The Hunt Between Us (Kheira 2)

The Hunt Between Us

Lyra was raised in Sun Nest, where girls are taught to heal, smile, sing, and survive behind golden walls.

Rowan Kair was raised by Ash, where survival has teeth.

He is the lost brother of the Beast King. The man the Wilds swallowed and Ash returned sharper, darker, and far less human than before. He does not charm. He does not beg. He watches, waits, and follows.

Lyra first catches his eye in the aftermath of the old bargain, when every Nest is still staring at crowns, roots, and miracles.

Not because she is soft.

Not because she is pretty.

But because she looks at the most dangerous man in Ash and speaks to him like he is merely another rude, badly behaved male who needs correcting.

Rowan should ignore her.

Instead, he smiles.

That is her first mistake.

When Ash calls for an old survival ritual known as The Run, Rowan chooses Lyra before the gathered Nest.

The rules are simple.

Run before the hunter catches you.

Reach the fire gate, and you win.

Get caught, and you owe the hunter a truth.

Lyra knows exactly what he is doing. He thinks the Sun girl will panic. He thinks she is all warmth, soft skin, golden braids, and pretty little claws.

So she runs.

Not because she is afraid.

Because she refuses to let Ash think Sun girls only know how to bloom behind walls.

But Rowan Kair does not chase like a man.

He hunts like something the Wilds failed to finish eating.

And the deeper Lyra runs into Ash-dark tunnels, the harder it becomes to tell whether she is trying to escape him...

Or hoping he is clever enough to catch her.

She was raised in sunlight.

He was made in ash.

And when a Sun girl runs, Ash follows.