The evening breeze ca in full force, cooling the small beads of sweat that appeared on my forehead. The sun slowly disappeared over the horizon, and as darkness ca, the Lumi lanterns in the orchard slowly ca to life.
Kyro kept his gaze on , his words stinging like a fresh cut. At this point, there was no use hiding anymore, so I climbed out from behind the hedge.
Lucy turned towards , her face turning pale as she clutched the glowing pendant.
"Rin! What the hell are you doing here" she snapped. Her eyes flicked between and Kyro, wide and confused, like I was the last person she wanted to see.
"Saving you from a mistake," I replied, brushing off the leaves from my blazer.
My gaze locked onto Kyro, who leaned against the bench, smirking like he'd already won
"Saving ?" Lucy tightened her grip around the pendant, her brows furrowing. "Is that what you call spying on ?"
"Trust , Lucy. This is far bigger than you know."
"Is it?"
"Yes."
"Do tell," she said, folding her arms.
I opened my mouth to speak, but I froze, afraid to say the wrong thing.
"Nothing to say, or do you need more ti to co up with a good lie?"
Kyro let out a slight chuckle.
"Don't worry, Lucy," he said, smirking. "I'm sure he has a good explanation."
My blood boiled within .
His words, his gesture, his pendant... Everything about him reeked of trouble.
I'd seen enough of him. Whatever Kyro's ga was, I was going to tear it apart before Lucy got hurt.
"Lucy, I ca here to protect you, from him."
"Protect ?" Her voice grew sharper. "I don't need protecting. I was completely fine until you decided to spy on ."
"Fine?" I scoffed, pointing at the pendant. "That thing is dripping with way more mana than it needs to. Now, why would your boyfriend gift you an artifact that contains a spell?"
Kyro chuckled again, his voice low and smooth. "You're being paranoid, Stormborn. It's just a gift. Lucy deserves nice things."
"Paranoid?" I took a step closer to him, my voice dropping. "I sensed your mana too. A bit too much for a C-Rank Spellcaster."
I expected a negative reaction, but Kyro simply let out another chuckle.
"If you could sense my mana," he said, smiling. "then you're no C-Rank either."
"Oh, I didn't need to sense your mana to know you're bad news. So tell , Kyro... What are you doing in this academy?"
Lucy's eyes darted to Kyro, then back to . "Just stop it Rin. You've been acting weird since we got back. What's your problem?"
"My problem?" I laughed, but it ca out a little bitter. "I'm not the one cozying up to a guy I t two weeks ago. That guy is not who you think he is. He's acting suspiciously, but your sudden popularity has made you too blind to see it."
Lucy froze, her lips parting like she wanted to argue, but couldn't find the right words.
For a second, I thought she'd listen to . Then her face hardened. She stepped closer to Kyro, like he was her friend.
'Kyro's the suspicious one?" Her voice was low, almost a
growl. "You're the one stealing books from the library and sneaking around to spy on ."
"That's different, Lucy..."
"Is it? From my perspective, you're the one who's been acting weird since we got back here. When you're with , you look at like I'm a monster, and when you're not, you're too busy spying on ."
At that mont, I decided to tell her everything that's been going on.
"Lucy, I need you to listen to ..."
"No, you listen," she cut off. "I don't need you to tell who I can and can't trust. I can do that on my own. Next ti you're feeling jealous, just keep your opinions to yourself."
My chest tightened, like I had just received a blow.
"Jealous? Lucy I'm just trying to protect you. To keep you alive. You think I'd co out here on a cold night just because I'm jealous?"
"There you go again with that silly excuse," she said, her eyes flashing. "But when I needed you to protect , you never ca."
"Lucy..."
"Where were you when the other students called darkblood and made fun of ? When I needed you to be my friend?" She gestured at Kyro for a mont. "Kyro's been there. We've only dated for two weeks, but he's done more for than you ever could."
Kyro's smirk widened, and I wanted to wipe it off with a spell. "She has a point there, Stormborn. Maybe you're too busy to notice what she needs."
I clenched my fists, raw energy sparking at my fingertips. "Stay out of this Solaris. Lucy, you're not thinking straight. That pendant's dangerous and he knows..."
"Enough!" Lucy snapped, her voice cracking. I had never seen her look so furious.
She yanked at the pendant's silver chain, holding it up high.
"This is mine. He gave it to because he cares about , not because of whatever reason you made up in your mind. You keep acting like I'm helpless, and I'm sick of it."
"Lucy, I..." I started, but my throat felt completely dry. Her words hit harder than a spell ever could. I wasn't jealous of their relationship, but the thought of Lucy trusting soone else over burned in my chest.
"Go away, Rin," she said, turning away as her long hair fell between us. "I don't need you here."
Kyro shifted closer to her, placing an arm over her shoulder.
"You heard her, Stormborn," he said, his eyes glinting with victory. "Run along, Stormborn."
I stood there for a mont, my feet rooted to the ground. Not wanting to give up easily, I made one last try.
"Lucy... Just hear out."
"Go away!" she fud, without even bothering to look at .
I wanted to grab her, to shake so sense into her, but this was one wall I couldn't climb. Not today. Not with him around.
Without another word, I turned and marched off into the shadows of the orchard trees.
Lucy was slipping away from , and Kyro was pulling the strings. I had to figure out what his ga was, even if it cost my friendship with her.
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