Niah's POV
The whole world seemed to shrink until it was just the space between me and Zaire. I swear, I couldn't even breathe without feeling like I was drowning in him—his warmth, the way he just knew things, the weight of the name I'd just let slip out loud.
Rain.
My own voice still echoed inside me, like it was tied to this invisible string stretched tight between my soul and his. Zaire hadn't moved an inch, but his eyes... they pinned me in place, steady as an anchor in a storm surge. His jaw was tight, like he was holding back a hurricane.
I honestly couldn't tell if the pounding in my ears was my heartbeat or his. And then—
Click.
The chapel archive door swung open, and the silence shattered like glass. Dr. Elira Thorne's voice cut through, crisp and elegant as always, but even she hesitated when she stepped into the thick tension hanging in the room.
"Oh. I—hope I'm not interrupting."
Her eyes darted between us, sharp and knowing, like she could see right through every secret in the air.
I practically jumped back, way too fast, putting a ridiculous amount of space between me and Zaire. My hand snapped the book shut, and the glow vanished so quickly it was like it had never even been there.
Zaire, of course, was the picture of calm. He moved smoothly, like nothing had happened at all, except for the tiniest twitch at the corner of his mouth and something flickering in his eyes that I couldn't quite read.
"Not at all," he said, cool as ever.
Yeah, right, I thought
I cleared my throat, refusing to look at him. "We were just… going over the old records."
Thorne raised an eyebrow, with all elegance and mischief. "And finding glowing pages, no doubt?"
My face went pale. "Wait...How do you know the pages were glowing?"
She gave me this dry little smile, her eyes sparkling with something between amusement and concern. "Oh, I know a great many things," she said. "And I know you, Es—Niah. I know this isn't easy, especially now that the threads are starting to show themselves."
Zaire's eyes narrowed just a bit at her slip, but Thorne didn't miss a beat. Her voice softened, and for a second, she sounded almost gentle.
"You're not alone in this, child. But there will be moments, like just now, when the world tilts and you get a glimpse of what it's really made of. Don't be afraid of those moments."
I glanced at Zaire. He still hadn't moved, but he was watching me, waiting for something I couldn't name.
Thorne turned toward the far desk, breaking the spell. "Now, if you two are done gazing into the soul of the universe, I could use a hand cataloguing the new batch of entries from the Delmas line. And Niah, I have a feeling one of them holds your next key."
Zaire finally pushed off the desk, a faint smirk breaking through and slicing the tension. "Duty calls."
I swallowed hard and nodded, my fingers still tingling from the book's glow. I followed Thorne, not trusting myself to say a word, my steps just a little shaky.
As I passed Zaire, he leaned in, just close enough for me to catch his whisper, "You said my name like you remembered all of it."
My breath caught, but he was already moving away, leaving me with a thousand questions and a heart that wouldn't slow down.
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