Fallon
The silence between us was thick enough to strangle. The storm had passed, but the cold still clung to my skin, settling into my bones like a warning. Kane walked ahead, his strides long, preciseânever hesitant. Every movement of his felt calculated, like he was always ten steps ahead of the world, while I was still trying to find my footing.
I was tired of trying to keep up.
The camp was set up in a small clearing, the glow of the fire casting flickering shadows on the snow. The rest of the group kept to themselves, murmuring quietly as they checked their weapons and prepared for whatever came next. I could feel their judgment even if they didn't say it aloud. A liability. A reckless trainee. A girl playing soldier.
Kane hadn't said much to me since the mission started, but I knew exactly what he was thinking. He had made it abundantly clear how little faith he had in me. And if I was being honest, that stung more than I wanted to admit.
I dropped my pack near one of the tents, flexing my fingers to bring warmth back into them. The ache in my muscles told me I had pushed hard today. Good. Let the pain remind me of why I was here.
"You're sloppy."
The voice was sharp, cutting through the noise of crackling fire and hushed conversation. I turned to find Kane standing there, arms crossed over his broad chest, his expression unreadableâbut his eyes, sharp as a blade, were locked onto me with that same unrelenting scrutiny.
I stiffened. "Excuse me?"
"You're slow when you should be quick," he continued, taking a step closer. "You hesitate when you should strike. And worse, you let emotion cloud your judgment."
My fingers curled into fists at my sides. I was exhausted, freezing, and starving, and yet Kane had the audacity to act as if I wasn't trying hard enough. "If you think I'm such a lost cause, why don't you just leave me behind?"
He exhaled sharply through his nose, as if my words annoyed him. "Because that's not how this works."
I lifted my chin. "No, you just enjoy tearing me down."
His jaw tensed, the muscle twitching. "If I wanted to tear you down, Draythar, you wouldn't be standing here."
There it wasâthat lethal edge in his voice, the one that sent a shiver down my spine that had nothing to do with the cold. I hated how he could do that, how he could make my pulse hammer in anger and something else I refused to name.
I took a step forward, matching his challenge. "Then what is it? Why are you always pushing me harder than everyone else?"
Kane's eyes darkened. "Because you don't get to be weak."
The words sliced through me, deeper than any blade could. My breath caught, but I refused to let him see how much they affected me. "I'm not weak."
"Prove it."
His voice was quiet, but there was something dangerous about the way he said it, something that sent heat curling through me despite the cold.
I wanted to. I wanted to show him that I wasn't the fragile, impulsive girl he thought I was. But I also wanted to understand why he cared so much. Why he was always the first to criticize, always the one watching me with that piercing intensity. Was it just duty? Or was it something else?
The tension between us was suffocating, the air thick with unspoken words and something neither of us was ready to face. His gaze dropped to my lips for the briefest secondâso quick I almost thought I imagined itâbut then he was stepping back, retreating like he had gotten too close to something dangerous.
"Get some rest," he muttered, turning away. "Tomorrow will be worse."
And just like that, the moment was gone, leaving me standing there, heart pounding, fists still clenched, and a fire burning in my chest that had nothing to do with the freezing air around me.
I wasn't weak.
And I would prove itâno matter what it took.