The murmurs still echoed across the training grounds, lingering whispers of what just happened.
I kept my head down, my fingers loosely flexing at my sides, trying to shake the lingering warmth from my arm.
Whatever that rune had been… it wasn't normal.
I could still feel the energy thrumming beneath my skin, fading, but not entirely gone.
Toric cleared his throat, instantly commanding silence.
"Phase two will now begin."
My stomach tightened.
Right. I still wasn't done.
Ms. Amara stepped forward, her piercing gaze scanning over us.
"The next phase of your test is teamwork. You will now engage in direct combat alongside your assigned partner, working together to subdue an opponent. If either of you fails, you both fail."
I barely resisted the urge to groan out loud.
Paired combat. With Riven.
Because apparently, I hadn't suffered enough today.
I could feel him beside me, his posture relaxed but too still, like he was waiting for something.
I didn't look at him.
Didn't acknowledge him.
Toric gestured toward the center of the field, where training dummies shimmered out of existence, replaced by something new.
My breath hitched.
Two opponents materialized before us, stepping forward onto the dirt ring.
Two advanced Combat students. Real opponents.
And just my fucking luck, one of them was Ares Vale.
Ares was a Combat prodigy, top of the class, and had been insufferable about it for years.
And now? He was smirking. Oh, this was going to be a disaster.
Professor Dwayne's voice cut through the air.
"Remember: adapt. Communicate. And don't let your partner fall behind."
Riven finally spoke, his voice low and unreadable.
"Don't slow me down, Athens."
I turned to him, my eyes narrowing. "I should be telling you that."
He let out a short, humorless laugh. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
The moment the signal was given, everything exploded into motion.
Ares moved first, predictable.
He lunged for me, a blur of muscle and momentum, his blade gleaming in the sunlight.
I was faster.
I sidestepped, tracing a rune mid-air -- ᛉ (Barrier).
The glowing sigil snapped to life, forming a flickering shield between us. His blade clashed against it, the force rippling through my arm.
Ares grinned. "Not bad, Runic girl."
Gods, I hated him. Before I could counter, flames erupted to my right.
I barely had time to register the second opponent, a Fire Elemental, launching a streak of fire directly at Riven.
He dodged with ease, his body moving like it was built for combat.
Which, let's be real, it was.
His sword flashed, slicing through the air, but the Fire Elemental countered, swinging his staff up just in time to block. We were both fighting our own battles. Which was a problem.
Because, you know, this was supposed to be a team exercise.
We weren't working together. We weren't even acknowledging each other.
And it was clashing hard.
I was holding my ground. But barely.
Every dodge, every counter, every rune I cast, it was all calculated, all forced.
Right now, I was relying only on my mind and what I knew.
Instinct. Training. Strategy.
And I was damn aware that I was actually blocking out the Ancient Rune's power by doing so.
Keeping it locked down. Ignoring the pull.
Because if I let it in, if I let it guide me again like it had earlier, I didn't know what would happen.
And that? Terrified me more than losing this fight.
Ares pressed forward, hammering into my defenses with fast, relentless strikes.
I could barely keep up, my runes flickering into existence just in time to counter.
But I had no opening.
And to make things worse, Riven was dealing with the same issue.
The Fire Elemental launched another wave of heat, forcing Riven to leap back, his blade barely catching the flames before they could reach him.
I needed him. And he needed me. But neither of us was saying it.
Because, of course, we were both stubborn idiots.
"You're on your own, huh?" Ares taunted, twisting his blade as he drove forward again.
"What's the matter, Athens? Partner not keeping up?"
I gritted my teeth. I didn't need to turn around to know Riven was thinking the exact same thing about me. This wasn't working.
We were going to lose. Unless we stopped fighting separately.
I exhaled sharply, frustration crackling in my veins. Fine.
If we were going to do this, we had to actually do this.
I pushed back against Ares's next strike, using the force of his attack to give myself an opening.
"Riven, switch!"
The moment we switched opponents, everything shifted.
Riven fell into rhythm instantly, meeting Ares's attacks with sharp, effortless counters, his blade a blur of movement.
And me? I had the Fire Elemental right where I wanted him.
I sketched the rune mid-motion ᚦ (Disrupt), and sent it hurling toward his next fire attack.
The second it collided, his flames shattered. Gone.
His eyes widened, his footing faltering just enough.
Riven's voice cut through the chaos. "Athena."
I turned just in time to catch his gaze, sharp, calculated. He flicked his wrist.
A subtle movement. Barely there, but I understood.
An element of surprise. I didn't know how I knew. I just did.
I moved. Riven shifted, mirroring me.
The Fire Elemental reacted too late. I struck first, my wand slashing through the air, the rune for Force ᚱ igniting in front of me.
The impact sent him staggering back.
At the same time, Riven faked an opening in his defense, drawing Ares in, before twisting at the last second, knocking the sword clean from his hand.
For a moment, I thought we had won. Until Ares played dirty.
