flinches.
“The arena. What you did to me there.” My chest tightens. “I can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”
“Kaia—”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever forget it.” The words taste bitter. “But…” Fuck. “Forgiving you isn’t impossible.”
Darian looks like I just broke him and put him back together wrong.
“I don’t deserve—”
“No. You don’t.” My voice is sharper than I mean it to be. “But I’m not doing this for you.”
He nods. Doesn’t argue.
Smart.
Silence stretches between us.
Then Darian speaks, voice rough. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Oh gods. What now?
“What?”
“I felt the bond snap into place,” he says quietly. “I don’t know how it happened. But suddenly you were just… there. In my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
I swallow. Okay. That’s—
“And then…” He stops. Like he’s forcing himself to continue. “And then it happened.”
My stomach drops. “What happened?”
“I felt you.” His voice cracks. “Not like the bond. More than that. Through the bond. I didn’t know what was happening. Feelings… sensations…” He looks away. Mumbles, “A climax.”
Oh gods—he felt that. I want to crawl into a corner and die.
Heat floods my face.
“Darian, I didn’t—I wasn’t thinking—I didn’t know—”
“Don’t apologize for wanting,” he says quietly.
I stare at him.
“I wasn’t meant to feel it,” he continues. “But I did.”
Great. That’s just perfect.
“I—” The words catch in my throat. My shadows shift, uneasy.
“That was the moment everything shifted,” he says.
Darian takes a step closer.
Why is he closer?
“I couldn’t stay away after that,” he admits. “Every instinct. Every piece of magic in me pulled toward you.”
I should step back. I don’t.
Why aren’t I moving?
Our shadows drift toward each other. Bob’s edges soften. Patricia’s notebook stops flickering. Mouse’s ears flick forward.
Finnick does one cautious flip.
Testing things, I guess.
And then Walter bobs through—unbothered as always, pulsing faintly. He circles us once—slow, deliberate. Observing. Then drifts away.
What the hell does that mean?
“I didn’t know I needed you, Kaia,” Darian says. Raw. Honest. “But I do. And I wouldn’t want this any other way.”
My breath catches.
Don’t cry. Do not cry.
“No matter how long it takes,” he continues. “I’m here.”
My shadows tighten around me—not possessive. Something softer. Bob’s posture shifts. Linda stops hovering so close.
They’re letting him closer.
I reach up. Slowly.
Bob shifts—but doesn’t move to stop me.
Darian freezes. Eyes wide, holding his breath.
I press a soft kiss to his cheek.
It leaves me a little unsteady.
His entire body shatters.
When I pull away, he’s staring at me like I just handed him the sun.
Don’t look at me like that.
Bob’s posture softens completely. My shadows seem to breathe outward, calm now.
I force myself to hold his gaze.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Darian.”
Then the warning. Because I need him to hear this.
“But if you ever cross me again—bond or not—I’ll kill you myself.”
Darian doesn’t flinch. “I know.”
Good.
My shadows settle. Calm now.
His shadows move toward mine—subtle, instinctive, unconscious.
Mine don’t pull away. Mouse stops guarding. Linda drifts back. Bob stands down.
Okay. We’re okay.
I turn first, walking back to through the village.
Darian watches me go. I can feel it.
And something in my chest shifts.
Not forgiveness.
Just the start of something that might survive it.