OPERATION WINTERSPINE (Strings Between Us Book 2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: OF BLEEDING THREADS, STOLEN NAMES,

Bianchi's mouth clamped shut. Good. That silence was worth more than any verbal comeback.

"And so you're obsessed with the President?" Alexie added, all cheer and menace wrapped into one.

Another ripple of gasps and whispers arise inside the gym.

I couldn't help the faint smirk tugging at my lips. This was exactly the chaos Lyle wanted me to stir, and watching it unfold—slow, deliberate, controlled—was almost too satisfying.

Before anyone could react, KD arrived in the gym—and, of course, he heard that part.

"Who's obsessed with me?" His voice was calm, too calm, but there was a sharp edge underneath it that made the air thicken.

His gaze swept over the room, slow and deliberate, before landing somewhere near me. Or... not exactly me. More like Saichel—still too close. Still with his arm around me.

"Oh, hi, Pres!" Alexie squealed suddenly, all sunshine and sugar. Then, as if on cue, she reached out and grabbed KD's arm.

And that's when it happened.

KD froze mid-step.

The gym fell into silence.

Then it hit me.

They are up to something.

"She grabbed the President's arm." I heard someone whisper.

"No one does that." Another student said.

"That's disrespectful." Althea Morales added, one of the council. I caught her shaking his head in disbelief.

KD didn't move. Not yet. He was just staring at Alexie's hand on his arm like it didn't belong there.

"We're testing if he's echo slipping again," Saichel whispered into my ear, soft, calculated.

"You're provoking him?"

He nodded.

And then Alexie leaned in, completely in character.

"Pres, do you have council duties after? Our class is just P.E.—free period after. Wanna go on a date?"

I facepalmed internally.

Of course. She was using her signature move—flirting—to bait the Echo-9: Lucem. Classic Alexie. Infuriatingly effective.

Finally, KD spoke, his voice low but edged with warning. "What?"

But something was wrong. His tone wasn't confusion. It was too sharp. Too precise.

His pupils contracted. His breath hitched—not in surprise, but something far colder.

Calculation.

Then it snapped.

He moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

In one fluid twist, he broke from Alexie's grip with surgical precision—his forearm slicing out, free hand cutting across her centerline in a palm-blade strike—going to Alexie's throat.

And before it hit her, Seb appeared in a flash, yanking Alexie away from KD. Saichel also let go of me and went to Alexie.

Alexie froze.

Her eyes wide.

Smile gone.

Everything dropped out of my chest.

KD...

He blinked.

Once.

Twice.