NIVIAN

THE STEADY BUBBLE of the Mezzanine river’s current lilted through the night, calling to her. Nivian breathed deeply. She needed fresh air because even though it was all in her head, the dwelling felt stuffy and stale. Nivian wanted the feel of wide open space, wanted to be surrounded by the crisp air at the water’s edge, wanted to be in nature, surrounded by the fragrant flowers.

She pulled on her boots and laced them up, deciding to forgo leaving through the door downstairs.

Out the window again, she thought. It was her least favorite way to leave, but it was better than waking Finn. His quiet snores made their way up through the space in the floorboards. He had traveled a long way over the past several days, and he needed his rest.

The night was chilly, so Nivian tiptoed across the room and grabbed her cloak, fastening it around her shoulders, and secured it in place with the howling wolf broach.

Not allowing too much thought to go into the uncomfortable landing, Nivian climbed out of the window and dangled from the ledge. She planted her feet against the stone then pushed off, twisting in midair to land in a crouch.

Nivian grimaced at the impact vibrating up her bones. She straightened, her body already repairing, then took off at a steady jog.

Minutes later, Nivian sat, leaning against her tree. The familiar roughness against her back, the song of the river, and the cool air, eased her mind for the first time since she’d seen that golden haired Reaper. She’d let his presence taint her sanctuary. She’d let him drive her away.

Now, she was done running and done hiding. Nivian sat utterly still for a long time and just let herself enjoy her space again.

For the first hour, she’d half expected him to show up again. But when he didn’t, she finally let the aching tension in her shoulders ease—though she kept her senses alert. She stood and walked to the water’s edge and picked up a rock. It was cold against her skin, rounded, flat, and smoothed by water over time. Nivian brought her arm back and flung the stone. It skipped across the surface several times before sinking to the silty riverbed.

A familiar darkness brushed up against her power, and she let her eyes slide closed at the delicate shiver it sent racing down her spine. Nivian turned toward the old arched bridge spanning the width of the river and opened her eyes. Caspian stood on the same side of the shore, watching her from a distance.

She tilted her head to the side when he didn’t approach as usual.

Nivian ran to him. It had been too long since she’d seen his face, and she hoped he wasn’t too put off with her avoiding him this past week.

Nivian bounded as she reached him. Throwing her arms around his neck. He caught her and wrapped his arms around her waist, then squeezed tighter as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured at last. “It wasn’t you, I just—” she stopped. She had to be careful of what she said. Admitting too much of the truth would cause the unthinkable for her family. And there was no telling how far Silas would go if she went against him. She couldn’t take that chance. “I wasn’t feeling like myself.” Part truth. She couldn’t bear to lie outright to his face.

Caspian pulled back, eyes glistening in the dark. “What in Gaia’s name are you sorry about?”

Nivian brushed a hand over his shoulder then up his neck to cup his face. Her thumb traced the high ridge of his cheekbone. “I… I’ve been avoiding this place. I swear it wasn’t you. Please don’t be upset with me.”

A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips, but there was nothing happy in it. The expression conveyed only sorrow and pain.

“Nothing you could ever do would upset me,” he said. Caspian rested his forehead against hers and ran his long fingers through the loose strands of her dark hair.

Nivian pulled back, listing her head. Something in her core shifted at the look in his eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong,” she requested.

Dark pools of obsidian pulled her into their inky depths. Hypnotizing. Nivian blinked. And then several feet of empty, cold air hovered between them. It might as well have been miles and miles separating them in that moment.

Her gaze drifted to his hands, balled into fists at his sides. Something is definitely wrong.

Nivian stepped forward until only an inch of space separated them. She craned her head back to meet his gaze. A lock of his hair had worked its way loose of its tie and fell across his forehead. She could see the thoughts that tormented him swirling in his gaze. She reached up and brushed it back behind his ear.

Seconds later, he held her face in his hands, his lips crashed down on hers in a kiss that stole her breath. Hungry. Desperate. As if kissing her was the only thing keeping him tethered to this earth. It only took a second for the surprise to wear off before she kissed him back with equal fervor.

