Chapter 257: Working Out With Lyra.

Lyra stared at Kael for a moment, still wondering what exactly he had planned for her.

"Alright, so what are we doing now?"

"First, we start light," Kael replied. "Some warm-ups, then jogging. After that, we’ll work on your core and see how things go from there."

That sounded reasonable enough.

At least, that was what Lyra thought.

The two of them started in the living room, going through a series of basic stretches and warm-up exercises before heading outside for a jog.

At first, everything seemed manageable. Lyra kept pace with Kael as they ran through the streets, and she even felt a little excited about the whole thing. She had wanted to become stronger for a long time, and training with Kael seemed like a good opportunity to finally do something about it.

That feeling didn’t last.

One lap became several. Then Kael had her tie a heavy training bag around her waist before making her run a few more laps. By the time they moved on to the rest of the workout, her legs were already starting to feel heavy.

Then came the sit-ups.

Then pull-ups.

Then more exercises.

By the time the sun had begun sinking toward the horizon, Lyra felt like every muscle in her body was protesting. Her arms were sore, her legs were trembling, and even her stomach hurt from all the core exercises Kael had made her do.

What had started as a workout had gradually begun to feel like punishment.

Eventually, the two of them found themselves sitting on a bench in a nearby park. Lyra leaned back against it, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to catch her breath. For several minutes, she didn’t even have the energy to complain.

Only after she had recovered enough to speak did she finally turn toward Kael.

"Hey, man."

Kael glanced at her.

"What?"

"What was that?"

"A workout."

Lyra stared at him.

"Let’s never do that again."

Kael looked at her for a moment before casually saying, "You have shit stamina."

Lyra’s face twitched.

"What?"

"Tomorrow, I’ll organize a proper workout schedule for you."

"Proper workout schedule?" Lyra repeated, sitting a little straighter despite her exhaustion. "What do you mean proper workout? What did we do today?"

"Just the basics."

Lyra opened her mouth to argue, but Kael had already closed his eyes.

"Alright. Rest up. We’re heading to the next stop after this."

He leaned back against the bench and settled into a comfortable position, apparently finished with the conversation.

Lyra stared at him in disbelief.

He was seriously ignoring her complaint.

After a moment, she let out a tired sigh and leaned back as well.

"I hate you."

Kael didn’t respond.

Lyra couldn’t help but sigh again before closing her eyes.

For the next fifteen minutes, neither of them said anything.

The park had grown quieter as evening approached, with the sounds of the surrounding streets gradually fading into the background. Lyra’s breathing had finally returned to normal, and some of the ache in her muscles had eased.

Then Kael suddenly opened his eyes.

"Alright. Time to go."

Lyra looked at him.

"Where?"

"You’ll know soon."

Kael stood up before turning around and lowering himself slightly. He motioned toward his back.

"Get on."

Lyra blinked.

"What?"

"We need to get there quickly. What better way than using my speed? Hop on."

Lyra stared at his back in silence, trying to figure out whether he was messing around. He didn’t look like he was, so after a moment’s hesitation, she stepped forward and climbed onto his back, settling in awkwardly.

Kael rose to his feet.

"Hold on tight."

Lyra barely had time to react before the world around them blurred.

Kael shot forward, leaving the park behind as he accelerated into the streets.

The evening air rushed past them, but Lyra didn’t feel the full force of the wind. Kael had already wrapped her in a thin layer of earth energy, shielding her body from the violent pressure that would otherwise have made the ride unbearable. Even so, she couldn’t stop herself from gripping him tightly.

Her face grew hotter by the second.

It wasn’t the speed they were moving at that got to her, it was the fact that she was riding piggyback that embarrassed her.

She couldn’t believe this was how they were traveling.

The streets gradually became darker as they moved farther from the residential area. The number of people around them thinned until the roads became increasingly empty. Buildings gave way to more desolate surroundings, and eventually, the familiar scenery came into view.

Kael finally slowed down and came to a stop.

Lyra immediately stepped off his back.

Her face was still flushed.

The earth energy had protected her from the worst of the wind and prevented her body from being violently thrown around during the journey, but it hadn’t done anything to protect her from the embarrassment.

She quickly composed herself and looked around.

The surroundings were quiet and desolate.

Lyra frowned.

"Where are we?"

Kael glanced at her.

"Here to visit Ezra."

Lyra froze.

"What?"

Kael reached toward his connection with Varek and sent him the command to open the portal.

Lyra’s expression changed almost immediately.

"Wait, we can’t go like this."

Kael looked at her.

"I should at least wash up first."

"I’m sure she won’t mind you being a little smelly."

Kael said it casually, the faintest hint of amusement in his voice.

Lyra stared at him.

"That’s not what I mean."

Kael didn’t answer.

He already knew that.

Lyra wasn’t really worried about being sweaty or dirty. The workout had simply given her another excuse to delay what she had been avoiding all day.

Ezra.

She hadn’t mentioned her name once during their conversation.

Not directly.

Not even when Kael had given her several opportunities to bring her up.

But Kael had noticed.

He had seen the way Lyra’s expression changed whenever she thought he wasn’t looking. He had noticed the sadness hiding behind her eyes, the way Lyra deliberately redirected the conversation whenever her thoughts drifted somewhere painful.

She was trying to hide it.

She was trying to move forward without actually facing what had happened.

Kael understood that feeling better than anyone.

He had spent a large part of his life doing exactly the same thing.

Whenever something hurt too much to face, he avoided it. Whenever a problem became too painful to solve, he pushed it aside and convinced himself he would deal with it later.

Until later became years.

Until the things he refused to face became things he could no longer fix.

He didn’t want Lyra to make the same mistake.

He didn’t want her to become like the person he had once been, someone who kept running from painful problems because confronting them hurt too much.

Sometimes avoiding the pain only allowed it to grow.

Kael looked toward the empty space in front of them as the connection with Varek responded. Ripples spread through the air, the portal was opening.

Lyra remained silent beside him, her eyes fixed on it.

Kael didn’t say anything else. He simply waited for the portal to fully open.