Nyra’s POV
Something had fundamentally changed.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but the shift over the past few days was undeniable.
Riven was still Riven.
He pushed me to my physical limits during training, callously mocked my technical blunders, and made the quietest evenings feel safe.
But every now and then, I caught him watching me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.
It wasn’t a look of raw attraction or mate-driven desire.
This was entirely different.
He was studying me, his heavy gaze tracking the rhythm of my movements as if I were a complex riddle he was desperate to solve.
The first time he did it, I dismissed it.
By the fourth time, my sharp instincts were screaming.
Standing in the dusty clearing after a brutal morning sparring session, I wiped a layer of sweat from my forehead and dropped my practice sword into the dirt.
Riven was staring again, his grey eyes intensely fixed on me.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“What?”He blinked, suddenly snapping out of whatever distant thought had consumed him.
“Nothing.”I crossed my arms defensively.
“You’ve been doing that an awful lot lately.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking at me like I’m a puzzle you can’t decode.”
A tiny, guarded twitch pull at his lips.
“Maybe you are.”
“That isn’t an answer, Riven.”
“No,” he agreed smoothly.
“It isn’t.”I grabbed my leather canteen, taking a long drink to cool down.
“There’s something massive you’re deliberately keeping from me.”
His calm expression didn’t waver, but I caught the hesitation in his jaw before he spoke.
“There are plenty of secrets people keep hidden from the world, Nyra.”
“A highly convenient response.”
“But a true one.”
I studied the sharp lines of his face.
There was a calculation behind his eyes, a profound piece of information he was actively shielding from me.
I absolutely hated secrets.
Too many of them had already torn my family apart and dictated my entire existence.I lowered the canteen, my voice dropping.
“Is this secret about me?”
Riven went dead silent.The lack of a denial was answer enough.
My suspicion sharpened to a razor edge.
“What do you know, Riven?”
He locked eyes with me for several long seconds, the weight of his gaze heavy in the humid air.
“Nothing that I can officially prove yet.” My brows drew together in confusion.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means I’m still trying to piece together a reality I don’t fully comprehend.”
“Tell me.”He hesitated once more, then gave a firm shake of his head.
“Not yet.”
I stared at him in utter disbelief.
“You are exceptionally terrible at keeping me from digging deeper.”
“I am aware.”
“Then why not just speak the truth?”
“Because if my calculations are completely wrong,” he rasped, stepping closer, “I refuse to plant dangerous ideas in your head that might not be true.”
The sheer gravity of his words stopped me cold.
For once, he wasn’t brushing me off with a snarky comment.
He was protecting me from something.
And ironically, his caution only made my curiosity burn twice as bright.I forced myself to look away, sighing.
“Fine.”
Riven raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Fine?”
“I’ll stop interrogating you,” I lied, offering a sweet smile.
A dark, gravelly laugh escaped him.
“That sounds significantly more accurate.”
We silently began gathering our training weapons.
I didn’t push him for another syllable, but I certainly wasn’t letting it drop.
I just needed to figure out what clues he was looking for first.
Later that afternoon, the humid heat grew exhausting.
I sought refuge beneath the sprawling shade of an ancient oak tree while Riven and Jace drifted into the dense tree line to gather firewood.
Leaning my head back against the rough bark, I closed my eyes and let sleep take over.
Within minutes, my subconscious wandered right back into dangerous territory.
Riven appeared.
In the dream, we were sitting silently beside a crystal-clear mountain lake.
The world was at peace.
There were no bloodthirsty Council lords, no dead parents, and no agonizing secrets between us.
Just him.
He leaned in close, his sun-bronzed chest pressing against mine, his dark brown curls brushing my cheek.
My heart hammered frantically against my ribs.
Right when his lips finally met mine, I violently snapped awake .My eyes flew open, staring wildly at the canopy above.
“Oh, come on,” I muttered, throwing my hands over my face.
‘Fascinating,’ Eira’s wicked voice echoed instantly inside my mind.
I let out a miserable groan.
“Don’t you dare.”
‘You were dreaming about our rugged mate again.
Don’t deny it.’
‘It was a singular, random dream,’ I argued, my cheeks burning.
‘It was the second one this week, actually.’ Eira practically howled with mental laughter.
‘Unfortunately for you, I share your brain.
I remember every juicy detail.’
I let out a breathless laugh, lowering my hands.
‘Fine.
I really like him.
Happy?’
‘Ecstatic,’ Eira purred.
‘Finally, you admit it.”
“Eira. Don’t blow it out of proportion.”
‘Sweetheart, you literally kissed him in your sleep.
Your subconscious is thoroughly compromised.’
Before I could formulate a fiery retort, the sound of boots crunching against dry leaves reached my ears.