One hand supported her neck as he deepened his kiss, tongue brushing against her own. His other arm wrapped tightly around her waist, crushing her body to his and lifting her slightly off her toes. Her fingers tangled in his hair, the leather tie coming undone and falling to the ground unnoticed.

The heat of his touch turned her knees weak, until they buckled from beneath her. He followed, not willing to give up an inch of his hold on her. Together they kneeled, their chests pressed tightly against each other. Nivian wanted to be closer and cursed the distance their clothes placed between them.

She didn’t want it to end. She needed this, needed to hold on to something good, to block out the impending darkness that hovered over her, and letting herself feel alive one last time.

A groan escaped her lips as he pulled back, easing the kiss to something slower, lazy. Caspian trailed off, placing soft kisses against her lips, her jaw, her cheeks, her forehead.

He let his arms loosen from around her and fall away. She was left breathless by the moment and wanted to protest the distance he placed between them. His own parted lips and the rise and fall of his chest echoed her own. It had affected him as much as it had her.

Caspian stood and held out his hand. She eyed him from head to toe, disappointed that the moment had ended so quickly. Reluctantly, Nivian took his hand and let him help her to her feet.

“Can we walk along the river?” he asked and, when her eyes narrowed, he added, “I just want to walk with you for a little while and enjoy the night. Then…” his voice tightened, the knot of his throat bobbing. “Then I will tell you everything.”

Nivian nodded. She longed to tell him everything as well, but she would take these few moments of peace before Silas came to take everything from her.

He squeezed her hand gently, drawing her attention to his questioning gaze. “You’re crying.”

She sucked in a breath and swiped at her face with both hands, letting out a hoarse laugh that sounded a little too strained to be genuine, even to her own ears.

“Sorry, I just—” She shook her head. “It’s been lonely this past week with my family gone on assignment. And then not seeing you…”

Caspian took her hand again then said, “I am here now. You don’t have to be alone anymore.”

“Thank you,” was all she said.

Nivian rested her head against his shoulder as they walked, their fingers entwined. She breathed out a long sigh. Though she spent much of her free time alone for most of her existence, this Dark Guardian had somehow brought out in her a need for company she had always thought she’d lacked.

The cold nights and the heat of the day had dried the grass that crunched beneath their feet as they walked. When they reached the bridge, he turned their path to cross and stopped in the center. Nivian watched their reflection in the glassy surface of the water below, their forms outlined by the silvery light of the moon. The water, high from one of the recent rainfalls, nearly touched the bottom of the footbridge. Several droplets splashed up, slicking the wooden surface. After a long moment, Nivian and Caspian continued on toward the far bank.

“I,” he started but then clamped his mouth shut. He turned to face her. “I should go,” he said. Though he tried to hide it, pain still laced his words. He pulled away before she could protest and walked back the way he had come, stopping after several feet.

She stared after him, too shocked to demand he tell her why he was acting so strange, why he looked as if he had the weight of all the realms on his mind.

Caspian didn’t turn to look at her as he said, “I am always on your side, Nivi.”

Cold air caressed her skin, colder than before now with his warmth absent. Then he started walking again.

“Wait,” she said quietly, yet he kept moving farther away. “Stop!” Nivian ran after him, catching him as he neared the center of the bridge once more. Nivian stopped in front of him, pressing her hand against his chest and pushing him back toward the center, pleading for him to stay. Nivian glared. “I know something is wrong. Please… confide in me? Let me know what weighs so heavy on your shoulders.”

Dark clouds moved across the moon, casting shadows over his face. “Nivi, I don’t know how… I can’t…” He gripped her shoulders tightly with his large, strong hands. “It kills me to know that once I tell you, I will never see you look at me like this again.”

“Caspian, just say it. You’re scaring me.” The icy fingers of fear crawled down her spine.

His grip tightened, then he spoke, slow and measured, “I have been assigned to reap you.”

