Unseen Chains: In the Shadow of Control

Chapter Twenty-Six: Shifting Grounds

Aarya's POV

The night hadn't brought peace. Just questions.

I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, that screen haunted me—lines of data, my name glowing like a warning siren in the middle of it all. Who put me there? Why was I approved? And what the hell was Project NEXUS?

I couldn't shake the feeling that something had shifted—not just around me, but inside me too. Like the ground I'd been standing on had always been made of glass. And now, I could see the cracks.

By morning, I was half convinced I'd dreamed it all. But as I stepped out of my hostel and into the mild sunlight, the weight in my chest told me otherwise.

"Hey."

I turned at the voice. Dev was leaning casually against the gate, hands in pockets, that same unreadable expression he always wore—except softer now. Less ghost, more person.

"You sleep?" he asked.

I shook my head. "You?"

He gave a lopsided shrug. "Didn't even try."

We fell into step as I walked toward the academic block. There was a strange rhythm in the silence between us. Not awkward. Not tense. Just full of all the things we couldn't say out loud yet.

"You okay?" he asked after a beat.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Am I supposed to be?"

"Probably not," he said, and there was something in his voice—something that wasn't quite pity. Closer to understanding.

I glanced at him. "Why did you show me all that?"

His footsteps slowed just enough for me to notice. "Because I figured you deserved the truth before they buried it."

"Thanks," I said, and I meant it. But I didn't say the rest: And now I don't know what to do with it.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, but when we reached the central corridor, I paused.

"Do you... want to go to the library after class?" I asked, unsure why my voice suddenly felt like it was on a tightrope.

He looked surprised. "To research?"

I hesitated. "Yeah. And maybe just... talk more. I feel like I don't really know you."

Something flickered in his eyes—hesitation, then relief, then something heavier. "Yeah," he said. "I'd like that."

The library was unusually quiet that afternoon. We sat tucked into one of the back tables, surrounded by tall shelves and that musty scent of old paper and forgotten secrets.

He handed me a file. "I printed some of the decoded logs. These ones are less technical. Could be easier to trace origins."

As I sifted through the documents, I caught him watching me—not in the creepy way, but like he was trying to memorize something important.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He smiled faintly. "You process information like you're solving a puzzle."

"Isn't that what this is?" I asked. "A giant, awful puzzle?"

"Yeah," he said, voice lower. "But you don't flinch. That's rare."

I didn't know how to respond to that. Compliments from Dev felt like loaded weapons—careful, pointed, and meant to disarm.

But I didn't hate it.

In fact, it was kind of... nice.

"You said you knew Ravindra?" I asked after a moment.

His jaw tightened slightly. "He's not someone you really know. He just decides how much of you he gets to use."

That chilled me more than I expected.

"You think he's behind all of this?"

"I think he's the face of it. Someone else is pulling the strings."

"And you?" I asked quietly. "What are you in all of this?"

His eyes met mine. There was a flicker of something—guilt, maybe. Regret. But then it was gone.

"I'm just trying not to get caught in the web," he said.

But for the first time, I wasn't sure if I believed him.

Not entirely.