Xander's POV
I watched Lyra's figure fade into the campus shadows until she vanished completely from view.
A heavy breath escaped my chest as I dragged my fingers through my hair.
"Fucking brilliant," I whispered to myself.
I turned my back as her silhouette disappeared entirely. Every memory I'd shared about those winter days had been real. I'd gambled that opening up something that personal might close the distance between us, prove I wasn't just another rival circling her. Now I stood here in the freezing night, nothing settled between us. That final challenge still hung over everything like a death sentence.
The idea of fighting her again made my gut clench.
Lyra Cooper had crawled under my skin in ways I couldn't escape. The way she moved with that lethal grace, the razor-sharp wit behind every comeback, and how my name rolled off her tongue - like some kind of spell I'd never experienced.
