Kieran's POV
The room was too bright. Too quiet.
I sat alone at the front of the small conference table. Across from me sat Headmaster Li, two faculty members, and a guidance counselor I barely recognized.
A laptop sat open between them. The paused frame on screen: my seventeen-year-old self, fists bloody, standing over an unconscious body.
The footage Rael had released.
Headmaster Li folded his hands. "Do you know why you're here, Mr. Cain?"
"Yes."
He nodded once. "Then I'll be direct. This video… it's serious. Violence of this nature—especially connected to an underground circuit—raises concern for the safety of students."
"I understand."
"I'm not asking for understanding. I'm asking for truth."
I swallowed hard. "It was two years ago. I was on the run. No parents. No protection. The fights were a way to survive."
"You didn't just fight," said the counselor, eyes narrowed. "You hurt people."
I met her stare. "So did they."
One of the teachers sighed. "Regardless of the circumstances, this behavior—"
"It's not who he is anymore." Leo's voice cut through the room.
Everyone turned as he stood at the doorway, out of breath, cheeks flushed. He walked in without waiting for permission and placed a folder on the table.
"Letters. From students. Staff. People he's helped, protected, supported. You want proof he's changed? There it is."
Headmaster Li opened the folder. Skimmed.
A pause.
He looked at me again. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Would you have let me in if I had?" I asked quietly.
No one answered.
---
After the meeting, Leo and I sat on the front steps.
"You didn't have to do that," I said.
Leo shrugged. "Didn't do it for you."
I raised a brow.
"I did it for us," he clarified, nudging me with his shoulder. "Because I'm not letting Rael destroy what we've built."
I didn't say anything.
Just leaned into him.
The sun was setting behind the gates, casting gold light over the quiet campus.
For now, the storm had passed.
But I could feel another one building.
---
Elsewhere, Rael tapped a message into his phone:
Phase 2 begins tomorrow. He's stronger than I thought. But not unbreakable.
He stared out a rain-specked window.
"Let's test how far he'll go… when Leo's the one in danger."