Chapter 8: The Betrayal

Kael wasn't easily shaken.

She had spent years building walls, sharpening herself into a weapon, forcing herself to forget what it felt like to hesitate.

But Riven made her hesitate.

Not because he was charming. Not because he was dangerous.

But because something about him felt familiar.

And that scared her more than anything.

They were deep in the tunnels now, heading toward Bast's abandoned outpost, their footsteps the only sound echoing off the damp stone. The air was thick with tension,and Kael could feel Riven's gaze on her, studying her the way he always did-too closely, too carefully.

She ignored him.

Or at least, she tried.

"You're unusually quiet," Riven mused behind her.

Kael kept walking. "It's called thinking. You should try it sometime."

Riven smirked. "Thinking about me, I hope?"

She turned on Riven, eyes sharp. "Who taught you to fight?"

Riven's expression barely flickered, but she caught it-the way his smirk froze, the way his shoulders tensed for just a second before he forced himself to look amused.

"That's a rather personal question, sweetheart."

Kael didn't blink. "Answer it."

Jorrik muttered, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

Kael ignored him, her gaze locked onto Riven.

Because she had been thinking about it-too much.

About the way he moved.

The way he dodged her attacks without thinking, like he had been trained in the same way as-

No.

She swallowed hard, shoving that thought away.

But Riven hadn't answered.

His smirk was still in place, but it wasn't quite reaching his eyes anymore. "Why do you care?"

Kael stepped closer, voice low. "Because I've seen someone fight like you before."

That got his attention.

For the first time, Riven looked genuinely surprised.

Kael's heartbeat hammered. She wasn't wrong. She knew she wasn't wrong.

Riven tried to play it off, tilting his head. "And who might that be?"

Kael's hands curled into fists.

"A man who was there," she said quietly. "The night my family was killed."

The words hung in the air between them, sharp as a blade.

Jorrik let out a slow breath. "Ah. That explains a lot."

Riven didn't move.

Didn't smile.

For the first time since meeting him, Kael saw something flicker across his face.

Something like understanding.

Like he had heard this story before.

Kael's blood ran cold.

He knew.

He knew something.

"Riven," she said, voice sharper now. "Why are you really here?"

Riven exhaled, rubbing his jaw. "You really aren't going to let this go, are you?"

Kael's fingers twitched toward her dagger. "Not until you tell me the truth."

For a moment, she thought he was actually going to answer her.

Then-

A low whistle echoed through the tunnels.

Kael barely had time to react before shadows moved at the edges of her vision.

Her instincts kicked in. She lunged backward just as a blade swung through the air where she had been standing.

"Move!" she shouted, already drawing her weapons.

The warlords had found them.

It's an Ambush

Everything exploded into motion.

Kael ducked as another attacker came at her, her dagger flashing as she sliced across their arm. Riven and Jorrik had already drawn their swords, the tunnel filling with the sounds of clashing steel and shouts.

"Remind me again why I agreed to this?" Riven muttered, blocking an incoming strike.

Jorrik grunted. "Because you have terrible luck."

Kael didn't have time to listen.

There were too many of them.

Too many.

A figure loomed in the flickering light-taller, heavier, moving with deadly precision.

One of the warlords' elite enforcers.

Kael recognized him immediately.

A memory slammed into her.

A burning house. The scent of blood. The sound of her mother screaming.

Kael's breath caught.

The hesitation lasted half a second.

Half a second too long.

The enforcer grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm so hard that her dagger clattered to the floor. She barely swallowed a cry of pain before he slammed her against the tunnel wall, pressing his full weight against her.

"Veyne," he sneered. "Should have killed you when we had the chance."

Kael struggled, her vision blurring with rage.

Not again.

Not again.

Then-

The pressure vanished.

Kael barely had time to process it before the enforcer was ripped away from her, his body hitting the stone floor with a sickening crack.

She sucked in a breath.

Riven was standing over the man's motionless body.

His sword dripped blood.

His dark disguise was slightly disheveled, the edges of his gray-dyed hair catching the dim lantern light.

But it was his expression that made Kael's stomach twist.

He wasn't smirking.

He wasn't making a joke.

He looked furious.

Like something in him had snapped.

Kael's breath shook.

Not because he had saved her.

But because, for a moment, he had looked like someone else.

Like someone she should remember.

"Touch her again," Riven said quietly, his voice deadly calm, "and I'll kill you slower next time."

Kael forced herself to move, wrenching her mind away from the memories clawing at her skull.

This wasn't over.

They had to run.

But before she could speak-

Another voice echoed through the tunnels.

"Enough."

Everything stilled.

Kael's stomach dropped.

Because she knew that voice.

A man stepped into view, dressed in dark armor, his expression casual, almost amused.

Kael's heart slammed against her ribs.

Because she knew that face.

One of the warlords.

One of the men responsible for everything.

"Now, now," he said smoothly. "Why don't we all calm down?"

Kael's fingers clenched around her dagger.

She would never calm down.

Not with him standing there.

Not with Riven still hiding secrets.

Not with the truth she was about to learn.

And Kael had a terrible feeling that after this night-

She would never forgive him.