The night was quiet, but inside Riven?
it wasn't.
He moved through the palace gardens like a shadow, the scent of roses still lingering on his hands. Her scent. Her voice. Her smile.
Why the hell was he smiling back?
He stopped.
The silence cracked.
And then the voices slithered in.
Low, sharp, cold.
"She weakens you."
His breath hitched.
"You forget your oath."
"You were made to destroy her, Riven. Not crave her."
Pain bloomed at the back of his head like a dagger. His legs buckled slightly. He dropped to his knees, hands clawing the earth.
Then—
The patterns on his skin flared to life.
Jagged, glowing like burning coal — lines of demonic runes etched deep across his arms, neck, chest. They pulsed with crimson fire, alive with wrath.
His eyes snapped open — and they weren't human anymore.
Glowing red. Unholy. Empty and furious.
"You think you can love her?"
Azrenil's voice was a hiss now, intimate and venomous.
"She is a hunter, born to slay your kind. She'd gut you in your sleep if she knew what you were."
Riven pressed his hands to the ground, blood mixing with dirt where his nails had dug too deep. His glowing eyes lifted slowly, burning like twin embers in the dark.
"Don't twist it," he growled. "I haven't forgotten what I am."
Azrenil:
"Then why hesitate? Why linger in her presence like a stray dog?"
Rivan chuckled darkly, bitter, hollow. "Because I need her to trust me. Isn't that what you wanted?"
Azrenil:
"You're lying."
"I'm not." Riven's jaw clenched. "I'm making her soft. When the time comes, she'll lower her blade, and I'll be there to strike."
He rose to his feet, shaky but standing, runes still burning down his skin like cursed tattoos.
Azrenil:
"You're enjoying this far too much."
Riven turned his back to the palace, the runes still glowing faintly beneath his skin.
"One day," he whispered to the wind, "she'll look at me and see a savior…"
His eyes flickered crimson.
"…not knowing I was always meant to be her ruin."