Chapter 55: A Pond-ful Incident
"Eh?" Kyva blinked, utterly bewildered. "Where did he go?"
She rubbed her eyes and looked back toward the pond, but the water lay still beneath the lanternlight, and no figure stood upon its surface. It remained perfectly untouched, well enough to trick her into almost believing she had imagined all that she just witnessed.
But it couldn’t be.
"He was right there," she whispered with certainty to herself, straightening from her hiding place. She stepped closer past the doorway, cautiously looking from left to right, but she was met with complete stillness.
Had he disappeared into thin air?
Surely she hadn’t imagined it. Her brain was not nearly as inventive enough to conjure such a sight.
Then where—
"Who are we spying on?"
The baritone voice behind her nearly sent her jumping out of her own skin.
Kyva nearly shrieked.
She spun around so quickly that she ended up tripping on her own foot, and in the next instant she toppled ungracefully to the ground with an undignified "ow."
She winced as she landed.
When she dared to look up again, her breath lodged in her throat.
Before her stood the man she had been avoiding all day, his presence as quiet and inescapable as ever. Those eyes rested upon her, steady and unreadable, though there was something in it that felt almost... assessing,as if seeing her fall were the most diverting thing he had seen all evening.
Kyva’s cheeks burned.
But wait—
How was he here?
She had not heard a single footstep.
Looking into those eyes, he simply tilted his head at her, and for one long, dreadful heartbeat, Kyva thought of absolutely nothing to say.
Oh no.
Surely he would take her as some shameless voyeur– one of those creepy disciples who lingered where they ought not, watching what was not meant for them. It was not as though such people did not exist. Someone like him must have dealt with a lot more than that.
But she was not like that.
"Master Caelion, I–I wasn’t spying!" She blurted at last, the words tumbling out in a rush as she brought herself to her knees. "I only just returned and saw the light, and I—well— I did not wish to disturb you, so I—"
Her voice faltered.
The more she spoke, the more entangled she became in her own excuse.
Mortification swept over her.
Unable to bear his gaze, she lowered her head.
"I was merely passing by," she added weakly, though even to her own ears, it sounded pitiful in a pathetic way.
Calhoun clicked his tongue.
"Merely passing by," he repeated what she said, as though weighing the words upon his tongue.
He stepped closer.
The lantern light gathered between them, casting long shadows across the floor.
He was not laughing, but the corner of his mouth twitched in a way that made her heart pound. The assessment in his eyes gave way to something almost conspiratorial.
"Then... I shall be charitable and choose to believe you," he said, extending a hand toward her.
The gesture was simple, yet there was an unstudied grace to it, as though such composure came to him as naturally as breathing. And yet, everything about him unsettled her to no ends. There was something dangerous in that quiet pose, something alluring in a way Kyva did not trust. Scratch that, she could not trust anyone. Most especially him.
For a fleeting moment, she simply stared at his outstretched hand, as though it were something unfamiliar, something not meant for her.
Rather than accepting his help, she pushed herself to her feet on her own.
"I can manage," she said quickly, fixing the hem of her robe to avoid his gaze.
For the briefest instant, Calhoun’s hand remained suspended between them, like he could not fathom her refusal. Then with measured ease, he withdrew it, folding his hands behind his back.
To his quiet surprise, he found himself... impressed.
His mate was really cute.
No matter what subtle pressure he exerted, the girl remained untouched by it. Where others had faltered, been drawn in, unsettled, or altogether ensnared by him, she remained stubbornly herself. There was an awkwardness to her, yes, but it was one that disarmed rather than diminished, leaving her wholly unclaimed by his presence.
How curious.
Of course, it was only fitting that one such as she would be his mate.
Among the fox clan, and from his experience, affection was seldom a complicated affair. Charm, beauty, and standing were usually sufficient to turn heads and bend affections. For many, attachment was fleeting, an exchange of advantage rather than anything so inconvenient as devotion.
Love, after all, was rare.
His mother’s love being a completely different anomaly.
As for Calhoun, he had never needed to try.Interest came unbidden,drawn by some unseen current, and he received it... or dismissed it... without ever truly engaging. It had always been effortless.
And yet—
For the first time, effort seemed... necessary. The notion sat strangely with him, unfamiliar and faintly irritating.
He wondered if that was how it operated among humans. Love being a labor rather than a certainty?
Unfortunately, his human wasn’t exactly a reliable source.
"Would you like to walk upon water?"
His tone was mild as he asked, almost casual, as though he were offering a simple courtesy rather than extending something far more deliberate. Yet his golden gaze lingered on her, keen and observant. He had seen the flicker of quiet interest in her eyes when she watched him, and he intended to make use of it.