I barely saw it coming, a flash of movement, a second blade drawn from his belt, swinging toward me at a dangerous angle.
Shit. Before I could even register what happened, a strong arm snatched me back.
Riven.
In one fluid motion, he grabbed me, twisting us both as we hit the ground. The blade missed by inches.
Dust kicked up around us, my breath catching as I landed half-pinned beneath him.
Silence. I blinked, disoriented, staring up at him.
His body was tense, his hand still gripping my arm, his breath just slightly uneven.
I barely had time to process it before Toric's voice rang out.
"Enough!"
The fight was over. We had won.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The world outside the moment faded, Toric's voice, the whispers of the other students, the blistering sun beating down on us.
Riven's eyes locked onto mine, sharp and unreadable. A storm brewing beneath the surface.
And then, just as quickly as he had tackled me, his expression shifted.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
"I bet Calder could do that too."
The words snapped me out of it, yanking me back into reality like a slap to the face.
My stomach twisted.
Oh, you absolute--
Before I could even react, he was already pushing himself off me, rising to his feet with an ease that pissed me off even more. I stared up at the sky, forcing down the frustration burning in my chest before shoving myself upright.
Breathe. Just breathe.
I dusted off my arms, rolling my shoulders to shake off the tension, then pushed up my sleeves, needing some relief from the heat that clung to me, whether from the sun, the flames, or the infuriating man in front of me, I couldn't tell.
Riven was watching. Of course, he was.
I sighed, raking a hand through my hair before finally meeting his gaze.
And then, before I could stop myself, before I could second-guess it, I said the one thing I probably shouldn't have.
"Riven, you know damn well Calder could never compare to you."
Something flickered across his face. A shift, subtle but undeniable.
I straightened, my pulse pounding in my ears. I wasn't done.
"I told you before, and I'm telling you now." I took a step closer, my voice steady but laced with something raw. "Calder isn't the one I want. You are."
A heavy silence. His jaw tensed. His fingers curled slightly at his sides.
And then, just as quickly as the moment had flared, his expression cooled.
A slow, humorless breath left him. "You have a funny way of showing that," he murmured, his voice lower now. "Since you always seem to be around him."
I inhaled sharply, anger and something else twisting inside me.
Because the worst part? He wasn't wrong. I hated that he had a point. I hated even more that he knew it.
The air between us was thick with tension, neither of us willing to back down.
I crossed my arms, frustration curling deep in my chest. "I don't know what else to say, Riven." My voice was raw, sharper than I intended. "I lay my heart out, and you just keep throwing Calder in my face."
His jaw tightened. "Maybe because you keep running to him."
I let out a sharp, humorless laugh, throwing my hands up. "And whose fault is that?"
His eyes flickered. "You tell me."
The words struck something deep, something fragile.
"Gods, you are impossible." I raked a hand through my hair, my pulse pounding. "You pull away, you shut me out, and then you act like I'm choosing someone else over you."
Riven scoffed, shaking his head. "That's not..."
"That's exactly what's happening!" The words tore from my throat before I could stop them. "You can't keep pushing me away and expecting me to wait for something that never comes!"
Silence.
His hands clenched at his sides, his posture rigid. Something in his expression wavered, just for a second.
Then his gaze dropped. And that's when he saw it. The red lashes marking my arms.
His entire body stilled. I followed his gaze too late.
Before I could shove my sleeves back down, his fingers wrapped around my wrist.
Not hard. Not rough. But enough to send a shiver down my spine, enough to steal the air from my lungs.
I froze.
His grip wasn't demanding, wasn't forceful. It was careful. Controlled.
And when he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, deadly.
"What the hell happened to you?"
I wrenched my arm free, rolling my sleeve down with deliberate slowness.
Then I looked him dead in the eye and said the first thing that would make him stop asking questions.
"You don't get to ask that, Riven."
His jaw tightened. "The hell I don't."
I scoffed. "Oh? Since when?"
His brows furrowed. "Since you walked into school acting like everything was fine when it clearly isn't."
I let out a breathless laugh, shaking my head. "That's rich, coming from you."
His expression flickered. Good.
I pressed forward, voice sharper now.
"You think you get to demand answers from me when you can't even give me the same courtesy?"
A muscle in his jaw twitched, but he didn't look away.
"This isn't about me."
"Oh, but it is, isn't it?" I took a step back, letting my words hit where they needed to. "You get to keep things from me, shut people out, walk around like a goddamn mystery no one's allowed to solve--" my voice cut like a blade, "but the second I have secrets, it's suddenly a problem?"
His hands curled into fists. His expression was carefully blank, but I saw it, the flinch.
For a moment, just a second, I thought maybe he'd push back. That he'd fight me on this.
Instead, he took a slow step back, his face hardening, closing off.
"Fine." The word was clipped, sharp.
"Keep your secrets, Athena. I thought you knew better."
His voice was cold now, and the words landed like a hit to the chest.
I ignored the sinking feeling in my stomach as I turned on my heel, forcing myself to walk away.
Because this was what I wanted. Right?