Chapter 75 Check In

Chapter 75: Chapter 75 Check In

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." — Emily Bront?

The morning sun washed over the silver barked spires of the capital, turning the morning mist into a shimmering veil of gold and pale violet.

Inside the palace, however, the atmosphere was anything but peaceful.

Word had spread through the administrative wings with terrifying speed.

Lord Cassian had spent the entire night barricaded inside his suite.

The normally arrogant high elf had refused to open his doors, and when his guards finally managed to speak with him, they found him pale and trembling.

Apparently, he had spent the last several hours muttering about shadows and blades.

Riven found the situation mildly amusing.

He had bigger concerns.

He stepped into Queen Aeloria’s private study.

Without his obsidian mask, the morning light fell freely across his face.

Aeloria looked up from the stack of trade documents on her desk.

Her violet eyes immediately settled on him.

"The entire eastern wing is buzzing this morning"

Riven stopped several feet from the desk.

"Is that so?"

"Lord Cassian looks as though he saw the void itself."

Aeloria rested her chin against her interlaced fingers.

"Apparently, you visited him last night."

"I delivered a message."

"A rather effective one."

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"You have managed to accomplish something that several generations of politicians failed to do."

Riven raised an eyebrow.

"And what’s that?"

"Silence Cassian."

Riven almost smiled.

"Then I suppose I was productive."

Aeloria laughed softly.

"You are turning my court upside down, Riven."

She studied him for another moment.

"And I am beginning to suspect you enjoy it."

"I don’t."

Aeloria’s smile widened.

"That was almost convincing."

Riven shook his head and turned toward the door.

He had no intention of staying around for another interrogation.

Lyra POV

Later that afternoon, Lyra hurried through the upper archives.

She had heard what happened.

She had heard that Riven had gone alone to Cassian’s chambers.

And she had spent most of the morning imagining everything that could have gone wrong.

She finally spotted him between two towering shelves of ancient spell ledgers.

He was standing alone, examining an old map.

For a moment, relief nearly made her knees weak.

"Riven."

He turned.

Lyra hurried toward him.

Her silver blonde hair was slightly disheveled from rushing through the palace, and her violet eyes immediately searched his face for injuries.

There were none.

She stopped directly in front of him.

"I heard about Cassian."

Riven closed the map.

"So I heard."

"They said you went to his room alone."

"He sent an assassin to my bed."

Lyra’s expression changed immediately.

"He what?"

Riven calmly explained what had happened.

Lyra listened in stunned silence.

When he finished, she stared at him.

"You could have been killed."

Riven shrugged.

"They weren’t very good."

"That’s not funny."

Her voice cracked slightly.

She reached out holding his face with her hands.

Riven’s expression softened.

He reached out and gently placed his gloved hand over hers.

"I’m fine."

Neither of them moved.

The enormous archive suddenly felt strangely quiet.

She could hear the faint music from the distant palace halls.

She could hear the soft crackle of magical lamps.

And she could hear her own heartbeat.

Lyra slowly looked back up.

Riven was already looking at her.

Neither spoke.

They simply stood there.

For once, there were no guards watching them.

No nobles whispering.

No royal expectations.

Just the two of them.

Lyra’s cheeks slowly turned pink.

"You really scared me."

Riven’s thumb moved gently across the back of her hand.

"I didn’t mean to."

"I know."

She hesitated.

Then she smiled faintly.

"You always say things like that after doing something completely reckless."

"Someone has to keep things interesting."

Lyra let out a quiet laugh.

"You are impossible."

"So I’ve been told."

She didn’t let go of his hand.

Neither did he.

After a few seconds, Lyra stepped slightly closer.

Not enough to cross any boundary.

Just enough that their shoulders nearly touched.

Riven glanced down at her.

"You know you’re staring."

Her face immediately became even redder.

"I’m not."

"You are."

"I’m checking for injuries."

"You’ve been checking the same spot for about a minute."

Lyra looked away.

"Maybe I like looking at you."

Riven went quiet.

For once, he didn’t have a clever response.

Lyra noticed.

Her smile grew.

"You don’t have anything sarcastic to say?"

"Not right now."

That made her laugh again.

Riven looked toward the shelves, pretending to be interested in the ancient books.

Lyra continued watching him.

She knew she had a crush on him.

She also knew he probably knew.

And judging by the faint smile appearing on his face, she suspected the feeling wasn’t entirely one sided.

Neither of them needed to say it.

Not yet.

For now, simply standing together in the quiet archive was enough.

Lyra gently squeezed his hand.

Riven squeezed back.

And neither of them let go.