Chapter 14 Avilyna
Avilyna
CASA LINDIR
We wind through a couple of hallways. Ones that, frankly, couldn’t be more confusing, until we finally step outside.
I realize we’re in a different yard, one I haven’t seen before.
This place is a total labyrinth. I may have just wandered into a party, but it’s definitely not the kind with chips and awkward small talk.
This?
This is wild.
And not ‘college kegger’ wild. I scan the room.
The air hums with raw energy, buzzing with electricity.
It’s packed with absurdly good-looking people.
The kind that makes you wonder if there’s a secret modelling agency that only accepts you if you growl during the interview.
And speaking of growling, most of them are giving wolf vibes and not metaphorically.
We’re talking glowing eyes and the occasional flash of fur and fangs, way more controlled than my attacker.
Torches flicker around the yard, throwing just enough light to make the shadows dance and enough darkness to hide what you don’t want to see.
Rock music blasts so loud it shakes the trees.
In the middle of it all, there’s heat, tension, bodies close, and some a little too close.
There’s definitely something primal going on here.
Then, as if the universe wanted to hit a dramatic effect, a howl echoes in the distance.
As we move closer to the woods, the fire comes into view.
Not some cozy camping flame, but a full-blown bonfire straight out of a coven ritual.
It lights up the trees in an eerie golden glow, as if nature were hosting its own rave.
People are dancing, and the blur between possessed and under the influence is getting more and more distorted as they move.
The ones who aren’t busy trying to eat each other’s faces suddenly notice me.
With the way their eyes track me, you’ll think I am the shiny new toy they weren’t expecting.
Some nostrils flare as if wondering what I am.
The feeling makes me squirm, but before I can even decide whether to be creeped out or flattered, Kai and Wyll shoot them warning looks that are less don’t stare and more try it and lose a limb, growling included.
Charming crowd, obviously not used to uninvited guests, or maybe just the ones that look like fresh meat.
Reaching the woods, Wyll lead the way as darkness closes in.
The noise from the party fades behind us, the world pretending that the insanity back there was a mirage.
The quiet is unnerving; only the leaves crunching under our boots break the silence.
Then, of course, I trip. Because that’s what happens when you walk into a forest in the middle of the night.
Something always grabs your foot. I let out this half-scream, half-grunt as I fall forward, bracing for impact.
But surprisingly, I don’t eat dirt. Instead, a powerful arm wraps around me and stops me cold.
Seriously, how strong is this guy?
Kai doesn’t say a word; he only reaches for my hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world. His calloused fingers wrap around mine, warmth seeping through my frozen fingers. I jolt, a little thrill shooting up my arm, which is definitely not normal or helpful.
So I ignore it, him.
We keep walking, my hand still trapped in his. Until we reach a set of gates straight out of a Victorian fever dream. And just like that, he lets go, as if I were carrying a skin disease.
Lovely.
Hope I didn’t give him a rash.
“Welcome to Casa Lindir! Make yourself at home,” Wyll says with this over-the-top cheer as he swings the gates open.
And there it is.
A manor that looks like Dracula’s summer house.
Old stone, towering spires, pointed arches stabbing at the sky like they’ve got a grudge.
Vines are creeping up the walls as if nature is trying to reclaim what’s hers.
Overhead, stoned lycans in their wolf form are frozen mid-roar.
Jaws open in a soundless snarl that echoes through the silence.
The front door is massive, all dark wood and intricate carvings; you just know it creaks ominously when it opens.
“Those are wards,” Kai says, like he’s pointing out the weather.
I roll my eyes, “Thanks, professor. I got it.”
I step through the doors and into a grand entrance hall that’s surprisingly cozy.
The ceiling stretches so high it vanishes into shadows.
Dim candlelight flickers along the walls, casting twisting shapes across the cold stone floor.
And suddenly, all the confidence, the sarcasm, flickers a little, like those flames, unsteady.
“You’re not scared of a fire?” I ask, maybe too sharply, my voice echoing back at me, trying to pick a fight.
Wyll smiles. “Kvirr, darling.”
