Page 22 of Burn it Down

I go still. Quiet.

Then I move.

I realize she still has that stupid ring on and I slip it off quickly. She doesn't fight it but she does flinch as if I’ve hurt her,despite the ring sliding off easily. Rage runs through me when I notice the bruise already darkening her finger.

That fucking bastard. I take the ring and chuck it far across the room, hearing the satisfying clank of it falling to the floor.

She looks at me dazed when I scoop her up and help her fix her clothes. "Where are we going?" she asks me.

"To return the favor," I say.

Because he put his hands on her and now I’m going to leave bruises of my own.

LAKYNN

“What is it?” I whisper as we stand outside of the farmhouse where we first met. I rest a hand on Riven’s chest, smoothing it down instinctively.

He groans under the touch and presses closer, leaning into me like he needs it more than air. I know he has a lot to tell me, but for right now I’m content being close to him like this.

Then he takes my hand in his, brings it to his chest, and places it flat over his heartbeat. It thunders beneath my palm.

“You’re going to see a side of me again I never wanted you to see,” he says, voice hoarse. “It’s important to me that you know the truth. So I need you to see what’s going to happen.”

I nod, but I want him to hear it too. “I want to know every part of you, Riven,” I whisper. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

His eyes close for just a beat, and when they open, they’re darker somehow.

He dips his head, kissing my forehead. His hands slide up my sides, fingers curling into my jacket as he pulls me tighter into his chest.

“Everything I’ve ever done…” he tips my chin back, forcing me to look up at him, “and everything I ever will do… has been for you. You’re the only thing that’s ever made sense to me.”

My mouth parts, but no sound comes.

His hand shifts to my jaw, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip. His gaze drops. His tongue flicks out across his own lower lip like he’s imagining what I taste like.

“I hope you realize,” he says, voice lower now, silk and steel, “that when this is over… when all of this is behind us… I’m going to spend every hour exploring every inch of you. You won’t get space. You won’t get alone time. You are my passion. My greatest desire. My only reason.”

I swallow hard, chest fluttering, legs suddenly unsteady.

Riven’s hand slides down my neck, squeezes gently, then falls away.

He holds it out to me.

I look from his hand, to his eyes, and back again.

Then I place my palm in his, linking our fingers tightly.

He’s all hard lines and clenched fists, breathing like he’s still tasting blood. The silence between us is thick and full of the things we haven’t said.

I glance at him. He’s vibrating with rage, jaw clenched so hard I can see the muscle twitching. I wonder if he even notices he’s shaking.

I don’t speak. I’m scared if I do, I’ll fall apart. Because this time, we’re not just running. We’re gone for good. And that means reckoning with all the things we did to survive this place.

The porch is the same. It doesn’t feel like coming home. It feels like walking into a war I didn’t agree to fight.

The front door creaks open before we knock.

Our father is already inside. Sitting in the living room like a king on his rotting throne.

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