Page 53 of Killaney Blood

I reach her door and knock.

No answer.

Knock again. Louder this time.

Still nothing.

Fuck this.

I step back, ready to kick the damn door in, when it suddenly swings open.

Lyra stands there, eyes wide, a gun raised and pointed directly at my chest.

"Jesus, Lyra?—"

"Don't come any closer." Her voice is stone, but her hand trembles slightly.

We stand frozen, both breathing hard. The gun doesn't waver.

I catalog the changes in her: dark circles under her eyes, skin paler than usual, hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.

"You going to shoot me?" I keep my voice level despite everything I'm feeling simmering beneath the surface.

"If you don't shut up, I might." Her eyes dart past me to the hallway, then back.

"You disappeared for two fucking weeks," I say, lowering my voice. "Two. No calls. No fights. I thought—" I stop, not even sure what I was about to say. "Hell, I don't even know what I thought."

Her expression doesn't change, but that slight tremble in her hand, the fear behind the steel in her eyes, gives her away.

This isn't just her being defensive. This is terror.

"Someone came for you," I say, stepping forward.

"Don't come in," she says. "It's not… No, I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me. You don't answer doors with a gun unless you've been waiting for someone."

I step forward again, challenging her to pull the trigger. She doesn't back up.

"I had a reason for leaving."

"Yeah? Planning to share with the class, or just point guns at the people who give a shit?"

She hesitates.

The gun lowers. Just slightly.

"Why do you care?" she asks. "I'm not your problem."

"Look, I don't give a shit what I am to you." The words come out harder than I intended. "But I'm your fucking solution. So tell me what's going on."

I see the muscles in her face twitch; her eyes never leave mine. The gun lowers a bit more.

"I don't need protection," she says finally. "I've been fine on my own."

Something in me snaps. I move forward and grab the gun from her.

"Stop it," she says, trying to get it back.