Page 51 of Zayrik

She didn’t flinch. Didn’t believe me, either.

But something in her expression changed, softened.

And I got the feeling, part of her wanted to.

An electric tension hung in the air between us, unspoken words thrumming. With the memory of that kiss, with the way she’d trusted me during the escape.

Protecting her felt right, even though I knew she was capable of protecting herself.

We needed to talk about it.

About all of it.

But for now, we just sat in silence, letting the stars carry us further from danger.

And closer to whatever this was becoming.

17

Nyla

I DIDN’T RUN.

That surprised me more than anything else today.

I should’ve bolted the second Zayrik looked at me like that. Like he saw past every excuse and every lie, like he understood me without needing to be told anything at all. Like he could read every secret written beneath my skin.

And worse.

He wasn’t going anywhere, and he’d already decided I was worth staying for.

Even now, back in the storage bay, I could feel his presence on my skin. A phantom touch that wouldn’t fade. His voice still echoed in my head, deep and certain as gravity.

“I’m not leaving.”

Damn him.

Damn the way those words slipped past every wall I’d built.

I pulled the locker open harder than I meant to, metal shrieking against metal. A pack of ration bars tumbled out and hit the floor, the sound too loud in the confined space. Perfect. I crouched down to gather them, biting back the shake in my hands. Trying to ignore how the position made my ribs ache, how every movement reminded me of his hands steadying me during our escape.

This was stupid.

I wasn’t some fragile girl who couldn’t handle pressure.

I’d lived through worse than this.

Hell, I thrived in worse.

In blood and shadow and necessary violence.

But Zayrik...

Zayrik was something else entirely.

Not just a complication.

A trigger.

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