“Can I tell you something strange?” Alina asked, voice faltering with consideration.
“Nothing is too strange for me, little flame,” Riven grinned, with that firey spark glistening in his eyes like pools of gold.
“I want to leave a mark on someone, since there’s a mark on me. But I want to leave a mark that isn’t so permanent…”
Riven’s dark grin didn’t falter, but the air between them shifted. It grew thick, heavy with a possibility that hadn’t been there a moment before. I want to be something that isn’t claimed by the Veil. Her own thought echoed back at her, a challenge she hadn’t meant to voice.
“Careful, Alina,” he murmured, his voice a low thrum that vibrated through the scant space separating them. “Some marks are easier to make than to erase.” His gaze dropped to her lips, and
