Riven's POV
The forty eight hours ran out at dawn, and my father wasted no time proving he meant every word of that message.
He cut off my access to the family accounts first. Then my room in the family wing, locked overnight, my belongings already moved into storage by the time I noticed, boxed up and shoved out of sight like I had never lived there at all. By midmorning, two of his personal guards were following me across the academy grounds, close enough to remind me exactly how little freedom I had left, watching my every move like I might bolt if given half a chance.
I found Lyra near the edge of the training field an hour later, away from prying eyes, having finally shaken the guards long enough to slip through a gap in the hedges I had discovered years ago as a first year student