“Of course,” I mutter, trying to play it off. But I can’t quite push down the weight pressing against my chest, because I am scared.
Not of the magic.
Not of the lycans outside.
It’s the candles. I know how it sounds. Irrational, dramatic, even, but every time I see a flame flicker, my chest tightens; all it takes is one.
One flame, one misstep, one forgotten moment.
That’s how I lost them, Mom and Alek. Swallowed by smoke and fire in the space between heartbeats. Now, every candle feels like a countdown. A fuse just waiting for someone to forget. So, no, I don’t trust firelight.
Kai brushes past, his gaze trailing over me, as if he’s reading between the lines I didn’t give him permission to. Ahead, the staircase coils upward. The banister is carved with twisting snakes, giving the illusion they’re alive.
“Follow me,” he says, already climbing.
And I do, slower. “So… is Kvirr magic catastrophe-proof?”
He doesn’t miss a beat. “No. But you can ward against it. If you’re smart enough to think ahead.”
I stop.
The words hit harder than they should.
If you’re smart enough to think ahead.
I don’t say anything. Because there’s nothing I could say that wouldn’t crack something open. And right now, I need everything to stay closed; the guilt from the small pieces that I still have a glimpse of, I bolt it shut, and I keep climbing.
We step into what I assume is his bedroom. The massive window from the balcony throws moonlight across the room in long, silver strands.
“Sit.”
I don’t see the point in arguing, so I ease myself onto the edge of his bed, all dark sheets and clean walls.
Kai shrugs off his leather jacket without a word.
The black t-shirt underneath clings just enough around his tattooed biceps to be distracting.
He disappears into the bathroom, and that’s when I realize my shirt, already short, is now barely covering anything.
And with the way it rides up over my hips, I suddenly feel exposed.
When Kai comes back, he places an emergency kit on the nightstand like it’s routine. Lowering himself to one knee, his hand grazes along my leg before I can object. Firm, unbothered, already assessing the damage, calloused skin trailing goosebumps up my spine.
“You don’t have to do that,” I move to pull back, but Kai’s faster. His hand slides under my leg, drawing me forward with ease until my weight shifts on the bed and I’m closer than I meant to be. Then, his mouth meets my wound.
I inhale sharply.
It’s not just the contact. It’s the way Kai holds eye contact while doing it. His gaze, the kind of impossible blue that pulls you under into the abyss.
“Saliva has antibacterial properties,” he says, like we’re having a science lecture and not… Whatever this is.
I blink. “A lycan thing?”
“A lycan thing,” he repeats, voice even. The pain in my knee starts to fade, the skin already tinged pink as the gash knits itself. And just like that, it makes sense—well, kinda.
I study him quietly, trying not to give away the thousand thoughts racing through me. Because this wasn’t just instinct or biology. Not entirely, and I’m not sure which unsettles me more, how fast it worked…
Or how fast I forgot to stop him.
“Impressive,” I murmur, letting the admiration slip before I can catch it.
Kai flashes me a wolfish smile. “A compliment, Princess? Careful, I might get used to those.”
I arch a brow. “Is that the key to your heart?” I ask, letting the sarcasm curl at the edges of my voice. “Don’t worry. I’m not interested.”
He doesn’t flinch, doesn’t even blink. Kai rises slowly, deliberately, moving closer until one leg slides between mine. The shift makes me lean back on my forearms, instinctively giving him space he doesn’t need permission to take. And suddenly, the room feels warmer than it should.
“Keep telling yourself that,” he murmurs, our eyes lock. His stare is burning, and way too steady for my comfort. And yet, I don’t look away.
The air between us is suffocating with the kind of tension that lingers just before a mistake is made. Kai leans in just enough that I can feel the warmth of his breath along my jaw.
“But don’t mistake me, Princess,” he says, his voice silk and steel. “I don’t have a heart. I just want to hear what other noises you can make.”
My breath catches.
Kai’s words hit low, targeted, and precise. As if he’s already guessed the places I haven’t let anyone near in a long time.
And worse?
