Page 28 of Forged in Fire (Dragonblood Dynasty #5)

I ris

I wake to cold sheets and gray morning light filtering through my window.

The bed beside me is empty, the pillow barely dented. When I reach across to the space where Riven should be, the sheets are cool to the touch, like no one has been there at all.

Panic claws at my throat as I sit up, scanning the room. The chair by the window sits empty, curtains moving gently in the breeze from the open window. The window that was definitely closed when I went to sleep.

“Riven?” I call, but my voice echoes in the silence.

I throw back the covers and search the room frantically—the bathroom, the small closet, under the bed, like he might be hiding there. Nothing. No trace that he was ever here except…

I press my hands to my body, feeling the tender places where his mouth and hands explored. The ache between my thighs that speaks of passion and completion. My lips, still slightly swollen from his kisses.

My body remembers everything.

But when I check the pillow where his head should have rested, there’s only the faintest hint of his scent. Or maybe I’m imagining it. Maybe I’m imagining all of it.

I sink onto the edge of the bed, staring at the open window. The morning breeze carries the sound of birdsong and early activities in the Collective’s headquarters, normal sounds of a world that kept turning while my universe either cracked apart or put itself back together.

Was he really here?

The evidence is contradictory—my body says yes, the empty room says no.

The open window could mean that’s where he came in last night, or it could mean nothing at all.

I’ve been running on grief and adrenaline for days.

Maybe my mind finally snapped. Maybe I needed him so desperately that I conjured him from moonlight and hope.

But it felt so real.

The weight of him over me, the sound of his voice, the way he touched me. How do you imagine that level of detail? That perfect connection?

I touch my lips, still feeling the ghost of his kisses, and the uncertainty is almost worse than thinking he was dead. At least death was definitive. This… this is torture.

A soft knock at my door makes me jump. “Iris?” Elena’s voice, carefully neutral. “You awake? We need to talk.”

Ugh. I don’t know if I can face this right now.

“Could you give me a bit?” I call, needing time to pull myself together.

“Are you okay?” She’s concerned.

“Yeah… Just a bit of jet lag,” I tell her. “I’ll be out in an hour or so.”

“You sure?” She doesn’t sound convinced. I guess I can’t blame her. Our last interaction wasn’t great. I probably should apologize.

“Absolutely sure,” I say firmly. “I’d love to chat. There’s a lot to go over.”

There’s a pause. “Okay. I’ll be down in the common room when you’re ready.”

“Great. I’ll see you there.” I put some spark in my tone, even though I feel anything but sparky.

I can hear her take in a breath, as if to reply, then she seems to think better of it. Her footsteps fade down the hallway, and my shoulders slump. It’s like the fight’s gone out of me.

“Come on, Iris! Get it together!” I give myself a shake and grab clothes from my dresser with hands that tremble slightly. There’s no sense in putting off the inevitable. I have to deal with the hard realities of life again, eventually.

As I shower and then dress, I catch myself checking the mirror for signs of what happened. For proof written on my skin that would settle the question once and for all. But I look the same as always: tired, determined… alone.

Maybe that’s my answer right there.

I’m alone.

I walk to the window and look out again. The morning is crisp and clear, full of possibilities and dangers in equal measure. Somewhere out there, if he’s alive, Riven is fighting his own battles. Somewhere out there, Kieran is still trapped and waiting for rescue.

The missions haven’t changed, even if my world has turned completely upside down.

But as I close the window, one question echoes in my mind with every heartbeat:

Was he really there?

The uncertainty follows me out of the room like a shadow, and I know it will haunt me until I see him again.

If I see him again.

If he was ever really here at all.