Chapter 9 – The One Who Watches
[KAIRO'S POV]
He heard it first.
Not the scream.
Not the growl.
Not the snap of the branch.
It was the absence of sound.
Like the forest held its breath.
Like every leaf knew something unnatural had just crossed the boundary.
---
By the time he stepped onto the porch of the healer's cabin, he'd already shifted halfway—fangs peeking through his lips, veins glowing faintly under his skin.
He scanned the treeline, the scent hitting him a moment later.
> Rogue. No—too clean. Too fast.
Whoever it was didn't want to be caught.
Which meant they damn well needed to be.
---
He bolted into the trees, moving like shadow and bone, silent but deadly.
He didn't stop to question why his first thought had been her.
Didn't stop to admit that his heart had thundered when she screamed.
Didn't admit that caring could get someone like him killed.
---
But none of it mattered when he saw the flicker of a figure—hooded, lean, moving fast through the clearing just beyond the barrier line.
He launched.
Tackled the figure to the ground.
But there was no weight.
No resistance.
Just—
Smoke.
---
An illusion.
---
Kairo hit the dirt hard, growling low as the scent dissolved in the air like dust.
> Magic.
Old, forbidden, and too close to Lyra.
He turned back toward the cabin.
---
[LYRA'S POV]
She didn't know what made her open the door.
Maybe it was the pulse in her chest that hadn't stopped since the dream.
Maybe it was the strange hum in her ears, like the wind was whispering warnings she couldn't understand.
Or maybe… it was the figure standing at the edge of the trees, watching.
---
Tall. Cloaked. Barely visible through the mist.
But real.
It didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Just stared.
And when her foot stepped toward it—
Her vision burned white.
---
The world tilted.
She fell to her knees.
Her hands gripped the soil and it felt alive, vibrating under her palms like it was answering her presence.
The mark on her chest throbbed.
And then—
The trees bent.
---
Branches twisted unnaturally toward the figure in the woods, as if the entire forest had chosen her side.
The wind howled.
The figure vanished.
But not before she saw glowing white eyes under the hood.
Not wolf.
Not human.
Something else.
---
She collapsed just as Kairo burst through the trees.
He caught her before she hit the ground completely, arms locking around her waist in a motion he didn't even think about.
She blinked up at him, dazed. "Did you see it?"
His voice was tight. "Yes. I chased it."
"What was it?"
He looked toward the trees. "Something that shouldn't be here."
---
His eyes fell to her chest.
The mark was glowing—faint, but visible even through the fabric.
He clenched his jaw.
"This is bigger than I thought."
---
He stood up, lifting her effortlessly.
Lyra didn't protest.
For once, she let herself be held.
Because whatever that thing was, it hadn't wanted to kill her.
Not yet.
It wanted to see her.
And that was worse.
---
As Kairo carried her inside, the wind whispered again.
This time, she understood one word.
A name.
A warning.
> Sheol.