Sleep didn't come that night.
Caspian lay awake staring at the ceiling, the unfamiliar name still echoing inside her head.
Her real name.
The one that had been hidden from her entire life.
Every answer she had received only created more questions.
Powerful family.
Enemies.
Protection.
An assassination attempt.
And Riven… assigned to protect her.
Her chest tightened slightly.
"Assigned," she whispered into the darkness.
It sounded less like fate and more like duty.
Across the room, the air shifted.
A faint presence appeared near the window.
Riven.
He looked weaker tonight.
His figure almost transparent under the moonlight.
"You should sleep," he said quietly.
Caspian sat up.
"How do you expect me to sleep after everything you told me?"
He didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he looked outside the window like he was listening to something far away.
Caspian noticed.
"What is it?" she asked.
Riven's jaw tightened.
"They're closer than I expected."
Her stomach dropped.
"Who?"
"The people who tried to kill you."
The room suddenly felt colder.
"How would they even know I'm alive?" she asked.
Riven turned toward her slowly.
"Because someone told them."
The words hit like a slap.
Caspian's mind immediately jumped to one person.
"My mother?"
Riven shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
Before he could answer—
A sudden sound came from outside.
A car door closing.
Caspian froze.
This late at night?
Riven moved closer to the window, his expression darkening.
"They found you faster than I thought."
Her heart started racing.
"What do you mean they found me?"
Riven didn't look away from the street.
"They're here."
Her breath caught.
"Here?"
Downstairs, the front gate creaked open.
Footsteps followed.
Slow.
Careful.
Not the footsteps of someone visiting.
The footsteps of someone hunting.
Caspian stood up quickly.
Her hands trembled.
"What do we do?"
Riven turned toward her.
For the first time since she met him—
he looked worried.
"You stay hidden."
"And you?"
His voice was calm, but there was something darker beneath it.
"I'll handle them."
Caspian stared at him.
"You're a ghost," she said.
"How exactly are you going to stop them?"
A faint, dangerous smile appeared on his face.
"You'd be surprised what death teaches you."
Downstairs—
a door slowly opened.
The intruders were inside the house now.
Caspian's heartbeat thundered in her chest.
Everything was happening too fast.
Riven stepped toward the door of her room.
"Lock it," he told her.
"And don't come out."
Caspian grabbed his arm instinctively.
Her hand passed straight through him.
But he still felt it.
He looked back at her.
"You can't fight them alone," she said.
His eyes softened for a brief moment.
"I've been fighting them long before you remembered me."
Another sound echoed from downstairs.
A voice this time.
"Search the house."
Caspian's blood turned cold.
Riven's expression hardened instantly.
"They know exactly who they're looking for."
He moved toward the door.
But before disappearing, he said one last thing.
"If they reach this room…"
He paused.
"…run."
And then—
he vanished into the darkness of the hallway.
Leaving Caspian alone.
Listening to strangers searching for her inside her own house.