Lyra Vale kept her gaze low as she stepped off the bus,the morning sun casting a warm glow over the university campus.Lyra arrived at the university with two suitcases,a folded acceptance letter,and a single promise she kept repeating under her breath.
Stay invisible.
Lyra kept her head down as she crossed the courtyard,shoes scuffing lightly against stone that had probably been polished.Students milled around,voices echoing across the courtyard,but she moved quietly,as if blending into the world itself.Scholarships weren't just a privilege—they were her shield,she intended to stay invisible.She wasn't here to be noticed.
She was here to survive.
Her scholarship papers were tucked carefully into her bag,edges already worn from how many times she'd checked them. Tuition covered,housing assigned,rules memorized.All she had to do was attend her lectures,keep her grades perfect,and avoid unnecessary attention....Simple,predictable and safe
Her auburn hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders,dark eyes scanning the crowd for anything unusual.A notebook,frayed at the corners,rested against her side,tucked under her arm like armor.In it,she wrote letters she would never send,thoughts she didn't dare voice aloud,and secrets she kept even from herself.
Life had taught her caution,orphaned young, surviving on scholarships and herself,Lyra knew the value of silence.Holidays with her aunt reminded her of warmth she didn't feel at school,but here she preferred the quiet, the calm, the invisibility.
"Roommate?"a cheerful voice called.
Lyra turned to see a girl waving from the dorm steps.Bright hair,bright eyes, and a smile that seemed impossible at this hour.
"Talia Morgan," the girl said,holding out a hand....Your new partner in this madness. Room 304,right?"
Lyra hesitated,then extended her hand. "Lyra Vale," she said softly. Her voice was measured,calm,like water running over stones."I talk a lot when I'm nervous."
Lyra smiled back before she could stop herself. "I listen when I'm nervous."
Talia grinned. "Perfect. I'll make sure you don't die of boredom." She leaned closer, eyes flicking toward the courtyard. "Have you… seen him yet?"
Lyra frowned. "Seen who?"
Talia's smile turned mischievous. "Kael Draven.You know… the one everyone talks about....Richest guy in school,smartest, dangerously handsome,flirts with half the campus.And yes,he has a lover everyone whispers about."
Lyra's chest tightened—not from jealousy, not yet—but unease.She didn't like attention,chaos,or complications.
They reached the dorm,and Talia fussed with the lock while talking nonstop.Lyra let her eyes wander and then,across the courtyard,she saw him.
Kael Draven.
Leaning against the library wall,dark hair falling over impossibly sharp features,every motion measured,every glance deliberate. Even from a distance,he radiated of confidence,power,and a strange kind of danger.Lyra felt it immediately,a pull she tried not to acknowledge.
And then he looked at her.
For a second—maybe less—before vanishing into the crowd,as if he had never existed.
Lyra exhaled slowly....keep your head down. Blend in.Just another student.
But for the first time in a long while,she wasn't sure she could.Her dorm room smelled faintly of detergent and something floral,like a previous occupant had tried to leave behind a pleasant memory.Lyra set her suitcase down and exhaled, shoulders loosening for the first time that day.
This was manageable
By evening,Lyra had learned three things:
Talia hated silence.
The cafeteria food was better than expected.
And there was someone on campus everyone already knew.
She heard his name before she ever saw him.
Whispers followed it,laughter....A warning tone disguised as curiosity.
"Kael."
She didn't ask who he was,she didn't need to,she saw him later,near the main hall, surrounded by people who leaned in without realizing they were doing it.He didn't touch anyone,didn't have to.His presence seemed to bend the space around him—effortless, unbothered.
Lyra's gaze lingered a second too long.
And then—
He looked up.
Their eyes met,just briefly,no smile,norecognition.
Still, something about the moment settled strangely in her chest, like a question she hadn't meant to ask.....