Lior
The inside man I had at a Blood Bound Kingdom had asked to meet me. He had told me that Riven was in danger, that the council had found out he's my mate. I didn't even think twice before I came here to the Blood Bound Kingdom. I didn't even think twice that this was a trap—yet I had fallen into it.
They trapped me in this circle before I even registered what was happening. I was already deep in this shit. My inside man had already sold me out to these wolves of the council members. My mind had already registered that the enemies were within this place—because how else did they know Riven is my mate? That's what they are trying to cut off: if I die now, Riven would follow me, and these wolves would make a feast of our deaths.
I couldn't let that happen, but this circle that I'm trapped in is making me weak, slowly and slowly. The community is already here, ready to set me alight. I didn't want Riven to see me in this state, but it was too late when I saw him come to the front. I guess his cousin had already told him. We had met before, when I found out Riven's enemies were within these compounds. She had scoffed and asked me why I cared this much, and I had told her that he is my mate. She didn't look shocked at all—it was like she had already put two plus two together.
He stood there and looked at me as I lay on the ground on my knees, ready for anything. I was drained and weak. When my prosecution was about to happen, he stopped them, gaining a lot of eyes.
"What do you mean, we stop?" a voice shouted from the crowd.
"I said what I said," Riven replied, his voice cold as ice.
"Riven, this is an enemy. He deserves to die!" Riven's girlfriend spat.
I swear, if I wasn't this weak, I would've sliced her neck off.
"Enemy, you say? Why must we kill him? Did he do anything wrong?" Riven asked.
"Riven—" that lousy girlfriend of his started again, but Riven cut her off.
"No. Since when did we kill people just because they are our enemies? Since when?" Riven demanded.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd after his words.
"You are speaking for him because he is your mate!" a voice cried out, making me cringe. I didn't want things to happen this way.
Riven's body stiffened. He turned toward the crowd. "Who dared to say that?" His voice cracked like thunder. The crowd went silent.
"So it's true?" his girlfriend asked again, tears in her eyes. What a drama.
"Yes. It's true," Riven said.
Those words shocked me too, just as they shocked the crowd. I glanced at him, but he didn't look my way. Did he think about those words before saying them? Now he had made everyone gun for both our heads.
It's not that I don't like that he just accepted me in front of everyone—I liked that. But now I know it's not my head alone these people want. It's ours. And I can't afford that.
"Traitor!" voices of the community shouted. Weapons rose like a wave of steel and fire.
Riven still stood tall and strong. "If dying for the truth, then try me."
"You are like your mother, a traitor to our community. Burn him!" a council member barked.
"Try me!" Riven roared, and as they surged closer, he moved.
He dropped to one knee at the edge of the circle, his palm slamming onto the earth. Shadows peeled off him like smoke torn loose by wind. His voice cut low, sharp, and commanding:
"Umbrae, ruptum vinculum—Umbraculum!"
( Shadows ,break the binding - Shadows Veil)
The circle shuddered. Its threads of light cracked and snapped like glass under pressure. Shadows slithered outward, coiling around me, cloaking my body in a blur that bent torchlight and muffled sound. A dark tether leapt from Riven's chest—burning against his half-moon scar—and sank into mine. He grimaced as if stabbed but never faltered.
"Vinculum meum, trahes!" he growled.
(By my bond pull him)
The circle split. Heat flared, searing his hands, but he pulled me through. For a moment I felt the flames claw at us, but the shadows swallowed the fire whole, dragging me free.
"Move!" Rea's voice cut across the uproar. She hurled a spray of black ash across the front ranks, burning their eyes and sending chaos through the mob. She pushed open a gap. "Run!"
Riven grabbed me by the arm, his chest heaving, blood trickling from his lip. Together with Rea, we bolted through the breach.
The community erupted in rage, torches swinging wildly, steel flashing. A spear shot past my head and embedded into a post. Riven staggered but didn't stop, his scar smoking faintly with every step. Rea guided us through side lanes, her shadows slicing down spears and deflecting arrows.
We ran until the compound gave way to the patchwork streets of the outer Kingdom. Only then did Riven collapse onto a crate, clutching his chest, the ember of his scar still glowing faintly.
"We are alive," he rasped when Rea grabbed his arm to steady him. His voice was raw, but his eyes—cold and fierce—met mine at last.
He had just declared me as his mate before the entire Blood Bound council. And now the whole kingdom would be hunting us.
"Where to?" Rea asked, lungs burning.
Riven wiped blood from his mouth, stood shakily, and leaned on us both.
"In the knight Kingdom." I said as they both looked at me.
"I will lead . " I said
And we disappeared into the night, the angry roar of the mob still echoing behind us.