I Should've killed Him

Chapter Four

Riven's POV

I should've killed him.

I wanted to.

Everything inside me—my blood, my magic, my oath—screamed for it.

But I didn't.

Now I can't stop thinking about his face. The way he looked at me like I wasn't a threat... but also like I was the only person who could break him.

And maybe I was.

Stupid.

I slammed the door to my flat shut, ripped off my jacket, and tossed it onto the floor. My fingers twitched with leftover power, that witchblood burn still pulsing under my skin. The mark on my wrist—it glowed when he touched me. Only when he touched me.

I'd seen vampires in my life. Fought them. Watched them bleed. I never hesitated.

But Lior Solavar was different.

Not because of his beauty. Not even because of his curse.

But because he didn't act like a predator.

He acted like someone waiting to be caught.

And that made him dangerous.

"Why didn't you finish it?"

The voice came from behind me. My cousin—Eira—stepped out of the shadows, arms folded, expression cold.

"He was vulnerable," I muttered.

"He's cursed, Riven. That means he's desperate. Desperate people are the most lethal."

"I know what I saw."

Eira frowned, crossing the room. "What did you feel?"

I hesitated.

What did I feel?

Heat.

Sadness.

A pull. Like I was being reeled in by something ancient.

Not just magic. Not just fate.

Emotion.

"I felt him," I finally said.

Eira's eyes darkened. "Then he's already under your skin."

I hated how right she was.

But I hated even more that my dreams—usually silent and cold—were now haunted by his eyes. His voice. The sound of him saying my name.

He was cursed.

And now... I was starting to feel like I was too.