Soulbound: Embers of Defiance

Chapter 35: Gravity's Pull

The following days were a study in contrasts. Dinner and strategy meetings were a ballet of polite distance. Caleb kept his gaze studiously on battle plans, and his touches when passing equipment were as fleeting as a handshake. It was almost comical how hard he was trying to appear professional.

"Those supply lines," Caleb's voice broke the silence, snapping me out of my reverie. "They're vulnerable in the eastern flank. We need to establish a secondary route."

"Yes sir," I replied automatically, the formality ingrained from the first grueling weeks of training.

The moment the words left my lips, a flicker of something crossed Caleb's face. It was so quick I almost missed it, but his cheeks seemed to flush a faint pink, and he cleared his throat with a suddenness that betrayed his composure. He straightened, his gaze darting away from me. My own cheeks burned. Had I imagined it?

He bent back over the map, his hands – usually so steady – seemed to tremble slightly as he adjusted a marker. The silence stretched, punctuated only by the rustle of parchment and the frantic drumming of my heart. This... formality... it seemed to do something to him.

A choked snort erupted from the corner of the room. Finn doubled over, stifling laughter. Erin swatted him playfully across the head.

Elyse and Kass exchanged a look that spoke volumes. Their lips were pressed into thin lines, but their eyes sparkled with barely contained amusement. Marcus simply shook his head, a wide smile spreading across his face.

Isaac caught my eye and offered a worried look. We'd grown close during training, and his concern was clear.

Oh, they all knew. The playful tension, the flustered exchanges – it wasn't lost on a single soul in the room. Except, perhaps, for Caleb himself, who seemed determined to maintain his professional facade despite the growing cracks in its surface.

Training was a warzone disguised as a dojo. Every move was charged with a simmering tension, every block a barely veiled brush against skin. We mirrored each other's intensity, blows landing with satisfying thuds that echoed the unspoken desires thrumming beneath the surface.

Days bled into weeks, a monotonous blur of clanging steel and the sting of sweat. The early morning sun bled through the trees, casting long shadows across the training yard. Dirt crunched under my boots as I joined Kass and Caleb, who were already down on the ground doing pushups. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth and freshly cut grass.

Erin was a ghost in the training yard these days. She loathed the company of sweaty rookies, preferring the solitude of the archery range or the silent communion with her daggers.

I dropped into a plank, feeling the burn in my core as I held myself steady. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Caleb a few feet away. Sweat already beaded on his forehead, dampening the dark strands of hair that clung to his temples. His shirt stretched tight across his broad shoulders and biceps, the way it strained with each pushup making my breath hitch.

I forced myself to focus on my own form, counting reps in my head. But my gaze kept flickering back to him. When he finally reached the end of his set, he rolled onto his back and stretched his arms over his head, his shirt riding up a sliver to reveal a tantalizing glimpse of toned abs and the sharp V-line leading down into his pants.

Are. You. Kidding. Me.

We promised to keep things professional.

The sun beat down on the training yard, baking the sweat off my skin as Caleb and I sparred. We moved in a dance of feints and parries, the whoosh of air a constant rhythm. But today, something felt different. The usual focus was edged with a simmering tension, a current crackling between us.