Colton slowed just enough to fall into step beside Kaiden, hands tucked behind his head, a grin already forming like he'd been waiting for this moment.
"You know," he started, voice light, "I've been thinking."
Kaiden didn't look at him. "That's new."
Colton clutched his chest. "Wow. Straight to violence."
A pause—then he leaned closer, lowering his voice like it mattered.
"I love you, man."
Kaiden stopped.
Not abruptly—just enough.
Then—he choked.
A sharp, unexpected sound that made Colton's grin break wider.
"Relax," Colton added quickly, raising both hands. "Bromance. Strictly bromance. I don't swing that way."
Kaiden shot him a look—flat, unimpressed. "I'm not gay."
"Mm." Colton nodded slowly, like he was weighing evidence. "Then prove it."
Kaiden's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You don't talk to girls," Colton continued, counting on his fingers. "You dodge conversations, avoid eye contact—and when I talk to Kim…" He paused, watching him closely. "You get weird."
"I don't."
"You do."
"I don't."
Colton's grin shifted—sharper now, more deliberate. "So you like her?"
Silence.
A beat too quick—
"No."
Colton's brows lifted.
"Oh?" he dragged the word out. "So not her…" He leaned in slightly, voice dropping. "Then who? Me?"
Kaiden stared at him.
Long enough for the joke to hang in the air.
"What exactly goes on in your head?" he asked finally.
"Answer the question," Colton pressed, though the teasing hadn't left his tone. "I like Kim. I just need to know if I'm competing with you—or if you're just being you."
Something flickered across Kaiden's expression.
Small.
Gone quickly.
He turned away.
"Whatever you do," he said, voice quieter now, "don't get played."
Colton didn't answer immediately.
He watched him walk ahead, hands slipping into his pockets.
Then—
A small smile tugged at his lips.
"Too late for that," he murmured.
But there was warmth in it.
Something steady.
—
Aurikon didn't need introductions.
Reputation moved faster than names.
At the far end of the hall, Kaiden sat alone, a book open in his hand, untouched for longer than it should have been. It didn't matter. Attention gathered anyway—quiet, uninvited, constant.
Across the room, Kacy lingered near the window. Her gaze drifted—then settled, as it always did.
On him.
The doors opened.
The shift was subtle—but immediate.
Heels met polished floors in a measured rhythm. Conversations thinned. Heads turned—not out of curiosity, but recognition.
She didn't hide who she was.
Lynn McKenzie.
Ranked third.
Not by accident. Not by chance.
Her name held its place through consistency—through control. In a system that stripped away identity, she had carved hers back into it.
Daughter of one of Aurikon's founding families—she didn't whisper her lineage like the others. She carried it openly, let it shape the space around her.
Power wasn't something she searched for.
It was something she aligned with.
And right now—
Power sat at the top.
Her gaze swept the hall, precise, calculating.
Not searching.
Choosing.
Until it stopped.
Kaiden.
And beside him—
Colton.
Dual elements.
A name people used like it explained everything.
If she couldn't surpass them—
She would stand beside them.
Her lips curved slightly.
She moved.
Two girls followed behind her, careful not to overstep.
"Hey."
The word was simple.
But the room heard it.
Murmurs rippled outward.
Because Lynn McKenzie did not initiate.
People approached her.
That was the order of things.
And yet—
Here she was.
"Do you want to sit with me?" she continued, her tone smooth, controlled. "We could go over the last test. I could also—"
"No need."
The interruption was immediate.
Clean.
Final.
For a fraction of a second—
Something slipped.
A flicker in her eyes.
Sharp.
Gone just as quickly.
Colton caught it.
Temper.
He stepped in before it could surface. "We were actually just heading out," he said easily, a practiced smile settling back in place. "Another table. Might not be enough space for you and your… entourage."
Her gaze shifted to him.
Measured.
Then back to Kaiden.
He was already standing.
Walking away.
Like she had never spoken.
Silence lingered.
Just long enough to be felt.
Her fingers curled slightly at her side, nails pressing into her palm.
This wasn't how things went.
Not for her.
Not ever.
Around her, the murmurs shifted—curiosity sharpening, attention tightening.
Watching.
Waiting.
Lynn exhaled slowly.
Composure settled back into place like it had never left.
But the smile that returned—
Was different.
Sharper.
More deliberate.
Because this wasn't just about conversation anymore.
It was about position.
And if distance was the game they wanted to play—
She would play it better.
This just became interesting.