Page 32 of Lured By Shadows

He didn’t flinch. Instead, he met my gaze head-on, placing his hand over his heart. “I solemnly swear,” he said, “no harm will come to you. Not under my watch.”

The words settled heavily between us, leaving me unsure whether to laugh, scoff, or believe him. None of those reactions felt entirely right.

“Guess this is me,” I muttered, more to escape the moment than because I actually wanted to go to class. Without waiting for his response, I slipped inside and headed for my seat by Kiera.

I told myself not to look back and told myself to just sit down, pull my notebook out, and act like a normal person who hadn’t just been shaken by a single encounter. But the second I reached my seat, I felt it again. The pull at the base of my neck, making my skin prickle in a way I couldn’t ignore no matter how hard I tried.

So I looked.

Culver still stood in the hall, leaning casually against the wall like he had nowhere else to be. When he caught me glancing back, the corner of his mouth lifted into the same half-smile as he raised his hand in a slow, unhurried wave. My breath caught, warmth climbing into my face and neck. I dropped into my seat quickly, heart racing, pretending very hard that I wasn’t affected at all.

My attraction to him kept building minute by minute, pulling me in deeper even as I tried to shake it off and focus on what was right in front of me.

I didn’t look back again. Instead, I turned my attention to Kiera, who sat quietly beside me, her posture stiff and her gaze still locked on the doorway he’d just slipped away from, as though she couldn’t quite let go of the fact he had been there.

“Hey,” I murmured, keeping my voice low. “How’re you today?”

She blinked as if pulled from somewhere far away and turned to me slowly. “You appeared so suddenly,” she said, her voice soft and strange. “Like something drawn in by the air itself.”

Cool. Even she talked like she lived inside a prophecy.

I let out a short, dry laugh, unsure how else to respond. “Yeah,” I said lightly. “He has that effect on people.”

I wasn’t really talking about everyone else, though.

She studied me for a long moment, her eyes searching my face. “He is not like that with anyone else,” she murmured. “You are… different with him… special.” The word carried gravity, not excitement. “Usually, he acts as though the world is beneath his notice. Unless someone angers him. And then…” She trailed off carefully. “Well, you have seen glimpses, haven’t you?”

A pause settled between us. Her eyes shimmered faintly, not with tears but with the glassy sheen of old memories brushing too close to the surface.

“I don’t know if I’d call it special,” I said after a moment, my voice quieter now. “He’s already been teasing me. Just enough to keep me on my toes.” I shrugged slightly, trying to make it sound lighter. “I think he has a decent side when he wants to show it. I just wish he got along better with other people, ya know? It would make things easier for me. Right now, it feels like there’s a spotlight on me, and not the good kind. Like I’ve been shoved into a play I never auditioned for. Not that I know too much about Culver, though. I mean, we literally just met.”

Kiera sat up a little straighter, smoothing invisible lint from her sleeve as she considered my words. “I can see why others pull back,” she said carefully. “It almost feels… orchestrated. Like we are meant to keep you at arm’s length.”

She tilted her head slightly, her voice dropping. “It may sound cruel, but the way he sees you… you have been marked as someone important. And not everyone knows how to exist around that sort of pressure.”

There was no envy in her tone, only tired honesty. When Kiera spoke, it always felt worth listening to, like each word had been chosen and measured. I offered a small, uncertain shrug.

“He does seem to have an interest in me,” I admitted, and it sounded flattering until I remembered half the campus acted like he might eat people. “Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I honestly don’t know yet. And I don’t think I’ll be figuring that out today.”

Before either of us could say more, the professor entered, his presence moving across the room with the dull authority of routine. We both turned our attention forward, pretending our thoughts weren’t still tangled elsewhere.

By the end of class, my mind had drifted away from Culver entirely, worn down by lectures, note-taking, and the simple passage of time pulling me back into the rhythm of the day.

When the room began to clear and Kiera started packing up her things, I took the opportunity.

“Hey,” I said, adjusting the strap of my bag. “Do you know Oliver and Sienna?”

She paused, fingers hovering over her book. “A bit,” she replied. “I have not spoken with them, but they are… recognizable faces.” Her smile was polite but distant.

I hesitated, then pushed on. “They invited me to the park this Saturday, and I thought you would like to come too.”

Her expression shifted almost imperceptibly. Her gaze slid past my shoulder, focusing on something unseen, and then she shook her head slowly.

“Oh,” she said softly, too softly. “I am a bit busy on weekends, so I cannot. But thank you for thinking of me.”

Her voice lifted at the end, brightening artificially. Then she turned and left, her steps quick and purposeful. She didn’t look back.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the space she’d just occupied, a tightness twisting in my stomach. The way she’d hurried off made me wonder if I’d pushed too far or stumbled right up against something she wasn’t about to share.