Riley’s POV
Everything she said stayed in my head, and the more I thought about it, the more it made angry, because there was no way to make it sound better no matter how I tried to look at it.
She didn’t just make a mistake, she didn’t just act without thinking, she made a freaking intentional choice that changed my life completely without even asking , and now she was standing in front of expecting to just accept it and help her fix it like it was sothing small.
I let out a sharp breath and looked at her, my expression already hard because I wasn’t going to pretend like this was sothing I could brush off.
"So what exactly do you expect to do now?" I asked her, my voice rising because I wasn’t even trying to hold it back anymore. "You’re telling you turned into a bloodhost to another person just because you were jealous, and now you want my help to fix it by bringing you back?"
She didn’t interrupt , and that only made it worse because it felt like she was just waiting for to finish.
"What kind of jealousy even leads to sothing like that?" I continued, stepping forward slightly. "Who does that to their own sister? Who goes that far over a man who didn’t even want them in the first place?"
I ran my hand over my face, pressing it against my forehead for a second before dragging it down slowly, trying to steady myself, but it didn’t help because the anger was already there and it wasn’t going anywhere.
"This is insane," I said, shaking my head. "You didn’t just cross a line, you completely destroyed it."
Inside, I honestly wanted to hit her, to do sothing physical just to release the frustration building up in , but I already knew it wouldn’t change anything because we weren’t even in the real world right now, and I didn’t know if anything I did here would even matter.
So instead, I turned away from her and started pacing, moving back and forth because standing still made it worse, and I needed to keep moving or I was going to explode.
"You didn’t think about what this would do to ," I said as I paced. "You didn’t think about the consequences, you didn’t think about what happens after, you just acted because you were angry and jealous at your own fucking sister."
"I know," she said.
I stopped imdiately and turned to her, my eyes narrowing.
"No," I said sharply. "Don’t just say you know like that fixes anything, because it doesn’t."
She stayed quiet again, and that silence made my frustration grow even more.
Then she spoke again.
"You need to help get back to Obsidian Veil," she said.
I stared at her for a mont, trying to understand if she was serious.
"And then what?" I asked.
"I’ll handle everything from there," she replied.
I let out a short laugh, but there was no humor in it.
"You’ll handle it?" I repeated. " Of course you caused this in the first place."
"I know," she said again.
I shook my head slowly, my eyes still on her as sothing else started forming in my mind.
If she could do all of this because of Gunnar, if she could go that far just because she liked him and he didn’t return it, then what exactly was stopping her from doing sothing worse now if she saw him again? Not to top that Gunnar is crazy over her and still isn’t over her death.
I looked at her carefully now, paying attention to everything, the way she stood, the way she spoke about him earlier, the way her expression changed when his na ca up, and it beca obvious to in that mont that nothing had really changed.
She was still attached to him.
Still focused on him.
Still not over it.
And that made my decision for .
"No," I said firmly.
She frowned slightly. "What do you an no?"
"You’re not going back," I said clearly.
Her expression shifted imdiately, and this ti I watched it closely because I wanted to see exactly how she reacted.
For a brief mont, I saw anger flash across her face, quick but clear, and then it disappeared and was replaced by sothing else, sothing softer, sothing like disappointnt, and then that shifted again into sadness.
"Why?" she asked quietly.
I didn’t answer right away, because I wanted to choose my words properly this ti.
Instead, I stepped closer to her and held her gaze.
"Your daughter misses you," I said.
She blinked, clearly not expecting that.
"Sumr," I added.
Her expression softened slightly at the ntion of her na, and I could see the emotion in her eyes again, but I didn’t stop.
"She really misses you," I continued. "You can tell from the way she talks about you, from the way she acts, from everything she does."
Carian swallowed slightly. "I know she does," she said.
"But there’s sothing else," I added.
She looked at , confused now. "What do you an?"
I held her gaze, not looking away.
"No matter how much she misses you," I said slowly, making sure she understood clearly, "I didn’t see it in her that she wants you back the way you think."
Her expression changed instantly.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"I’m telling you what I saw," I replied. "She loves you, but she’s not fighting to bring you back."
"That’s not true," Carian said imdiately. "If anyone would want back, it would be her."
"It’s true," I said.
"No," she shook her head. "You’re wrong."
"She misses you," I said again, "but she’s not desperate to bring you back into the world. Stop manipulating and appearing to her"
Carian’s jaw tightened, and I could see the tension building again.
"What you’re saying doesn’t make sense," she said.
"It does," I replied.
She stared at , clearly not accepting it, and I could tell this was starting to get to her in a way she didn’t expect.
Then I decided to push it further.
"Do you rember the prophecy?" I asked.
Her expression changed instantly, and this ti it was obvious.
I didn’t stop.
"’The wrong one must die for the right one to live,’" I said clearly.
The mont I said it, her entire deanor shifted.
Her face hardened, and her eyes changed in a way that made it clear she didn’t like where this was going.
"Who told you that?" she demanded, her voice rising.
I smiled slightly.
"Gunnar," I said.
She froze for a brief mont.
"And if that prophecy is real," I continued, "then you were the one ant to die."
Her expression darkened further.
"It was never supposed to be ," I added. "So why should I go against that and bring you back?"
I stepped closer to her again, closing the distance between us.
"What exactly are you planning, Carian?" I asked. "Do you want my life, or are you planning to get rid of completely so you can go back and have what you wanted from the beginning?"
Her face twisted at that, and I could see the anger clearly now.
"Do you think I don’t see it?" I continued. "The way you react, it’s pretty obvious you’re not over it."
Her hands clenched at her sides.
"Carian," I said firmly, "you’re not leaving this place."
She didn’t respond.
"You’re ant to be dead," I added. "That’s how this ends."
Her breathing changed, and I could feel the shift in the air around us.
"And as for the Emberkin," I continued, "I’ll deal with it myself when the ti cos."
She looked at with pure anger now.
"I’ve handled worse," I said. "I’ll handle that too."
That was the final push.
Her control snapped imdiately.
I saw it clearly in her face, the mont she stopped holding back, the mont the anger fully took over.
And before I could react properly, she moved fast.
Straight at .
Her expression was filled with rage, and she didn’t hesitate at all as she charged toward .
" Then you’re not leaving this place! Never!—"
I stepped back instinctively, my heart racing as I tried to react, but she was already too close and she lunged
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