Chapter Seven: The Weight of the Past
Eli's fingers curled against the counter, the smooth surface grounding him as he fought the growing unease coiling in his chest. Everything. The word lingered between them, heavy, unrelenting.
"I don't know what you mean," he said, voice carefully controlled.
Rael took another step closer. Too close. Eli could see the rain still clinging to his dark coat, the way his golden eyes burned, sharp and knowing. "You do."
Eli swallowed against the tightness in his throat. His heart felt too fast, too loud. "You have the wrong person."
Rael tilted his head slightly, as if considering his words, then exhaled softly. "Perhaps."
Eli's fingers twitched at the counter's edge. He had expected insistence, maybe even frustration—but not this. Not quiet acceptance, like Rael had already known he would deny it.
But the moment should have ended there.
Instead, Rael lifted a hand, fingers barely grazing the air between them, and Eli's breath hitched—because suddenly, he saw it.
A flicker. A memory not his own.
Golden light. A temple bathed in dusk. A hand reaching for his, warm and familiar. A whispered vow—
Then it was gone, ripped away like breath from his lungs. Eli staggered back, gasping. The room spun. His pulse pounded like war drums.
Rael's gaze never wavered. "You feel it, don't you?"
Eli shook his head. "No." A lie. A desperate one.
Rael's lips curled, but there was no triumph there—only patience. Only certainty. "You will."
The bookstore door opened behind them, the bell's chime breaking the spell. Eli sucked in a sharp breath, stepping away as Mira walked in, oblivious to the moment she had shattered.
Rael didn't look at her. His focus remained solely on Eli. "I won't push," he murmured, voice lower now, meant only for him. "But I am not leaving."
Eli's heart thundered.
Somehow, he knew Rael meant more than just the store.
Rael inclined his head, then turned, walking toward the door. Just before stepping out into the rain, he glanced back one last time.
Not a goodbye.
A promise.