Her breath left her in a painful whoosh, and she stumbled backward. Caspian took a step closer and reached for her, but she slapped his hand away. He recoiled, as if he’d been burned.

Her mouth dropped open and Nivian stared and stared at this man she thought she knew, this man who, in a second’s time, had become a stranger.

No… it was supposed to be Silas. Silas, not Caspian. Her hand flew to her chest, gripping the material of her tunic. She clawed at it, suddenly unable to breathe.

“You?” she hissed through her teeth. He wasn’t who she thought he was. A sickening feeling twisted her gut as her blood began to boil. “Was all of this a ruse? Forge a friendship to make the killing blow easier. The stupid Watcher won’t know what hit her,” she mocked.

“You have to listen to me, Nivian,” Caspian pleaded. The look on his face so sincere. But it was a lie. It was all just one elaborate and cruel lie.

“No, I don’t want to hear more of your lies! You are mistaken if you believed I wouldn’t fight back because you made me care for you.” Tears burned her eyes then slid down her face in hot rivulets, but she made no move to wipe them away. “You are a monster,” she bit out. “I trusted you.”

Her heart shattered, her gut clenched, and a wave of dizziness washed over her. If her body hadn’t been frozen in place, she would have collapsed to her hands and knees and heaved until there was nothing left.

“Nivian, no, it was never like that.” Caspian held his hands in front of him, motioning for her to calm down. But she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t lie down and give up. She would destroy him as he severed her life force.

A familiar voice called her name, but the roaring of blood in her ears, the relentless drumming of her heart, drowned it out.

He took her strange nature, her desire for peace, and used it against her. Twisted it until he made her believe in his lies. And now his deception was exposed. Caspian had to know of Silas’s plans from the start.

“None of it was real,” she spoke, more to herself than to him.

“It was all real. You mean everything to me—”

Her head shot up, fresh tears blurring her vision. “Shut your mouth!” she snapped.

Nivian took a step back as he moved forward. The last thing she could stomach was his touch after he openly admitted to betraying her. A wave of fire sparked in her chest. She could still feel the soft caress of his mouth upon hers.

Her hands balled into fists at her sides, and she called to her powers. They lit up the space between them, throwing long shadows across the surface of the dark water.

A pained expression crossed his face as he lifted a hand, his fingers reaching for her, then, with a small flourish of his fingers, an orb of dark energy formed within his palm.

The water below picked up speed, the rushing of it louder, threatening to drown out her thoughts.

“You have no idea how much this pains me—”

Nivian barked out a sharp laugh. “You will find no pity from me,” she said.

“You have been marked by the Tome of Fate.” Silas’s voice came back to her, and her grasp on her powers slipped as she took another step back.

She was marked. She would die. If she didn’t allow Caspian to take her now, Silas would only come later to claim her… and everyone she loved. She was marked, but that did not mean should would forgive Caspian for playing with her heart.

“I hate you,” she said. And she did. She hated him for betraying her. For making her love him so he could weaken her defenses and come for her. It went against her nature to stand down and refuse to fight. But maybe… maybe she could take Caspian with her. Destroy him as he took her life force.

A flicker of movement caught her eye. Caspian still held his power in his outstretched hand, but his other… that hand had moved.

She heard the splash of water hit the bridge behind her. So, this is how he planned to do it. Nivian closed her eyes and took one more step back as she let loose her power.

Time slowed. Nivian watched as he twisted his body, the slightest of movements, and both of her attacks missed. Her aim had not been true. Her traitorous heart had made her flinch, had made her attack weak and slow.

The world tilted and, for a long second, she was weightless with nothing but the rush of the river.

The clouds had vanished. The black sky pocked with pin pricks of stars above, the only ones to witness her death.

Caspian’s fingers brushed against her chest. It was enough to slow her fall but not stop it. The howling wolf broach ripped free of her cloak.

Her name formed on his lips, but his cry was lost to her. He flung the broach down and reached for her again.

Too late… he was too late.

The metal clanking on the bridge was the last sound she heard before the icy water swallowed her up.