Chapter 6 Flickers Of The Past

Chapter Six

The sunlight dappled through the leaves above, dancing over Eira's fingers as she fiddled with a stray thread on her sleeve. Kael sat beside her, their shoulders almost brushing, voices low like the world outside didn't matter for once.

"He used to burn every single one," Kael said, smiling faintly.

Eira looked up. "Who did?"

"Riven. Pancakes." He let out a small breath of laughter. "Every Sunday morning, like clockwork. The whole kitchen would smell like smoke and syrup for hours."

She laughed softly. "I can't picture that."

"I know. It's weird now. Back then he was just... human. Messy, annoying, stubborn. But he tried. Every single time." His voice dropped just a bit. "He used to hum when he cooked. Some old tune I never figured out."

There was a stillness in his eyes, like a memory he hadn't touched in a long time.

"You miss him," Eira said gently.

Kael didn't answer right away. Then: "I miss who he was. Before everything."

Silence slipped between them, not awkward-just full.

Kael turned to her suddenly. "You have a nice laugh."

"What?" Eira blinked.

"I mean it." His eyes met hers, steady and soft. "It's real. You're real. It's rare, and I notice."

Eira looked away, heart thudding, brushing her hair behind her ear to hide the smile tugging at her lips. "You're strange sometimes."

"Only sometimes?"

That made her laugh again.

But the warmth between them thinned the moment Laxton stepped into view.

He approached with casual ease, a slight smirk on his lips. "Hope I'm not interrupting something life-changing."

Kael didn't move, but Eira could feel the shift in his energy-tightened shoulders, eyes no longer soft.

"Just reminiscing," Kael said.

Laxton's gaze flicked between them, unreadable. "Hm. About pancakes?"

Kael's jaw tensed slightly. Eira forced a polite smile. "Just... talking."

"Right." Laxton smiled again, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll let you get back to it."

When he walked off, Eira released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Kael glanced at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just...ummm, nothing ."

Kael didn't respond.

Before either could say more, footsteps echoed nearby.

"Eira!" Nahila's voice was warm, as she and Aysa appeared from around the corridor. "We've been looking for you."

Eira stood a little, smiling. "You found me."

Nahila went straight to her, giving her a quick squeeze around the shoulders like always. Aysa joined in, teasingly nudging Eira's side.

"Interrupting something?" Aysa asked, glancing at Kael.

Eira shook her head quickly. "No! We were just talking about-uh-Riven's pancakes."

Kael gave a lopsided smile.

Nahila looked at Kael quietly, then back at Eira with something softer in her eyes. Familiarity. Love. She and Eira had been through everything together. They weren't just close-they were tethered.

Nahila's eyes flicked to Kael with that familiar half-smirk she always wore when teasing him. "Still stealing people's attention with your tragic pancake stories, huh?"

Kael let out a breath of a laugh, leaning back on his elbows. "Hey, it was a dramatic morning. Riven almost burned down the tower trying to flip a pancake. That deserves sympathy."

"Or a fire extinguisher," Nahila quipped, folding her arms. "You always did exaggerate food-related disasters."

Kael grinned. "And you always rolled your eyes at them-right before eating whatever I made."

Eira chuckled. "Wait-you can actually cook?"

"He's weirdly good at it," Nahila said, flashing Eira a playful look. "But he talks about pancakes like they're ancient relics."

"Because they are," Kael shot back, matching her tone. "Legends passed down through the ages."

Aysa rolled her eyes with a snort, "You two are impossible."

Eira was laughing now, and Nahila looked between them before softening. "Well, as long as no one burns down the castle, you're good."

Then, as she turned to go, she added lightly-just for Kael, so low only he could catch it-

"Some legends don't stay buried forever. Just remember that."

Kael's smile faltered for the briefest second. Nahila met his gaze, gave a wink, and walked off with Aysa and Eira.

Eira watched him.

She didn't know why her chest felt tight. Or why her laugh hadn't felt like hers. But something about the way Kael had looked at Nahila-how easy it was between them, how the teasing fit just right-stayed with her.

She had wanted to say something earlier, right before Nahila appeared. Something honest. Maybe even something important. But it had slipped away the moment laughter filled the space like a wall she couldn't see over.

Now it felt too late.

Kael leaned back on his elbows again, his expression unreadable. Whatever flicker of softness had been there before-it was tucked away now.

Eira glanced at the thread on her sleeve. Tugged it gently.

Her smile held, but it was quieter this time. Guarded.

And no one noticed.

Or maybe... one person did.

Nahila's POV

I couldn't stand it.

Watching them sit together like that-shoulders brushing, breath shared, like the world had finally settled into place between them.

Kael was leaning in toward her, his voice low, gaze soft.

Soft.

That's what destroyed me.

Because I knew that look. I used to live inside it.

Only... when he looked at me, it was different.

Like I was fire he was scared to touch-but couldn't stay away from.

Not like this. Not the gentleness he gives her. The quiet surrender.

He's not afraid of her.

He was always afraid of me. Of us.

Like whatever we had was too wild, too real, too much.

Maybe it was. Maybe I was.

But I remember the night he told me he didn't believe in fate.

That he'd choose me, even if the world burned for it.

We were lying on the roof of the old observatory, stars smeared across the sky. He was warm beside me, heartbeat steady under my cheek.

And he said, "If the moon demanded I walk away from you... I'd tell it to fall."

I remember that exact sentence. I've replayed it a thousand times.

Now I wonder if he ever meant it.

Or if I was just a chapter he finished reading.

He's mated now. To her.

Eira-my best friend.

The one who used to braid my hair, whisper secrets into the dark, swear we'd never hide anything from each other or take what belongs to the other.

But she took him.

How long?

How many glances did they steal while I was right there?

How many half-truths passed between them while I laughed, while I trusted, while I loved?

They didn't just fall in love.

They chose not to tell me

.

And that choice cuts deeper than the bond ever could.

Now I get to smile through it.

Be the understanding one. The steady one

.

The one who never breaks, even when the ground beneath her disappears.

But I feel it. Every second.

The way he doesn't look at me anymore.

The way she does, like she knows, like she's waiting for me to snap.

And I want to.

I want to tell the truth. Scream it.

That I loved him first. That maybe I still do.

That I was there before the moon ever noticed her.

But I won't.

Because if I open my mouth, everything inside me will come pouring out.

And they'll see what I've become-

Not the best friend.

Not the girl he once touched like a storm.

Just a shadow, shrinking behind the light they made together.

So I swallow the scream.

And I turn away.

Because it's easier to be forgotten

Than to be the one left behind.