Alina sat alone in the tower’s observation room, the glow of the dying sun filtering through stained glass, casting fractured patterns across the floor. The lingering warmth of Riven’s dominance still pulsed beneath her skin, and yet the shadowed pull of Kael’s presence haunted her thoughts. She ran a hand along her wrist, where her mark throbbed faintly, the faint pulses a reminder that the Veil was awake, aware, and impatient.
Why does this have to be so complicated? she thought, pressing her forehead into her palms. Riven… his fire, his dominance… it makes me burn. But Kael… his shadows, his intensity… it’s different. Safe, but sharp. I don’t know who I want more. Or what I’m supposed to follow.
The inner turmoil twisted like a storm. Every nerve still tingled with memory: Riven’s fir