They land, heat pools between my thighs. Before I can stop it, I instinctively draw my legs together in a slow, subtle shift. At least, I think it’s subtle. Then I see the flicker in his eyes. Of course, he felt it.
And, oh god, did his nostrils just flare?
Perfect.
I’m going to die, right here. Of sheer, flaming humiliation.
But instead of pressing it, a low, involuntary deep growl rumbles from his chest, before he turns away.
Leaving cold air in his wake. As if he didn’t just scramble half my nervous system with a single sentence.
Kai crouches by the kit, rummaging through it as if I’m not still trying to remember how to breathe.
I shift on the bed, smoothing down my shirt as if it might somehow restore my dignity.
It doesn’t.
I take the moment to redirect my eyes, to pretend I’m unfazed, and it lands on the far hidden corner of the room.
Canvases, a crate cluttered with pencils and paper, jars of paint half-open.
“An artist, huh?” I ask, voice a little softer.
Kai pauses; he’s back to me, but I can see the way his shoulders tense. His grip on the ointment tightens slightly before he answers.
“I’m not.” The words are clipped.
No room to tease, no invitation to dig deeper. And just like that, the heat shifts, cooling into silence. Whatever that was between us, it vanishes. I don’t have the luxury of dwelling on it, though, because Wyll’s voice slices through the tension.
“Can I join in on the fun, or do I need to find my own date for the night?” His words yank us both back into the present. Slowly leaning on the doorway, getting comfortable like someone who just arrived, which makes me slightly less mortified.
“Fuck off!” Kai snaps back.
“We can have our own fun, Wyll. No need for the grumpy one.” I hop off the bed before Kai finishes wrapping me up, doing it myself instead.
It’s quicker this way, and I know Kai has a perfect view of the curve of my ass as I do it.
Just a little act of rebellion, and enough to get under anyone’s skin.
“Yes, darling! Smoke some weed and play Monopoly. I’m gonna annihilate you!” Wyll says with all the enthusiasm in the world.
“You have Monopoly?” I ask, laughing.
“Of course! I love board games. I always make sure to bring a new one when I’m in the Mundane World.” He leans against the doorway, arms crossed, clearly enjoying the attention.
“And the cowboy hat?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“What about the hat?” Wyll asks, confused.
“Nothing, I love it. Just... not very military-like?”
“True. But it’s very Wyll Lindir-like.” He winks, totally unbothered. I roll my eyes, but the smile creeping up on my lips is hard to hide.
“That’ll have to wait. We’ve got patrols tonight.” Kai’s voice cuts through, unapologetic as ever. He stands behind me, clearly impatient.
His gaze flickers between Wyll and me. I catch a brief flash of something. Something darker, possessive, but he quickly masks it. Before he walks past me, he presses a band-aid to my forehead, his fingers brushing a curl away, lingering briefly, but I must have imagined it.
The room they’ve given me is almost identical to Kai’s, same layout, same vibe. But my walls are deep crimson, matching the curtains. As if it were designed with mood lighting in mind.
I spot a piece of paper on my pillow, pinned down by a joint.
A little welcome gift. Before you enjoy it, draw these runes on the door and recite “sgòt.”
Night!
Wyll
Well, this isn’t as dreadful as I expected. I find a tray on the nightstand with white chalk and quickly copy the rune. As I utter the incantation, the symbol glows for a moment, lighting the room briefly.
Stepping out onto the balcony, I light my welcome gift.
Watching the boys disappear into the night, I catch Kai’s gaze, and despite myself, my heart skips a beat.
But I keep a neutral expression, and I slowly straighten and offer him a salute.
He shakes his head unamused, a strand of blond hair falling in his annoyed eyes.
But I swear I could see the faintest tug at the corner of his lips.
Turning around, I lean back against the railing, looking up at the stars. The vast, sparkling sky makes me feel small in a way I’m not used to, as if I’m part of something bigger. The wind tousles my curls, and I savour the feeling on my skin. As I inhale more smoke into my lungs.
I have no choice but to accept this new reality, and maybe, just maybe, find a way to make it my own.