The fire was small, little more than embers licked by thin flame, but in the Wilds even a whisper of warmth felt like defiance. Kael sat opposite Riven, the glow throwing shadows across her sharp features.
She cleaned her bowstring with steady hands, gaze flicking toward him now and again. He pretended not to notice, turning a flat stone in his palm as if it were suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world.
"You're quieter than before," Riven said at last. "Running out of fight?"
Kael's lips pressed thin. "Just thinking."
"Dangerous habit. Thinking gets people killed faster than blades."
Kael snorted. "And what—living like you isn't dangerous?"
Riven's smile was faint, brittle. "Dangerous, yes. Predictable, too. Beasts hunt. Cults kill. Men betray. You accept it, and the Wilds stop surprising you."
Kael studied her through the firelight. "You talk like someone who's lost a lot."
Her hand stilled on the bowstring. The silence stretched long, broken only by the crackle of burning wood. Finally, she exhaled through her nose, sharp.
"Family," she said. Just the one word.
Kael blinked. "…The cult?"
Her eyes lifted to his, and for the first time he saw something raw flicker there. Rage, maybe. Or grief buried too deep to name.
"They took them. Burned them for heresy. My little brother first, to make the rest kneel." Her jaw tightened, knuckles white around the bowstring. "I swore I'd never kneel. And I've been cutting throats in the dark ever since."
Kael's chest ached. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Riven's voice was steel again, cold and sharp. "Sorry doesn't change ash to flesh. Doesn't put a soul back in the bones."
The flames cracked, sparks leaping skyward. Kael swallowed hard, staring into the fire. "…They tried to burn me too."
Riven tilted her head, eyes narrowing.
"At the rite," he said. "I was Hollow. Worthless. The priests said my life meant nothing. That my soul was already ash." His hand brushed his chest where the shard pulsed faintly. "Now… I don't even know what I am."
For a long moment, Riven said nothing. Then she leaned forward, voice low. "Not nothing. Dangerous. That's better."
Kael shook his head. "Or cursed."
"Cursed people live longer," Riven said with a crooked grin. "At least the interesting ones."
The fire popped, sending shadows flickering. For the first time since meeting her, Kael almost smiled.
Almost.
⸻
➡️ Cliffhanger: The campfire reveals Riven's tragedy and Kael's lingering self-doubt, binding them through shared scars. But under the fragile warmth, mistrust still burns.