I scrambled to sit up straight, smoothing down my jacket just as Jace emerged from the thicket, carrying an armful of logs, with Riven following closely behind with a massive bundle of kindling.
The moment my eyes landed on Riven’s broad shoulders, the vivid memory of the dream lake flashed inside my head.
A violent blush stained my cheeks.
I immediately whipped my head away, staring intensely at a random bush.
Eira was practically rolling on the floor of our mind-link.
‘Oh, this is going to be absolutely spectacular to watch.’
“Shut up,” I snapped.
Jace halted dead in his tracks, dropping the firewood by the pit.
He blinked at me, his sharp gaze darting between my flushed face and the distant forest.
“What did you just say?”
I cleared my throat quickly.
“Nothing. I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Then who exactly were you speaking to, Nyra?”
“Myself.”Jace shifted his weight, a slow, insufferably knowing grin blooming across his face.
“Right. That is deeply concerning behavior.”
Riven let out a low chuckle, kneeling down to meticulously arrange the hearth, deliberately keeping his back to us.
I shot a glaring look at the back of his head, but it was a fatal mistake, my face only grew hotter.
Jace caught the exchange instantly.
His eyes danced with glee.
“Interesting.”
“You keep stealing glances at Riven and then violently looking away like you’ve committed a crime.”
I nearly choked on my own saliva.
“I am doing no such thing!”
“You definitely are,” Jace cackled, leaning forward with his hands on his knees.
“Something historic happened while we were fetching wood. Why are you blushing like a schoolgirl?”
I opened my mouth to lie, closed it, and realized Jace would torture me for the rest of the evening if I didn’t throw him a bone.
Riven was still facing the fire, but his absolute stillness proved he was listening to every single word.
I let out a defeated groan.
“Fine. I had a ridiculous dream, okay?”
Jace blinked, highly intrigued.
“A dream? About what?”
I hesitated, casting one final glance at Riven’s broad back before looking straight at Jace.
“About Riven.”
Jace’s mouth dropped open in pure, unadulterated shock.
“And…?”
“And that is absolutely all the data you are receiving!”
“You cannot drop a bomb like that and just walk away, Nyra!” Jace protested loudly.
“What happened in the dream?”I buried my face in my hands, completely mortified.
“I kissed him, alright? Happy now, you menace?”
A stunned silence blanketed the clearing.
Then, Jace erupted into a booming, breathless laugh that echoed through the trees.
“Oh, this is absolute gold! The fearsome rogue leader is haunting your dreams!”
“I am moving my tent to the other side of the mountain,” I muttered, standing up to flee the unbearable embarrassment.
“No, you’re not! Stay here and elaborate!” Jace laughed.
Beyond the clearing, just out of our sight behind a massive oak, Riven stood entirely frozen.
He had been walking back with the final bundle of wood when my loud confession tore through the quiet air.
Every single word had registered loud and clear.
A slow, profoundly triumphant smile spread across his lips.
‘Did you hear that, Riven?’ Tristan’s deep voice erupted with absolute, untamed pride.
‘Our mate is dreaming about us.’
Riven shook his head, his chest swelling with a fierce, possessive warmth.
“Apparently so.”
‘I like her even more now,’ Tristan rumbled happily.
‘Now we have an excellent reason to tease her.’
Riven let out a quiet, rough chuckle under his breath, adjusting his grip on the logs.
“You already worshipped the ground she walked on.”
He glanced through the branches, watching Jace relentlessly tease a bright red Nyra.
Forcing his features into a mask of total composure, Riven finally stepped out from the shadows and strolled into the clearing.
“Are we actually going to train today,” Riven announced, his voice smooth and entirely cool, “or are you two planning to hold a dramatic interrogation all afternoon?”
I snapped my head up, our eyes instantly locking.
A strange, flutter ignited in the pit of my stomach.
I quickly looked down at my boots, trying to regain my breath.But this time, Riven caught the movement.
A small, dark glint of pure amusement danced in his eyes.
Jace shot Riven a highly loaded, hilarious look, but Riven simply ignored him, tossing the final logs onto the pile.
I grabbed my practice sword, desperate for a distraction.
“Training. Right now.”
Jace chuckled, stepping back.
“Definitely training.”
We squared off in the center of the clearing.
But as I lifted my blade, the lingering weight of my earlier suspicion rushed right back.
I looked past the wooden sword, locking onto Riven’s calculating gaze.
I was entirely certain of it now.
And looking at the intensity of his stance, I had a terrifying feeling that whatever he was hiding was about to alter my entire world.
Riven caught me staring, but neither of us broke the silence.I finally reset my guard, focusing on the blade.
I would let him keep his mysteries for tonight.
But I wouldn’t stop watching his every move.
Because sooner or later, I intended to unearth exactly what he was hiding from me.