“No,” I croaked, barely audible.
My knees shook as I pushed myself upright again. I could taste blood. I could feel tears slipping down my face. My vision blurred and split. The dagger shook in my hand as if it didn’t want to be held anymore.
But I stood.
Riven turned. His face was blank now, almost disappointed or annoyed.
He stalked toward me, each step deliberate, a predator closing the distance.
Then, he exploded into a strike.
This time, it was the back of his hand across my face, hard enough to split my lip wide open. I fell sideways again; the blade flying from my hand.
“Stop trying to be brave,” he said, his voice flat. “You don’t know how.”
He lunged down, his fist clenching in the front of my cloak, and ripped me upward.
I dangled there, my toes scraping the dirt.
“You’re not a threat.” Hescoffed, the words dripping with contempt. “You’re bait. Nothing more.”
The world spun. My ears rang.
And yet—
Something deep in my chest stirred.
It wasn’t rage or power but love.
All fierce, terrible, and bright.
A need to protect them. Even if it broke me.
Even if it killed me.
Even if no one ever knew I’d done it.
And something inside me opened.
The air grew warm, and light started in my chest.
Like a pulse, a flicker, or a vow.
Golden-white flame blasted from my palm, a scorching brilliancethat didn't burn butshreddedthe mist and sent the shadowsrecoilingfrom the stones. The air cracked with a deep, ringing thunder that rolled through the clearing.
The ground bucked beneath us. The same cracks Riven had torn into the earth earlier lit up with gold, searing down into the stone like molten veins.
Riven staggered, teeth bared in a snarl. The shockwave caught him full in the chest, slamming him back into a half-collapsed pillar. Dust drifted down in pale clouds.
Before he could rise, the lingering force of my magic pressed him there, an unseen weight pinning him just enough to keep his blade from lifting clean. He fought against it, boots grinding into the glowing fissures, the muscles in his arms straining.
I launched forward, no time for hesitation. My lungs ignited with the effort.
He swung at me in a sudden blur, his blade clipping my forearm hard enough to send pain flaring up to my shoulder. A tremor ran through my grip, threatening to give way, but Iwrestledit back, jaw tight enough to ache.
I slammed my dagger against his sword arm, knocking it wide, and drove in close until the point pressed to the hollow of his throat.
His eyes snapped to mine, blazing with fury—raw, unmasked, and lethal. His lip curled back over his teeth like a cornered predator, every muscle in his body screaming to break free and tear me apart. The golden light crawling over the stones painted his rage in molten fire, but I didn’t flinch.
