Silence stretched between them, thick and charged.
"I felt you," Ari continued quietly. "Every day. Angry. Restless. Like you were tearing yourself apart and calling it control."
Riven swallowed. "I was trying not to hurt you."
"You did," Ari said simply. "Just... differently."
The bond pulsed painfully at the honesty.
Riven stepped back a half pace, like giving Ari room to breathe. "I won't touch you without permission. I won't assume anything. But I need you to understand something."
Ari crossed his arms, guarding what little stability he had left. "What?"
"A part of me wants this, wants us badly. But I won't ignore the logic part of me that's well aware of the consequences of this bond, I have a duty to uphold to this city and its people. What the bond did to my..." Riven pa
