Miyara's POV
I thought I was done with chaos after getting the fake plagues, but apparently, life had other plans.
I was just finishing shoving the last vial into my pocket after submitting for I and Ayame when a voice sliced through the crowded hall like a knife wrapped in ice. "Cheating, are we?"
I froze, eyes darting around. I hadn't seen anyone come close. My hands twitched. "Who…what?" I spat, my brain doing that panicky stutter thing where words refuse to form.
"You." The voice was calm, but it held a weight that made my stomach twist. Calm people were always the worst. Always meant trouble. Always meant danger.
I turned, trying to keep my face neutral, but my throat went dry. The man leaning against the wall wasn't someone I recognized. Not that it mattered. He had that aura, cold, unbending,and impossible. He looked like the kind of person who could break a person's life just by deciding to.
"I.." mhmh I cleared my throat "I'm not…" I started, but my protest died somewhere between panic and disbelief.
"Don't lie," he interrupted. Eyes sharp, unyielding, cutting straight through my excuses. "I saw you take the plagues. You submitted them already. You's cheating bitch."
I blinked. "Excuse me? Who the hell are you?"
The corner of his mouth twitched, not quite a smile. "You don't know me? Even more perfect but does it matter?"
It mattered. It mattered a lot. And it didn't. None of this made sense. My palms were sweating, my mind running through a thousand bad outcomes. One of them probably involved me being punched, or worse, arrested, or…oh God..killed.
"I…It's not cheating!" I snapped. Too loud. Too desperate. I shoved my hands in my pockets, trying to hide the vials like I hadn't just committed a crime worthy of a death sentence. "I just… needed to submit them before someone else got their hands on them. That's all. Strategic timing. Totally above board."
He didn't move and he didn't blink. Just leaned a little closer. And for some reason, my body, which was usually sharp and calculating, suddenly felt soft, weak, stupid. Like it was betraying me on its own. I gritted my teeth. Focus, Miyara. Don't act like a fool.
"Strategic timing," he said slowly, as if tasting the words. "You call stealing a direct violation of the rules… strategic?"
I swallowed. My mouth went dry. "You don't get it." And then it hit me. Maybe he did. Maybe he saw me. Really saw me.
"Who are you?" I tried again, sharper this time. A defensive wall because, yes, I was scared, but also because fuck it I didn't like being judged. "Why are you watching me?"
His gaze didn't waver. "I told you. You cheated. And I don't like cheaters."
I let out a short, bitter laugh. "Well, lucky for you, I don't care what you like."
His lips curved into something close to a smirk. "You'll care soon enough."
Before I could react, he grabbed my wrist. Strong, like too strong. He didn't hurt me but the grip was enough to make me stumble closer to him than I wanted. "Hey!" I yelped, jerking my hand free, but he held firm.
"You're not going anywhere," he said, voice low, quiet, and commanding in a way that left no room for argument. And here it was. That pull in the air. That magnetic, dangerous, impossible pull. I didn't want to feel it. Not at all. My body betrayed me again, warming under his touch, my chest tightening, my knees suddenly unsteady. This fucked up body, what the hell? Is she trynna fight my soul in there?
He took me up some room in the palace, he was prolly an elders son? Politician's son? Well ion give a fuck, I shoved at him. Hard. He barely flinched. "Let go, you weirdo. Who the hell do you think you are?"
"You don't want to know," he said. And just like that, he leaned closer, a little too close. My heart slammed against my ribs, dumb and loud, and for a moment, all I could think was: oh God, this is bad. This is so very bad.
I tried to step back. My legs felt like jelly. My body was reacting to him in ways it absolutely should not. I clenched my fists. "I'm warning you. Let go."
He ignored me. And then it hit. He kissed me. Firm, sharp, claiming in a way that made me stumble back against the wall, my mouth went dry, brain screaming, heart thudding like a war drum. I shoved him again, not because it worked, but because I had to do something, this son of a bitch was going to make me cheat on my husband even before I complete my mourning period, and this body please why does it look like I was….Ahhhh chincha…(really…) ahhh there's no way I'm getting wet, fuck!
"You're insane," I hissed between breaths. "Completely, utterly insane."
"And yet, here you are," he said, voice low, teasing, like he knew the exact chaos he was causing inside me. "Still standing." and he sent his hand into my pants, fucking wet.
My brain short-circuited, I shoved his hand out of my part. The worst part? My body was lying. My body wanted it. My mind wanted him gone. And yet… heat pooled in places I didn't want it to. My face burned. My hands shook. I gritted my teeth so hard I thought I might break a tooth.
"Stop!" I shouted, and it was weak. Pathetically weak. I felt the laugh build in my chest but it was bitter, sharp. Because no, I didn't want this. I could not want this. And yet.
And yet, he wasn't letting go.
"You're… strong," he said suddenly, pulling back just enough to look at me. His eyes were dark, dangerous, and alive. "For someone so small." he completed
"Small? Really?" I snapped. "I could snap you like a twig if I had my real strength!"
"Your real strength?" he tilted his head. That smirk again. "Maybe I'll find out about that someday."
I shook my head, backed up, tripping over the edge of the table and landing hard. Vials rattled in my pockets. I pressed my hands to them, worried, furious, panicked all at once. "Listen, buddy whatever you are if you don't let me go right now, I swear…"
He leaned closer again, pressing his body against mine in a way that made my stomach revolt and betray me all at once. "Swear what?" he whispered, almost amused.
I wanted to disappear. Instead, I just froze, staring at him like a complete idiot, my mind blank except for the growing, undeniable heat between us, the way my body screamed in rebellion and betrayal.
"Why are you doing this?" I demanded finally, voice trembling more than I wanted. "Who even…what are you? Are you some palace freak who watches people cheat and try to have sex with them so you can shut up?"
His grin widened. Sharp, almost cruel. "Something like that."
I blinked. "Something like that? Are you kidding me? You just..you just…" I gestured helplessly at him. "Are you flipping crazy?"
"I'm not insane," he said softly, and the calm in his voice cut deeper than any scream. "I just… noticed you."
I gaped. "Noticed me? You mean you've been stalking me ever since I came here?"
"Maybe," he said, leaning closer, dangerously close, so close I could feel the heat of him through my clothes. "Maybe I have. Maybe I like… chaos. And you bring chaos like nobody else."
I groaned. "Great. Fantastic. Chaos. That's exactly what I wanted." My voice dripped sarcasm, sharp and bitter, because if I sounded terrified, that would be admitting defeat. I couldn't do that. Not now.
He leaned closer, closer than was probably legal. "You're lying," he said quietly, voice almost tender, almost… frighteningly gentle for a second. "You're scared. Aren't you"
"You–ugh, just–forget it!" I shoved at him. "You're… you're insane."
"Maybe," he said softly. And that smile again, sharp, and dangerous. "But you're still here" I don't know if h thought any of this was kind of romantic but..
"The only reason I'm still here is cuz you won't let me go duhhh.." I stumbled back, caught myself on the wall, pressed my hands to my face. My body screamed betrayal. My mind screamed chaos. And yet… he was watching me. Really watching me.
And that's when I realized… I had no idea who he really was. Not his name, not his face, not his position. All I knew was this… this maddening, impossible pull, this danger, this chaos.
And I was trapped in it.
I swallowed, shaking my head, pressing my palms against my burning cheeks. "I can't–just–"
He leaned in one last time, low and close, voice like a promise and a warning at the same time. "You can't run from me."
And when he brought his lips closer again, I leaned in I swear I could feel my sould burning and fighting inside but this girl's
human body had control, we kissed each other so hard I thought he was going to suck my lips out.