After all, she had spent the entire day away, leaving him to his own devices. If a trace of selfishness guided him now, it was only fair it be indulged.
Kyva, wholly unaware of his thoughts, blinked in quiet surprise.
She had not expected that.
But to be honest... she had been staring.
And she was amazed.
A quiet warmth stirred in her chest, easing the tension she had carried since he appeared behind her. To her, it seemed simple enough. He had noticed her piqued curiosity and, rather than taking offense, had chosen to indulge it.
It was... unexpectedly thoughtful of him.
"I–" she hesitated, then nodded a little too quickly. "Yes... I would."
A quiet light kindled in her expression, open and earnest.
"If it is not too much trouble, Master."
Her voice softened at the end, and something in Calhoun’s chest tightened with a strange, fleeting thrill. He was quite a bit too deep into his delusion, and yet the resolve that followed was unmistakable.
The human would be his.
Entirely.
He would teach her all she needed to know... and, in time, all he wished her to learn.
Without another word, he turned and led her into the garden.
The night air lay cool against her skin, laced with the faint fragrance of water and distant blossoms. Lanternlight trembled across the pond, scattering over its surface like fractured gold, until it seemed less like a water than a mirror caught between worlds.
Calhoun paused at the edge, and without further ado, he stepped onto the surface. The water stilled beneath his weight like he was stepping on unbreakable glass.
Then he turned to her.
"Come," he said, offering his hand once more.
Kyva’s gaze flickered from him to the water, then back again, uncertainty creeping in. What if she ends up falling? She has already embarrassed herself once, and she would sooner let herself drown beneath the pond than endure the humiliation again.
She changed her mind.
"Actually—"
"Kyva," he called, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
This woman was truly unpredictable. Others would not have dared to waver so openly. He was unaccustomed to it, yet forced himself to be patient.
Kyva took a deep breath, and her fingers slipped into his.
The moment their skin met, something shifted, like a small, electric jolt of lightning that threaded through his veins, leaving him oddly alert. He resisted the sudden temptation to pull her closer and instead, guided her forward with a gentleness that felt foreign.
Her foot found the pond’s surface, and she froze, expecting the cold betrayal to send her sinking, but the surface did not budge. With Calhoun now holding both her hands like he was guiding her on her first walk, she simply stood, as if the world had misplaced its rules.
Then she gasped in disbelief.
Kyva looked up at him quickly, eyes wide with astonishment, a bright unguarded wonder breaking across her features. "I’m.. I’m standing— but how?"
"I’m lending you a hand," he replied, noticing how her grip tightened instinctively around his as if to anchor herself to the only sensible thing she could trust, but the surface did not betray her like he had anticipated. It bore her weight as it did his, smooth and unbroken, as though the pond itself had forgotten its nature and decided to oblige.
A quiet laugh escaped her, light and disbelieving. "How is that even possible?"
Calhoun offered no answer.
Words felt unnecessary when her astonishment was so vividly written across her face. He was momentarily entranced by her. The way her expression transformed, the way pure wonder lit her from within, unrestrained and genuine. It was rare to see someone so unguarded, and rarer still to feel himself caught by it.
Yet this was but a fragment of what he could do. He guided her farther across the water’s surface, as though this fragile, fleeting moment belonged wholly to him alone.
"How... does one even know they’re capable of doing this?" She asked, lifting her gaze to his once more. Her attention was already shifting, away from him, to the question of how. "I wish to learn."
To Kyva, it was a marvel waiting to be understood.
But to Calhoun—
It was something else entirely.
He realized, to his quiet dismay, that he rather liked holding her hand. More than that, he wished to keep it within his grasp far longer than necessity required. The warmth of her fingers was a tether he had not expected, and the thought of releasing it unsettled him in ways he could not name.
Yet her thoughts lingered elsewhere, chasing explanations and lessons.
Could this foolish woman not see how deeply his interest in her ran?
He noticed the faintest shift in her expression, the way her brows furrowed as curiosity began to take shape in her adorable face. Then she asked innocently, "Wait... what happens if we let go?"
Calhoun paused, considering her question.
A flicker of mischief flashed in those golden depths. He did not answer. Instead, he released her hands.
The very second he let go, the water beneath her gave way.
With a startled gasp, Kyva flailed, reaching for him on instinct. Her fingers clutched at his clothes, desperate to anchor herself, but her momentum dragged him with her... at least based on what it seemed if someone were to witness the sight.
A sharp splash shattered the lantern-lit stillness as the two of them plunged beneath the surface together.
