Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The meeting broke apart in a flurry of shifting chairs and rustling papers. Caelan stood first—swift and silent—and moved toward the doors without a glance back.

“Caelan—” Emily started, taking a step after him.

But he was already gone. Cloak swishing. Jaw tight. Gone.

She stopped mid-step, heart stuttering.

From the far side of the table, Luvney rose next. Tall. Gorgeous. Unbothered. She didn’t rush—no, she moved with slow, predatory grace, her eyes locked on the spot where Caelan had disappeared.

Emily’s stomach twisted hard.

Luvney turned—and for the briefest second, their gazes met. Not an accident. Her chin tilted just slightly in acknowledgment. Then she looked away, stepping through the door like she belonged beside him.

Emily watched her go, heart pounding in a rhythm that felt nothing like fear.

What the hell was that?

She stood there for another beat, hands clenched tight at her sides. Jealousy wasn’t a strong enough word for the wildfire burning in her gut. It was primal. Violent. A barely restrained need to slam Luvney into the wall and scream, he’s mine.

And that thought alone—sharp and feral—scared the hell out of her.

Where had that come from? Emily had never felt possessive like this. Not over anyone. She didn't even believe in possessive. But something about watching Luvney follow after him, that calculated flick of her eyes, that smug curve of her mouth—it made Emily want to do something reckless. Something physical.

She exhaled hard through her nose, dragging a hand down her face.

“Pull it together,” she muttered under her breath.

Varis’s fingers closed gently around Emily’s arm just as she started toward the door.

“Can you wait a moment?”

Emily turned to face her, something tightening in her chest. She hadn’t forgotten the way Varis had avoided her eyes when Luvney spoke. That flicker of distance.

“Yeah,” Emily said quietly. “We need to talk.”

They stood there, side by side, watching the last few people file out of the conference room. The door clicked shut behind them.

“I’m sorry,” Varis said.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked at the exact same time.

They both fell silent. Varis looked down at her feet, then up again, her eyes searching Emily’s face.

“I should have said something,” Varis said. “But I assumed Caelan would’ve said something to you by now.”

Emily’s brow furrowed. “Said something about what?”

Varis hesitated, her gaze flicking to the door before settling back on Emily. “They were together.”

Emily blinked. Once. Twice. The words took a second to register.

“Wait—what?” she said slowly. “You mean Caelan and Luvney?”

Varis nodded.

Emily took a step back, reeling. She’d suspected something with the way Luvney looked at him, the possessiveness in her tone—but hearing it confirmed made something cold twist under her ribs.

“But… they’re done, right?” she asked, her voice a little tighter than she intended.

“Yes,” Varis said quickly. “It’s just—”

“It’s just what?” Emily pressed.

Varis winced. “He ended things a week before the farmhouse.”

Emily went still. “That recent?”

Varis gave a small nod.

Emily stared at the floor, her heart thudding a little too hard. “Of course he did,” she muttered. “Because why not make things as emotionally complicated as possible.”

Emily left the conference room with her chest tight and her thoughts spiraling.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

They were together.

Varis’s words still echoed in her ears. A week before the farmhouse—that’s when Caelan had ended things with Luvney.

Emily shook her head sharply and picked up her pace. She needed answers. She needed him.

The corridors stretched long and quiet, but her steps were swift. Intentional. Her mind burned with a thousand questions, but beneath all of them pulsed something simpler. Sharper.

She wanted to see his face.

Wanted to ask him if any of it meant what she thought it did.

She turned the corner into one of the side halls, rounding a pillar—and stopped dead in her tracks.

Down the hallway, in the alcove near the south wing, Caelan stood face-to-face with Luvney. Their voices were low, sharp—clearly arguing. Caelan’s hands were tight at his sides, but his mouth moved fast, and his expression was a storm. Luvney was gesturing wildly, her face flushed with frustration—or something else.

Emily crept forward, her steps soft. They hadn’t seen her.

Caelan leaned in, whisper-yelling something that made Luvney flinch before straightening, her jaw set. She took a deep breath and stepped closer to him.

Too close.

Emily’s stomach flipped.

Caelan didn’t step back.

He just… stood there.

Then Luvney’s hand rose, curled around the back of his neck—and she pulled him in.

Her mouth crashed against his.

Emily stopped breathing.

The world tilted.

