Chapter 225: Episode 225.

The moment the doors opened, Vaelor stepped aside.

He didn’t announce her, nor warn Lysander.

He simply opened the chamber and left, as though intentionally placing a blade between two people and waiting to see who bled first.

Aire barely noticed him leaving.

The tune had stolen every thought from her head.

It drifted through the room softly. She knew that melody better than her own heartbeat. She had once hummed whenever life threatened to Bury her under.

That was a melody she had taught to someone.

Only one person.

Lyse.

The song died when Lysander noticed someone else in the room.

Silence rushed in between them, as Aire stared at him with shock.

Lysander sat beside the window.

His fingers remained suspended above the instrument, frozen.

His eyes locked onto hers, and his golden skin faded a bit in response to the shock he felt.

For the first time since she had met him, he looked genuinely shocked.

Aire stared at him with her jaw on the floor and her mouth partly open as she tried to understand what was going on around her.

The room tilted, and every memory exploded at once.

The hunts, the laughter, the conversations, the questions, the comforts, and Lyse.

Lyse.

Lyse.

Her stomach twisted violently. She pressed a palm on her lower abdomen, and tightened her jaw, trying not to throw up from shock.

"Lyse?" The name escaped her lips before she realized she’d spoken.

Lysander slowly rose. He stretched out his hand calmly, and parted his lips cautiously. "Aire."

His voice made everything worse.

Aire laughed. She sniffed, staring into his eyes, then laughed again. Her laugh was horrible, small, broken, and disbelieving.

Lysander stopped moving.

Aire pointed directly at him. Her finger shook. "How dare you?" she gasped. She blinked, and her eyes watered immediately, as the betrayal held her down. "Tell me I’m wrong."

Aire’s chest tightened. "Tell me." She pleaded when he stayed silent.

Lysander remained still, and that was all she needed to know.

Aire felt her heart crack inside her. It broke so quiet, like ice breaking beneath the water.

"Oh my heart." She blinked rapidly, trying to keep her breathing from leaving its calm range. "Oh my heart."

Lysander swallowed. "Aire—"

"Don’t." Her voice sharpened immediately. "Don’t say my name."

The room became painfully silent.

Aire paced once. She paced twice, then spun back toward him. Every trace of color had drained from her face.

She raised her hand to her face, and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her breath trembled. "How long?"

Lysander’s jaw tightened. "Aire."

"HOW LONG?" She yelled at him.

The question echoed through the chamber. The windows rattled slightly, but none of them seemed to have noticed it.

Lysander closed his eyes briefly. That tiny movement felt like another betrayal.

"You knew." Aire shook her head. Her lips trembled. The betrayal from everyone left her heart crashing repeatedly. "You knew me."

Lysander said nothing. He stared at her with calm patient eyes.

Aire pointed a finger to her now heaving chest. "You knew who I was." She chuckled in between shuddering breaths.

"You sat there." Her voice trembled. "You sat there in the wolf realm and listened to me."

Lysander stared at her.

Aire pointed at him. "You let me trust you." She accused, and her finger trembled ad she pointed at him.

Lysander visibly flinched.

"You let me tell you things." Aire’s eyes burned. "You let me worry about you." Her voice cracked. "You let me care about you."

The room went silent.

Lysander looked away first.

Her stomach twisted at the sight of him looking away. How had she not realized this was Lyse?

How was she even supposed to know that?

She hated that it still hurt. She hated that she cared enough for it to hurt. She blamed herself for years when she returned to the tent, and he was no longer there.

She thought of him dead, and blamed herself.

Lysander finally parted his lips. "Aire." His voice came out rough, losing every trace of playfulness it once had.

He swallowed, and clenched a fist. "I never wanted you to find out this way."

Aire shook her head. She bit her inner lower gum hard to stop her tears from leaving her eyes.

"That is your defense?" Her eyes sharpened. "Because it’s a terrible one."

Lysander dragged a hand through his hair. Something she had never seen him do. For a moment he almost looked frustrated, and almost human again.

Aire hated that.

"You lied to me." Her voice came out shaking terribly and quiet. "You lied every single day."

Lysander held her gaze.

Aire’s chest tightened. She sniffed, and palmed her face immediately. Hot tears left her eyes behind her palm.

"I spared you. I was sent to bring you here."

