Chapter 10 – The Feather and the Truth

The rain had stopped the night before, but the air still carried a quiet chill—fresh and earthy.

Kaito sat on the floor of the cottage, flipping through one of the older books from Lyria’s shelf. The spine was cracked, and the cover bore faint markings he couldn’t read. Most of the pages were faded notes, scrawled diagrams, and odd symbols that made little sense.

But something stuck out near the back.

Tucked between two pages was a feather.

Not ordinary—not white from age or dust.

This feather glowed.

It shimmered faintly with silver-blue light, soft and weightless in his fingers, yet humming with something—like magic. Like memory.

He stood up slowly and turned toward the kitchen, where Lyria was preparing tea, her back to him.

“Hey, Lyria,” he said carefully. “This was in one of your books.”

She turned.
Saw the feather.

And froze.

Her eyes widened, face paling like someone had reached inside and yanked the air from her lungs.

“Where did you…?”

“It was just… in there.” He held it up. “What is it?”

She didn’t answer.

Not right away.

Her hands trembled.

Kaito set the feather gently on the table between them, his voice soft. “Lyria?”

She stared at it for a long moment.

Then—very quietly—she sat down.

“That… is part of who I used to be.”

Kaito tilted his head. “Used to be?”

She didn’t look at him. Her gaze remained fixed on the feather.

“I was… not born here. Not in the way you were. I was once something else. Not human. Not fully.”
She paused, then looked up, her golden eyes uncertain.

“I was training to become a guide. A soulkeeper. You’d probably call it… an angel.”

Kaito blinked. “An… angel.”

She gave a small, hollow laugh. “I never earned the title. I wasn’t complete. I didn’t pass the final rite.”

“Why?”

Her eyes darkened. “Because I broke the rules.”

Kaito stepped closer, gently kneeling across from her.

“What happened?”

Lyria looked down at her hands.

“There was a soul in danger. A boy whose time wasn’t supposed to end yet. But fate… was cruel to him. Everyone ignored it. Said it was his path.”
Her voice trembled. “But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.”

She finally looked at him, and something in her expression told him the truth before her words did.

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

A pause.

Then she nodded.

“I fell trying to save you.”

Kaito’s breath caught.

“You weren’t supposed to be brought to this world,” she said. “But when I shielded your soul, it fractured everything. I woke up here… and found you lying in that field, barely breathing. I used the last of my essence to tether you to this world.”

Kaito sat back slowly, eyes wide.

“All this time… you’ve been watching over me?”

Lyria smiled sadly. “I wasn’t supposed to care. We weren’t meant to feel what mortals feel. But when I saw you step in front of that car, without hesitation—just to save someone else…”

Her voice cracked.

“I wanted to save you.”

Silence settled between them. The fire popped softly in the hearth.

Kaito looked at her—really looked at her.

“And now?” he asked. “What happens if you keep… feeling?”

She hesitated.

“If I confess,” she whispered, “if I fully acknowledge what I feel for you… I’ll lose the rest of my magic. All of it. Permanently.”

Kaito’s heart twisted.

“You mean… you’ll be human.”

Lyria nodded slowly. “I’ll never heal again. Never call light. Never cross between worlds. Just… live. Like you.”

He reached out without thinking, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

Her breath hitched.

Then, gently, he picked up the glowing feather and tucked it behind her ear.

She looked at him, stunned.

His hand lingered a moment longer than it needed to.

“You’re already more human than most people I’ve met,” he said. “And if you lose your magic… you won’t be alone.”

Her eyes shimmered.

And for a moment, everything was still.

The world outside their little cottage could wait.