[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/MEEvh6i.png[/img][/center]
[hr][hr][sub][b]Location:[/b] Eye of the Beholder[/sub]
[hr][hr]
Kira descended the stairs in frustrated silence, steps light despite her mood. She could feel him drawing closer, even though she hadn’t called for him. The tether between them pulsed faintly at the edge of her mind, a thread pulling taut with their rapidly closing proximity.

Slipping into the crowd on the first floor and skimming past bodies, she was hit with immediate regret for leaving the peaceful solidarity upstairs. The tavern was warm, noisy—too many voices and heartbeats pressed together—but Kira moved like smoke, careful to avoid body and eye contact entirely. Hopefully, if she was lucky, Sya wouldn’t appear out of thin air to distract or disrupt, as she so often did.

Kira was halfway to the door when it opened and he stepped inside. 

The brown-eyed, black haired guard who’d plagued her since the night before. 

A taller blond Lunarian guard walked in beside him, speaking quietly, eyes scanning the room. But the one bound to her—the one without a name—his eyes found hers instantly.

They locked gazes. For a breath too long, the room slowed. 

She could feel the skip of his heartbeat inside her own chest, the flutter of nerves he didn’t understand. Drawn to her, compelled to follow the pull of their bond. A thread, subtle but constant, tugging at his spirit—slowly suffocating whatever free will he thought he had left. He likely didn’t even know why he’d come.

Only that he needed to.

He faltered when the other guard leaned in and murmured something, clearly having noticed the charged stillness between them. The taller one grinned like a fool. The nameless one—[i]hers[/i]—gave a soft laugh and led the way to a booth along the wall.

From across the room, Kira followed.

Every step calculated, she arranged her expression into something warm, sweet and inviting. When she neared the table, she tilted her head slightly and offered a closed-lip smile, eyes bright with feigned girlish affection.

[color=DC561E]“Boys,”[/color] she murmured, voice barely audible over the clatter of the tavern.

The bonded guard smiled up at her with his deep, puppy dog-like eyes. The other smiled too, clearly amused but silent.

Her gaze slid to the blond. [color=DC561E]“Might I have a moment?”[/color] she asked, voice silk-smooth—so polite it almost startled her that she still remembered how to sound like that.

He raised a brow, glanced at his companion, then smiled and stood. [color=FA8072]“Sure,”[/color] he said, stepping out of the booth. [color=FA8072]“I’ll be at the bar.”[/color]

She nodded her thanks, watching him disappear into the crowd before she slid into the booth across from the man who, to her deepest regret, now belonged to her.

As they met each others gaze, her smile dropped, the light in her eyes vanishing. 

Silently, she cursed herself for this bond born out of her own carelessness—her hunger, her frustration… [i]Elara[/i].

[color=DC561E]“Leave,”[/color] she said, quiet and cold. Unblinking, her eyes held his.

His expression flickered—confusion, hesitation. He opened his mouth to speak, to protest, but the words never came. She squeezed the unseen thread between them, wound it tight around his throat and commanded the words to die before they could form.  

His brow furrowed. She dug her nails into the bond and yanked it like a leash. 

[color=DC561E]“Go to my place,”[/color] she said, voice low. [color=DC561E]“Wait there.”[/color]

Slowly, he stood and left the booth without a word, weaving his way toward the door with an eerie, unconscious calm.

Kira didn’t watch him go. Instead, she stared into the small candle at the center of the table. Her mind racing through the consequences of her actions.

Feeling eyes on her, she lifted her gaze. The other guard was watching her.

He looked between her and the retreating figure of his friend, curiosity barely masked behind his easy smile. Suspicion simmered behind his eyes.

She offered a slightly suggestive smirk in return, then turned her attention back to the flame.

There was a witness. One who would remember that the man had left with her. Not to mention everyone else in this tavern. With her senses so overwhelmed, it was difficult to tell who might've been observing.  

Her jaw tightened. If she wanted to remain in Dawnhaven, she’d have to be careful—much more careful than her original impulsive plan had been. 

She could keep the guard at her house for a few days. Keep him close, keep him quiet, force him to follow routine until suspicion wore off and his companion's curiosity dulled. 

But would it ever?

She was blight-born. Suspicion followed them everywhere—rightfully so. 

But she needed to be rid of this man and all his thoughts and emotions. One way or another.

Weighing every option, every angle, Kira brooded in silence. 

Then, with a faint sigh, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the small bottle of alcohol Sya had given her. She set it gently on the table, spinning it slowly between her fingers.

Now seemed like as good a time as any…