Vulnerable
Despite already being asleep for Gods knew how long, I had slipped back into unconsciousness while reading. Sleep had dragged me under like warm tidewater, pulling me into a dream I couldn’t fight my way out of. Nothing more than flashes, but they were enough to unravel me. The curve of his smile. The rough scrape of his jaw against my throat. His hands large and steady spanning my waist, sliding lower. His breath on my lips the moment before he kissed me. The way he’d whispered my name like he’d been starved for it.
I reached for him in the dream, desperate, but every time my fingers brushed his skin, he dissolved into shadow. I chased him through the dark anyway. Always almost touching. Never reaching.
His voice echoed around me, broken and deep. “The last piece…” My heart clenched so hard it hurt. Everything slipped away at once, leaving only my aching heart lodged beneath my ribs?—
“Lyra.”
I startled, eyes springing open againstthe darkness. I tore from the dream, breath shaking, sweat cooling on my skin. Moonlight streamed in through the large windows, and a tall figure stood beside my bed. I blinked, eyes adjusting. The guard from the inn. Panic gripped me. Power fluttered weakly under my skin, but I couldn’t grasp it.
Jumping out of bed, I shifted into a fighting position.
“Good to see you missed me,” he said, smirking down at me. I blinked. Confused. Disoriented. His face melted and morphed. Black hair shortened to brown waves that tussled across his forehead. His build changed to compact muscle and his dimples smiled down at me, using his Sanctum to shapeshift back into himself.
“Riven,” I whispered, voice breaking. I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face into his neck.
“Hello, Princess,” he sighed against my hair, arms wrapping around me.
“You came for me,” I breathed, clutching his shirt. “How are you even here?”
“I told you I would come for you,” he murmured, running a soothing hand up and down my spine. He grabbed my hand and tugged gently. “Come on. Time to go.”
I took two steps, following him until something inside me stalled.
Riven frowned and quirked an eyebrow. “Want me to carry you? Come here.”
“No.” The word scraped out of me like a wound, and the truth followed on its heels. I didn’t want to leave. Not because I doubted Riven—if there was anyone I trusted, it was him. But something inside me twisted at the thought of actually running fromhim. From the Commander.
My heart stuttered traitorously. He was my Kingdom’s enemy. A monster. My captor. But he had becomesomething more. And if I didn’t fulfill the blood bargain… we would both die.“I…” my voice scraped out. “I can’t.”
Riven’s expression softened as he grabbed both my hands in his. “I’m right here with you Princess, we will leave together?—”
A deep, rage-filled voice cut over the top of him. “Take your fucking hands off her,” the Commander growled, “before I cut them from your body.”
My blood froze. The Commander stood in the open doorway, shadows twisting around him, poised and ready to attack. He took in the scene slowly as Riven let go of my hands.
The Commander’s eyes roamed my body, every inch of exposed flesh that my silk slip left exposed. The flush of my cheeks. Something raw snapped across his face, something painful. But it was gone in an instant, primal rage replacing it.
Riven turned, blocking me from the Commander’s gaze and drew his weapon with a sharp rasp. The Commander’s growl vibrated through the room. Vicious. The noise of a predator.
“That weapon will not save you,” he rumbled, walking towards him with clenched fists. Shadows lashed viciously around him, swarming towards Riven. I sucked in a breath and shoved myself in front of him. “Stop!” I yelled. The darkness stopped inches from my face. “Please, don’t hurt him.”
The shadows slowly retreated to the Commander, his eyes shooting to me, vicious and disbelieving. “Why the fuck shouldn’t I?”
“He’s a friend,” I said quickly. “From Stonebriar barracks. We Ascended together.”
“More reason to kill him,” he ground out, taking a threatening step forward.
Riven laughed from behind me, stepping forward with that arrogant smirk that always got him in trouble. “You can try,” Riven said with a grin, swinging his sword in a wide, graceful arc. “I came to save her and that’s what I’ll be doing.”
The two males squared off, both lethal, both ready to kill.
Riven’s words coiled around my fractured heart, pulling the pieces back together. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to be saved. “Enough!” I shouted, chest heaving. They both turned to me like I was the only force in the world that mattered. “If he stays,” I said breathlessly, “I’ll begin imbuing tomorrow. I’ll start before we search for the third Relic.”
“No,” the Commander growled. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Cerilla thinks it is possible. I’ll start with one,” I said. “I’ll take it slow and stop before I burn out.”
