Chapter 5 A Bargain of Shelter

The fire crackled in the hearth, a weak solace for heat as Lyra watched the man seated across from her, the monster-become-man who had also once been prince. The room now seemed cramped, its air heavy and stifling, room drawn tight between them as if weight could crush in, packed with tension that held and unspoken promise.

Kael had retreated into himself now, standing in the window with a distant attention at the silver-lit world outside. His form was defined in the light of the snow. He hadn't said anything since his last outburst, and Lyra wasn't sure whether she should be furious with him or feel for him. He had told her the truth-told her too much, perhaps. But it didn't change the fact that she couldn't just leave. She had already decided, no matter how desperately he tried to frighten her off.

"I will not leave you," she said, her tone now soft but firm. She drew closer to him, the stillness pressing heavily between them.

Kael didn't shift to look at her. His gaze was aimed out the window, at the white, ice-weathered nothingness outside, but she felt the stiffness of his jaw, the fists growing at his hips as though clutching what little control remained.

"Why?" He spoke quietly, his voice a growl. "Why would you do this?"

Lyra drew a brutal breath. She had expected this from him, of course, but hearing it said from him now, it seemed so much heavier. She stood stock-still a few steps away, her chest rising and falling with each gasping breath she took, her heart pounding like the bellowing of a river.

"I don't know what to tell you," she whispered. "I just... I can't leave you out there to die."

She could feel the blaze of his eyes on her now, burning with a violence that sent hairs rising on her arms. He turned to her at last and the nakedness in his face was enough to make her feel her heart ache.

You don't understand," Kael answered, his voice tense with rage. "I'm a threat to you. To all of those around me. The curse, the monster inside me-it's not something you can lock up. It's not something you can heal with love.".

Lyra didn't flinch. She'd heard threats from him before, but they hadn't succeeded then, and they wouldn't succeed now. "Maybe I can't fix it. But I can help you. I don't believe you're a monster, Kael. You've been broken. You're not irredeemable."

His expression softened, slightly, and for an instant, he fought with the words he couldn't manage to say. He moved a step forward, his movements cautious, as if not to break something fragile between them.

"You don't understand," he repeated, but this time there was a crack in his voice. "I am a beast, Lyra. You don't see the evil that is inside of me, how close I am to losing all that I am. If you get too close, you'll be a part of it. The curse will take you as well."

"Then I'll fight it," she said back, her voice unbreakable, firm. "You're not alone anymore, Kael."

An ominous silence unfolded between them, punctuated by nothing but the popping of the flames and the roar of the wind outside. At last, Kael inhaled a long, slow breath. He seemed to sink into the weight of his own thoughts, as though already decided.

"If you're so determined to help," he spoke, barely audibly, "then I've got a proposal for you."

Lyra furrowed her brow, perplexed. "A bargain?"

Kael agreed, his silver eyes glinting with a sharp edge. "I'll stay here, in your home, until I am healed. I won't leave until the curse weakens so that I can live free of the wolf inside me. But you have to promise me something, Lyra."

She nodded uncertainly, her chest racing. "What do you want?"

"Promise me," he told her, advancing, his eyes not blinking. "That you won't try to fight the curse. That you won't try to fix it, change it, turn it around. You can help me heal, but you can't touch the magic. You can't use it."

Lyra's heart skipped in her chest. The bargain was so simple, and yet she could sense the weight of it-the weight of his fear, his doubt, and the raw, unspoken truth that she was stepping into something far deeper and far darker than she understood.

And yet she saw it in his eyes, the still desperation, the fear that had led him to hide from the world for so long.

"I can see that," she replied, voice firm. "I will let you heal, Kael. But I refuse to turn you away. Now."

His gaze softened, and for a moment, she could see the flash of something more-something deep within him that he was too afraid to show. It broke her heart thinking about the curse that he was carrying, the weight that he had been bearing all this while by himself.

"Then it's settled," Kael replied, his tone stern again. "You'll keep me hidden until I heal. And you'll stay away from the magic."

Lyra looked into his eyes, her mind already racing ahead of her, considering what this vow would mean for them both. She had always believed in healing, the magic of nature. But this was different. This wasn't potions and healing. This was something ancient, something powerful that might have the ability to change everything.

"I will," she whispered. "I vow."

The tension between them shifted, as the air after a storm had cleared. Kael took a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing for the first time since he had stepped into her home. He nodded slowly, his expression still guarded, but something in his eyes relaxed.

"Thank you," he said, his voice low and sincere. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I believe I do," she replied, her voice gentle but firm. "I believe I do."

The bargain was struck. But Lyra knew, in her very bones, that this was only the beginning. The road ahead would be fraught with danger, with uncertainty, with the kind of magic that could destroy them.

But she would not leave. Not now. Not after she had already pledged to stand beside him.

Kael gave her one final glance before heading to the frayed bed against the flames. "I'll depart here, then, and let you have your space," he growled. "But you must get something."

Lyra scowled, her heart pounding.

"I will protect you," he swore, his eyes flashing with it. "From the curse. From all."

Lyra nodded. "And I'll watch over you, Kael. From the darkness.".

The fire flared between them as the storm howled outside, but inside, a delicate new relationship had begun to emerge.