It was like time fractured and then collapsed inward. Her lungs forgot how to work. Her body forgot how to move. All she could do was stand there and watch—burning from the inside out—until Caelan shoved Luvney back.

His voice snapped through the air, loud and angry.

But Emily didn’t hear it.

She didn’t hear anything but the rush of blood in her ears.

And all she saw—

Was red.

She started forward, her feet carrying her without thought, her mind a wildfire.

Luvney’s voice reached her ears, sharp and laced with contempt. “What are you doing here? You ruined everything, so just leave. No one wants you here.”

Emily didn’t stop. Luvney was suddenly in her face, and Caelan was saying something—maybe trying to intervene—but it didn’t register.

All she could see was her. All she could feel was the fire ripping through her chest, her limbs, her hands.

Emily snapped.

She screamed—a guttural, wordless roar—and flung her hand out. Luvney was ripped off her feet, hurled twenty feet down the corridor, crashing against the stone wall with a heavy thud. The impact cracked through the hall like thunder.

She didn’t stop to think. She chased.

Luvney was already pushing herself to her feet, blood at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were wild, her smile twisted. “You want to fight me? Really?” She spat blood onto the floor. “Let’s go, then.”

Emily didn’t hesitate.

She was faster. Stronger. Every swing carried the weight of her magic, months of training—and her fury.

They collided like lightning.

Luvney swung first, sharp and fast, catching Emily’s shoulder—but Emily countered, spinning into a brutal strike to her ribs. Luvney staggered, then slammed her knee into Emily’s side. Emily grunted, teeth clenched, and threw her elbow into Luvney’s jaw.

Magic flickered in the air between them—raw, unfocused, reactive. They weren’t using spells. This was instinct. Rage. Muscle and power.

Luvney grabbed a fistful of Emily’s hair and yanked hard, trying to slam her against the wall, but Emily twisted, powered through the pain, and drove her fist into Luvney’s stomach. Luvney doubled over—Emily didn’t let her catch her breath. She kicked her legs out from under her, sending her sprawling, then lunged on top of her.

Fists. Elbows. Sparks of soul energy with every blow.

Luvney screamed and shoved her off, then scrambled to her feet, bloody and breathing hard. She launched herself at Emily again, snarling.

They slammed together, a tangled, vicious mess of limbs and anger. Emily took a hit to her jaw that made her ears ring, but she retaliated with a full-force punch to Luvney’s ribs—this time pouring magic into it.

Luvney flew.

She hit the ground and skidded across the stone, scraping and tumbling until she slammed into the base of a decorative pillar nearly fifty feet away. She didn’t get up.

Emily ran at her.

She didn’t know what she meant to do—she just knew she wasn’t done.

But arms wrapped around her waist from behind, locking her in place. She screamed, flailed, twisted with every ounce of strength she had.

“Let me go!” she shouted, voice raw. “Let me go now!”

She barely heard the voice in her ear.

“Emily. Emily—stop.”

It took a second. Two.

“Emily… it’s me.”

Caelan.

She froze. Her heart thundered. Her whole body trembled, and the anger drained all at once—leaving her hollow, spent.

She sagged in his arms.

Down the hall, Luvney was bleeding. Two healers knelt beside her, moving quickly. Emily stared, her breath catching.

Caelan slowly released her. Emily stumbled, covering her mouth, nausea rising in her throat.

Emily stared at the blood on the floor. The way it streaked down Luvney’s temple. The quiet, urgent movements of the healers.

Her hands were shaking.

She could feel Caelan behind her—close, too close—and she stepped aside, putting space between them until both he and Luvney were in view.

He took a step forward, she instinctively backed away. One step. Then another.

“Emily—” he started.

“Don’t,” she rasped.

Her voice sounded strange in her ears. Hollow.

She looked at her hands like they didn’t belong to her. Her breathing hitched.

Caelan took another step.

She flinched and moved further back, eyes wide, still locked on the scene at the end of the hall. “I didn’t mean to—” Her throat closed. “I didn’t think—I just—”

She looked up at him, finally, and saw it. The tension in his jaw. The conflict in his eyes.

Her stomach twisted.

“What are you doing to me?” she asked, the words barely above a whisper, thick with something she didn’t want to name. Shame. Hurt. Fear.

Caelan’s expression broke just a little, like her words had cracked something in him too.

But she couldn’t bear it. Not then.

Emily turned and walked away.

She made it five steps, then ten.

Then her breath caught again—and she ran.