Liora awoke to the faint sound of footsteps.
She sat upright, flame flickering to life in her palm. But it was only Riven, standing near the tunnel exit, his frame outlined by the ruddy glow of lava veins deeper down. He hadn't slept. Or if he had, it had been brief and filled with shadows.
He was shirtless, using his torn cloak to clean blood from a gash on his ribs. His back was littered with scars—not the ceremonial kind nobles wore with pride, but the kind earned in silence. Lashes. Burns. Marks of obedience.
Liora swallowed.
She hadn't expected him to look human.
He turned.
Their eyes met across the dim firelight.
She should have looked away. Should have said something cutting.
Instead, she stood. Walked to him.
"You should rest," she said.
"I don't sleep well."
"Bad dreams?"
He looked at her. "Bad memories."
A long silence stretched between them.
Then she said softly, "Why do you stay? With her?"
Riven glanced down at the oath-scar on his chest. "Because leaving hurts worse."
She reached forward. Her fingers brushed his wrist—the first contact that wasn't a fight. His breath hitched.
"You saved me," she said. "Back in the tavern. You didn't have to."
He didn't move.
"You scare me," she admitted.
"Good."
She leaned closer. "But not for the reasons you think."
The heat between them wasn't just the cave. It was breath. Tension. Unspoken things.
She stepped back before it could burn.
Then the moment shattered.
Sera's voice rang down the passage. "Brisa's gone."
Liora froze. "What?"
"Taken. Drag marks. Heat trails. Bounty hunters."
Riven straightened. "Infernos. The Queen's dogs."
Liora's flame surged. "I'm going after her."
"Then you'll die. They want you to follow."
She turned, fire in her gaze. "Then let them see what a mistake that is."
The ambush came fast.
Too fast.
Liora found Brisa bound at the center of a scorched clearing, surrounded by four Infernos. Their flame burned cold and blue. Purified. Deadly.
She didn't wait.
She attacked.
But the trap had been for her. Brisa wasn't the real bait.
Riven stepped between her and the killing blow. He deflected one flame spear, knocked Liora flat with a shove.
"You idiot," she hissed.
"Stay down."
She rolled, launched black flame. One Inferno fell.
But the others were too strong.
Riven shouted, "Enough! I surrender her. She came willingly."
Liora snarled, "Like hell I did!"
He seized her arms, twisting them behind her. Flame-resistant cuffs clamped around her wrists. His grip was firm. Close.
"You'll regret this," she whispered.
He leaned in. His breath brushed her ear.
"I already do."
She could feel the tremble in his hands. Could feel the war in him. This wasn't obedience. This was agony.
Their faces were inches apart. Her flame kissed his collarbone. His heat brushed her neck.
When the Infernos led them away, neither of them spoke.
But everything that needed saying burned between them.