Chapter 79: watched
Lor watched Kiara storm ahead, her ponytail whipping like a battle flag behind her, her heels clicking sharply against the town road’s uneven cobbles.
The academy’s spires loomed in the distance, fading into the dusk, but they were well beyond its gates now—safely tucked into the winding paths of the surrounding town, where merchant carts rumbled by and the first evening lanterns flickered to life along the roadside.
He didn’t follow.
Instead, he turned the other way, weaving back through the shadowed alleys that skirted the town’s edge, his steps quiet against the dusk-soaked stones.
The sunlight had thinned, gold bleeding into deep amber, casting long shadows from the overhanging roofs of nearby shops.
The air carried the faint scent of baked bread and spiced ale from a tavern nearby, a hum of distant voices breaking the quiet.
He rounded the corner near an old stone fountain, water trickling softly—and stopped.
Eva was standing there, arms folded, leaning against the weathered edge of the fountain like she’d been waiting.
"I knew it," she said softly, her voice cutting through the evening hush.
Lor blinked. "Eva?"
She stepped forward, her dark blue hair swaying gently, the pink streak catching the fading light, her green eyes piercing with a mix of resolve and concern.
"I’m sorry, Lor," she said, eyes earnest, her words laced with quiet urgency. "I wanted to say something earlier, but... I couldn’t risk it. Kiara warned me. Thoroughly. Said if I so much as looked at you..."