As soon as Kairo stepped out into the hallway, his stride was steady, gaze fixed forward. He didn't need to look to the side to know—someone was there.
Someone waiting.
"Must you still be here?" Kairo muttered, sighing as he dragged a hand through his hair, black eyes narrowing.
His voice was cold, clipped, the kind that should've ended the conversation.
But Caelen thrived on pressing buttons.
"Why would I leave right away," Caelen drawled, tone obnoxiously light, "when I know you're going to get pissed if I'm still here?" He leaned casually against the wall, bandages still visible across his temple, but his molten gaze burned with mischief.
Kairo's jaw tightened. Normally, he had endless patience when it came to this man, years of practice ignoring Caelen's taunts—but today?
Today, Caelen was dragging fire out of him in ways no one else ever had.
