Chapter 3 Unsettling

Chapter Three

Elara’s POV

The noise of the arena still rang in my ears as I followed the flow of students spilling out into the crisp night air. My hands were cold, even inside my jacket, but I hardly noticed. My mind replayed every second of the game, every move Kael had made.

He had been impossible to ignore.

The crowd had cheered for him louder than for anyone else, and even now people around me were buzzing about him. I tried to keep my head down, slipping through the crowd before anyone could notice me, but it was no use. My heart was racing, and it was not just from the excitement of the win.

I had felt his eyes on me. Twice.

I hurried toward the far side of the parking lot, where the noise was thinner, hoping to find a quiet path back to the dorms. That was when I heard footsteps behind me. Steady. Purposeful.

I stopped. The sound stopped too.

Slowly, I turned.

He was there.

Kael.

Still in his uniform, his hockey stick slung over his shoulder, hair damp with sweat, his chest rising and falling with leftover adrenaline. The sharp lights from the arena glowed against his features, making him look almost unreal.

For a moment, I could not breathe.

“You came,” he said, his voice low, steady.

I swallowed hard. “It was my first game. I wanted to see what it was like.”

His lips curved, though it was not quite a smile. “And what did you see?”

I shifted on my feet, unsure if I should tell the truth. “I saw you.”

Silence stretched between us, heavier than the cold air. His gaze locked on mine, and I could not look away.

“That is dangerous,” he said finally.

My brow furrowed. “Dangerous?”

Kael stepped closer. The world seemed to shrink until it was only the two of us in the shadow of the arena. His presence was overwhelming, like he carried the weight of something more than a game, more than this school.

“People will try to keep you away from me,” he said. “They already have, haven’t they?”

Heat crept up my neck. He knew. Somehow he knew about the girls who had cornered me earlier.

“I do not want trouble,” I whispered.

His jaw tightened. “Trouble finds you when you step into my world.”

I hugged my arms around myself. “Then maybe I should stay out of it.”

Something flickered in his eyes, sharp and fierce. “You think you can?”

I opened my mouth but no words came. Because I already knew the truth. From the moment I had seen him on the ice, there was no escaping the pull he had on me.

The sound of voices carried from the other side of the lot, breaking the moment. Rowan, Jace, and Luca appeared, laughing among themselves, but their expressions shifted when they saw Kael standing in front of me.

“Looks like the captain got to her first,” Jace teased lightly, though his eyes were watchful.

Rowan stepped forward, his tone calm. “We walked her here so no one bothered her.”

Kael’s gaze did not leave mine. “Good.”

Luca tilted his head, his storm-gray eyes unreadable. “She can handle herself.”

“Maybe,” Kael said softly. “But she should not have to.”

My chest tightened at his words, at the way he spoke them with quiet certainty. I felt like I was standing at the edge of something I did not understand, a line I was not sure I wanted to cross but could not step away from either.

Rowan cleared his throat. “We should head back. The team is waiting.”

Kael finally pulled his eyes from me, though it looked like it cost him effort. He nodded once, then turned as if to leave with them.

Before he did, his voice reached me again. “Elara. Remember what I said. Once you see me, you cannot look away.”

My heart thundered as I watched him walk off with his teammates. His words sank deep, heavy and unsettling.

I stood frozen for a long moment, the night air chilling me to the bone, before I forced myself to move. But as I walked back to my dorm, I could not shake the feeling that Kael Draven had just changed everything.

Tbc