The silver flicker of the Veil didn’t just shimmer; it seized around them, a lattice of raw power that hummed in time with the frantic rhythm in her chest. Riven’s gaze held hers, a silent, immovable command that rooted her to the mossy ground more firmly than any tree. His thumb stroked the inside of her wrist, a slow, possessive circle that made her thoughts dissolve into static.
“You think too much, Alina,” he murmured, his voice a low vibration that traveled straight through her skin. “All that space in your head, filled with Kael, with duty, with what you shouldn’t do. I’m going to fill it with something else.”
His other hand came up to cradle her jaw, his touch surprisingly soft yet utterly inescapable. He tilted her face up, forcing her to maintain that electric eye contact. “I’m
