Velithra couldn't sleep.
The rain outside had started sometime after sunset — soft at first, then steady, tapping against the window like a heartbeat she couldn't ignore.
She sat on the edge of her bed, knees pulled to her chest, the dim light of her lamp casting long, uncertain shadows across her walls. Her phone buzzed twice with messages from her so-called friends — half-hearted attempts at gossip she couldn't bring herself to answer.
Her mind was elsewhere.
On him.
On the way Kai's voice had cracked when he said please.The way he'd looked like he was holding something too heavy to carry, but too dangerous to drop.
Velithra pressed her palms to her eyes, trying to shake the thought. "Get a grip," she muttered under her breath. "He's fine. He's always fine."
But even as she said it, a chill ran down her spine — sharp and certain, like the air itself had shifted.
She looked toward the window.
The rain had stopped. The street outside was still — unnaturally still. No wind. No sound. Just the quiet hum of her lamp and the faint flicker of light from the streetlamp below.
Then — a sharp pain.
It came suddenly, deep in her chest, like something had been pulled taut and then snapped. She gasped, pressing a hand to her heart.
It wasn't fear. It wasn't panic.It was connection.
Somehow, somewhere — she could feel him.
Images flashed in her mind — blurred streets, wet asphalt, a voice calling a name she couldn't make out. For a moment, she thought she heard him whisper hers.
"Velithra…"
Her breath hitched.
Then the light in her room flickered. Once. Twice.The air felt heavier, almost electric, and the temperature dropped so fast that her skin prickled.
She stood slowly, stepping toward the window. The glass was fogged, but through it she thought she saw a shadow — tall, still, standing across the street.
Her heart leapt.It wasn't Kai.It couldn't be.
The figure didn't move, didn't breathe — just stood there, like watching her.
Velithra stumbled back a step. "No," she whispered. "No, no—"
The light flickered again.
And when it came back on, the street was empty.
Velithra stayed frozen where she stood, her hand clutching the edge of her desk until her knuckles went white.
She didn't know what she'd just seen.But deep in her chest — beneath the fear — she felt it again.
That pull. That invisible thread that connected her to him.
And somewhere, miles away, she knew Kai felt it too.