The memory of him tonight is sharper than it should be. He’s undeniably embedded in my mind.
My thoughts shift to the golden strands that bloomed from Ilyria’s chest, meant only for my eyes, it seems. I don’t know what would’ve happened if Azyric hadn’t pulled me back.
I don’t know what I did. Or if Ididanything at all. Maybe I only witnessed something already written. Maybe I changed everything. Maybe I’m losing my mind and there’s nothing special about it at all.
I curl onto my side on the bed and face the wall, drawing the blanket up in an attempt to let my mind empty. The silence doesn’t recede. It grows closer until it practically breathes alongside me.
Still, my thoughts won’t let go. The scenes, the thread, the possibility of a future shaped not by war–but by a kiss, a spark, a decision.
A chill ghosts over the back of my neck.
I suddenly have the unmistakable sensation of being watched. It’s sharp and intrusive, like a breath being held just behind my ear, ready to blow along the shell of my skin.
Slowly, I turn toward the crackling hearth, eyes scanning the edges of the fire’s glow. The shadows gathered in the other corners are thick, still, too deep for the light to reach.
A shape peels away from the darkness, smooth and soundless, as if it had always been there.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
The deep voice is like silk brushing against my bare skin.
Riven.
My heart stutters, the air catching in my throat as I sit up quickly.
“Riven,” I whisper, exhaling a sharp breath as my pulse thumps wildly. “Do you always lurk in corners like that?”
His smile is small but unmissable–lazy, lethal, anda little amused. “Only when the person inside is worth watching.”
He steps out from the shadows, slow and deliberate, just far enough for the firelight to catch the sharp line of his jaw and the faint gleam of mischief tucked beneath all that polished control.
I don’t move. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to question my judgment,” he replies dryly, a flicker of that smirk returning. “But not long enough to regret it.”
His gaze holds mine, steady and unblinking, the red of his eyes glowing like embers plucked from the hearth itself. His chest barely rises with breath.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he says to break the silence. “I…wasn’t expecting you to notice me so quickly.”
I remain where I am. Watching and waiting. “Why are you here?”
He tilts his head, the motion subtle as his eyes drag along my face and down to my exposed neck and shoulder. “Couldn’t sleep.”
A shiver rolls through my body, unbridled.
“That’s not an answer for why you arehere.”
A ghost of a smile pulls at the corner of his mouth, more sin than sincerity. “It’s the only answer I have.”
He moves toward the chair across from the bed,letting his fingers brush along the carved edge of the backrest before taking the seat.
“I thought maybe walking the halls of my home would clear my head,” he murmurs. “It didn’t, and somehow I ended up here.”
His eyes drift toward the tray of food on the table before returning to me.
“You didn’t eat.”
My brow pinches. “Wasn’t hungry.”
