Chapter 4
Chapter 4 The Man Behind The Podium
Monday mornings had always felt like punishment.
Kael was convinced the people responsible for creating eight o'clock lectures secretly hated university students. There couldn't possibly be another explanation. Even the city seemed reluctant to wake, the streets still damp from the night's rain as pale sunlight struggled through low clouds hanging over Asterhaven.
The apartment, however, remained peacefully silent.
Curled beneath a mountain of blankets, Mira slept with one arm dangling dramatically over the edge of the couch after insisting the previous night that she was "absolutely not tired" before falling asleep halfway through the second episode of the crime series they'd started binge-watching.
Kael smiled to himself.
Yesterday had disappeared surprisingly quickly. Between coffee, greasy takeout from the little Chinese restaurant around the corner, and Mira's relentless teasing, he'd managed not to think about Adrian every second of the day.
Almost.
Every now and then, his mind wandered back to the quiet apartment, blue eyes that seemed to see through every carefully built wall around him, and the warmth of a voice calling him Sparrow so naturally that it had felt like the nickname had always belonged to him.
It was ridiculous.
One evening. One night. One goodbye.
People met. People moved on.
That was how these things worked.
He refused to romanticize it into something it wasn't.
After all, Adrian hadn't asked for his number.
Kael hadn't asked for his either.
Neither of them had promised to meet again.
Whatever had happened between them had belonged to one perfect night suspended outside reality, and perhaps it was better left there.
With that thought firmly planted in his head, Kael quietly slipped into the kitchen.
The coffee maker gurgled softly as it finished brewing.
He poured himself a generous mug before leaning against the counter, letting the bitterness chase away the last traces of sleep.
Across the living room, Mira mumbled something unintelligible into her pillow.
A moment later, one eye cracked open. “...You're making coffee without me.”
“I'm making coffee because unlike some people, I have class.”
She groaned dramatically. “I made my timetable intelligently.”
“You made your timetable lazily.”
“I call it strategic.”
Kael laughed. “I call it avoiding responsibility.”
She sat up just enough to glare at him. “I'll remember that when you're crying over your morning lectures.”
“I already am.”
Mira snorted before collapsing back into the cushions. “Have fun.”
“I won't.”
“I know.”
By the time Kael left the apartment, the city had finally begun to wake.
Students crowded the sidewalks carrying backpacks and oversized coffee cups. Buses hissed to a stop every few minutes, swallowing groups of sleepy commuters before disappearing again into traffic.
Northbridge University stood at the heart of Asterhaven like a small city of its own.
Old stone buildings wrapped in climbing ivy stood beside sleek glass structures that reflected the morning sky. Maple trees lined the walkways, their leaves just beginning to trade summer green for hints of amber and crimson. Somewhere nearby, the university bell chimed the quarter hour, its familiar sound drifting across the campus lawns.
Three years ago, Kael had arrived here carrying far more than two suitcases.
He'd arrived carrying grief.
After losing both his parents within a few years of each other, university had become less of a dream and more of an obligation—a promise he'd made to himself that life wouldn't stop simply because tragedy had refused to.
Studying literature hadn't been the practical choice.
Everyone had told him so.
But stories had always made the world feel survivable.
He wanted to spend his life surrounded by them.
His final semester was supposed to be simple.
Graduate. Find a publishing internship. Start building the future he'd postponed for far too long.
Relationships had never been part of the plan.
Especially not with impossibly handsome strangers met in bars.
His phone buzzed.
Mira: Alive?
Kael smiled.
Kael: Barely.
Almost immediately—
Mira: Still thinking about Blue Eyes?
His ears warmed despite the empty walkway.
He typed three words.
Kael: Go back to sleep.
A second later—
Mira: That's a yes.
He rolled his eyes, slipped the phone back into his pocket, and continued toward the Humanities Building.
The corridor outside Lecture Hall Three buzzed with conversation.
Something felt… different.
Students weren't discussing assignments or complaining about early classes.
Instead, clusters of people whispered excitedly.
“Have you heard?”
“They actually hired him.”
“I thought he was only coming for one seminar.”
“I heard he's ridiculously young.”
“I heard he published three bestselling novels before thirty.”
Kael frowned.
He hadn't paid much attention to faculty announcements over the summer.
Apparently he'd missed something.
The lecture hall was nearly full.
Choosing the first empty seat he spotted halfway down the center row, he dropped his backpack onto the floor and began searching for a notebook.
Pens. Laptop. Notebook. Where—
A familiar scent drifted through the room. Cedarwood.
His fingers stopped moving.
No. It couldn't be.
His heart gave one strange, painful beat.
The classroom door opened.
Conversations died almost instantly.
Measured footsteps crossed the wooden floor.
“Good morning, everyone.” The voice wrapped around Kael's thoughts like lightning striking water.
Every muscle in his body locked.
Slowly… Almost against his own will… He lifted his head.
There, standing behind the lectern, was Adrian.
Except… Not quite.
The man from The Lantern had worn rolled sleeves and an easy smile.
The man standing before the class wore a charcoal suit beneath a long navy coat, a leather satchel resting beside the lectern. Thin silver-framed glasses softened the sharpness of his features, while quiet confidence radiated from every movement.
He looked older somehow. More untouchable. More… professional.
For one impossibly long heartbeat, Adrian's blue eyes met Kael's.
Recognition flashed between them. Barely a flicker.
It was gone so quickly Kael almost convinced himself he'd imagined it.
Without missing a beat, Adrian turned his attention to the rest of the room.
“My name is Adrian Vale,” he said smoothly, setting a stack of books on the desk. “Over the next six weeks, I'll be leading the university's Visiting Writers Masterclass in Contemporary Fiction. Some of your regular lecturers have invited their final-year students to attend these sessions as part of your graduation program.”
Kael stared.
The blood drained from his face.
Visiting Writers Masterclass.
His professor for the next few weeks. He'd come here teach everyday. Every week.
Adrian continued speaking as though nothing unusual had happened.
“As writers, readers, and critics, our job isn't merely to ask whether a story is good. It's to understand why it stays with us long after we've closed the final page.”
His gaze swept calmly across the lecture hall.
When it reached Kael again, it lingered for the briefest fraction of a second.
Almost imperceptibly… One corner of Adrian's mouth lifted.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
Enough for Kael to remember exactly how that smile had looked in the soft light of his apartment.
His notebook slipped from suddenly numb fingers.
The sharp crack echoed through the silent lecture hall.
Dozens of heads turned.
Kael couldn't hear any of them.
His entire world had narrowed to one impossible realization.
The man he hadn't been able to stop thinking about… Had just walked back into his life.