Aire froze. She quickly wiped her tears, and stared at him with red eyes.

Lysander continued. "You were a child."

Immediately she lifted one finger. "Stop speaking." she ordered coldly. "You lie every step of the way."

The warning cut through the room.

Lysander stopped.

Aire stepped forward. Her anger returned. "Don’t." She pointed directly at him. "Do that."

His gaze hardened.

Aire continued anyway. "You people are twisted."

The words struck him.

"Don’t stand there and talk about sparing me."

Her voice cracked further. Her eyes reddened. "I trusted you. I built... I built a home for you. For me."

Lysander looked away.

The sight of him looking away made her more furious. She turned away sharply.

She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t stand here and look at him. She couldn’t stand here and remember Lyse.

She took a step away when suddenly, a hand wrapped around her arm fastly.

Aire stopped moving unwillingly. Her pulse jumped violently, and she shut her eyes in pain.

Lysander had crossed the room.

She hadn’t even seen him move. She could hear his now heavy breathing. Her heart beat quickened.

"Aire." He called her roughly, almost pleading.

Aire tried pulling away.

His grip tightened. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to stop her.

She bit her trembling lip hard, with her eyes still shut. "Let go."

"No." Lysander firmly refused.

Aire’s heart hammered. "Let go." Now, she begged.

"No." Lysander rejected even the idea of it. "I’m Lyse. And I can explain everything." his grip tightened, and he pulled her softly to himself, and breathed down on her neck. "I would have stayed with you. I was ready to give up this realm to be with you."

Aire finally turned to face him. A single tear left her right her. "But you didn’t want that as much as you wanted your title here."

Lysander held the side of her head gently. Aire melted into his touch for a second, and then, their eyes met, and everything became worse.

She felt so betrayed and hurt. Yet somehow none of it stopped what was already there.

Lysander stared at her. His eyes softened the familiar way Lyse used to.

The realization nearly killed her.

"Aire."

"You lied, and I trusted you."

His jaw tightened. "I know. I’m sorry."

Aire’s eyes burned.

She wanted to leave, and she wanted to stay. She wanted to scream. She wanted to hit him. She wanted... She didn’t know what she wanted.

Lysander stepped closer.

Aire didn’t move, and neither did he.

The distance vanished slowly. It felt as if neither of them realized they were doing it. Or maybe they did.

That was worse.

"Aire." His voice dropped lower.

She hated that she remembered Lyse. Hated that she remembered every conversation, every smile, and every stupid moment.

Her breathing changed.

Lysander stared I to her eyes, and the silence stretched between them.

"I should hate you." She mumured.

Lysander’s expression darkened. He lifted one hand slowly, giving her every chance to stop him.

She didn’t.

His fingers brushed her cheek.

Aire’s breath caught. She shut her eyes, and for one terrible moment neither moved.

Then she closed the distance herself. The choice was hers. Entirely hers.

Lysander paused for a second, then his hand slid behind her neck, and pulled her closer.

Their lips sinfully crashed together, and then, the kiss happened. Aire tilted her head, and stood on her toes.

Lysander tounge moved into her mouth, and then he pulled her closer from her waist, freeing her from the stress of standing on her toe.

Aire grabbed the front of his shirt. She hadn’t even realized he had been wearing a shirt. The realization that he was Lyse was worse than any betrayal.

The moment shocked them both but neither cared. For one reckless second neither of them was thinking about the future, but the past.

Lysander’s hand tightened at her waist.

The kiss deepened for one reckless heartbeat, then another.

Everything blurred. The years she had spent wondering what happened to Lyse. The betrayal, and anger all blurred.

For one terrible moment, none of it mattered.

Lysander pulled her closer, and Aire hated how familiar it felt. She had never kissed Lyse, but she had always hugged him for comfort. She hated how naturally she still fit against him. Hated that beneath every lie, beneath every deception, she still recognized him.

His hand slid lower against her back as he turned with her.

The world tilted.

Aire barely realized he was moving until he spun her gently, carrying her with him.

Lysander’s mouth found hers wildly now, kissing her deeply, and Aire’s fingers tightened in the front of his shirt, desperately.

Her pulse thundered.

The next thing she knew, her feet were no longer beneath her.

Lysander lowered her carefully, and her back touched the edge of the bed.