Page 34 of Forged in Fire (Dragonblood Dynasty #5)

I ris

I find him in the observatory wing of the Aurora Collective headquarters, standing before the windows that overlook the valley. He’s still as stone, hands clasped behind his back, but I can read the tension in his bearing.

He knew I was coming. Of course he did.

“You went to Viktor and Caleb without me.” I don’t bother with pleasantries as I step into the room, letting the door close behind me softly.

His shoulders lift slightly—not quite a shrug, more like a man bracing for impact. When he turns his head to me, those silvery eyes hold no apology. Just that measured wariness that makes me want to shake sense into him.

“It was necessary.”

“Necessary?” The word comes out sharply, but I’m too worked up to care about diplomacy. “You went behind my back and made decisions about my brother. About my life.”

Now he does turn fully, crossing his arms over his chest in that way that makes his biceps strain against his shirt sleeves. I take in the sight of him, and then my eyes drop lower. I stop myself short.

Get a grip, Iris.

This is not the time to notice how perfectly his jeans fit. Especially when I know exactly what is hidden by that snug denim. My thighs press together without me realizing it. I force myself to focus on his face instead.

“I saw how much you needed this to happen,” he says, voice deliberately controlled. “I was trying to give you what you wanted.”

The confession hits me sideways. I’d been prepared for defensiveness, for his usual economical non-answers. Not this raw honesty that makes something flutter dangerously in my chest.

“That’s…” I shake my head, frustrated with myself as much as him. “I don’t know whether to be furious with you or touched that you’d do that.”

Something flits across his features—surprise, maybe? Like he hasn’t considered that his clumsy attempt at helping might actually mean something to me.

“You went to them to convince them to rescue Kieran,” I continue, working through it out loud. “Because you thought it would help me.”

“Yes.”

Such a simple word. Such a complicated mess of feelings it creates inside me. My shadows respond to the turmoil, shifting restlessly around my feet like agitated cats.

“And this morning?” I step closer, close enough to catch that subtle smoky scent that always clings to him. “You just left. Without a word. Without even waking me after…” My voice catches slightly. “After what we shared.”

His jaw tightens—the only tell he ever gives when something affects him more than he wants to admit.

“I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Bullshit.” I move closer still. “Try again.”

He’s silent for a long moment, studying my face like he’s trying to memorize every detail. When he finally speaks, his voice is rougher than usual.

“I had things to do, and I didn’t think it would be useful to get you worked up about it,” he says, infuriating me.

“Don’t you think I should be the one to decide whether I should or shouldn’t be worked up about something?” I put my hands on my hips, wishing I wasn’t finding it so hard to stay annoyed at him.

He exhales a deep breath. “I’ve never had to consider someone else’s feelings before. I’m not good at this.”

The admission costs him something—I can see it in the way his hands curl into fists at his sides, in the subtle tension around his eyes. Behind all that careful control, he’s just as lost as I am. Two people used to operating alone, trying to figure out what it means to be partners.

“If we’re going to be together—” I pause, letting the word hang between us like a question neither of us has been brave enough to ask directly. “If we’re doing this, you can’t make unilateral decisions. Not about things that affect us both.”

He doesn’t dispute the assumption about being together. Doesn’t step back or deflect with that professional distance he used to maintain. Instead, he moves closer until I can feel his breath upon my skin.

“I took out insurance,” he says quietly. “To keep you safe from the Guild.”

My blink in surprise. “What kind of insurance?”

His eyes hold mine, and I see something I’ve never seen before—genuine vulnerability beneath all that controlled competence.

“I know where they keep the things that matter most to each Guild member. The people they care about. The secrets they’d kill to protect.” His voice drops lower. “I made contact with them. Told them if anything happened to you, if they came after you, I’d come for them.”

The implication settles over me like a cold blanket. He’s put himself at incredible risk. The Guild doesn’t forgive betrayal, and what he’s describing would be seen as exactly that.

“Riven.” My voice comes out smaller than intended. “The risk you took—”

“Was necessary.”

“For me? You did this for me?”

He doesn’t answer with words, but the way his gaze intensifies tells me everything I need to know.

The careful walls he’s built around himself crack just enough to let me see what’s underneath—not the disciplined assassin or the controlled professional, but a man who’s never had anyone worth protecting and is fumbling his way through caring about someone.

“I’ve been taking care of myself since I was a kid,” he says quietly, and there’s pain in his voice he can’t quite hide. “Is it so wrong of me to want to take care of someone else? To not want to be alone?”

I swallow hard, surprised to find tears pricking my eyes. “Oh God, Riven…” I tell him, reaching up to touch his face. His skin is warm beneath my palm, roughened by stubble. “You’re not alone.”

He’s looking at me like I’m something impossible he’s afraid might disappear if he blinks. Like a man who’s spent his entire life in carefully controlled isolation and suddenly found himself part of something he never thought possible.

“What are we doing, Iris?” The question comes out as a whisper.

“Learning.” I rise up on my toes, bringing our faces closer. “Figuring it out together.”

The distance between us disappears entirely. His hands find my waist, warm and steady, anchoring me against him. This close, I can feel his heartbeat against my chest… and it’s racing.

When his lips meet mine, this kiss is different from the others. Less desperate, more deliberate. Like a promise we’re both making without words. His mouth is warm and insistent, and when his tongue sweeps against mine, I make a small sound of approval that seems to undo something in him.

His hands tighten on my waist, pulling me closer until there’s no space between us. I can taste the coffee he had earlier, can feel the barely leashed control in the way he holds me—like he wants to devour me but is afraid of breaking something fragile.

My shadows spiral around us both, responding to the heat building between us. When I thread my fingers through his hair and tug gently, he groans against my mouth, and the sound sends fire racing through my veins.

We break apart only when breathing becomes necessary, both of us shaking slightly from the intensity of it.

“No making decisions without you,” he says against my lips, voice rough with want and something deeper.

“That goes for me too,” I agree, my hands still tangled in his hair. “I know I can be… headstrong.”

“Headstrong?” He chuckles, the sound rumbling through me.

“Okay, stubborn.” I grin ruefully. “But from now on, it’s a partnership, okay?” I feel like I’m making big assumptions, but somehow, it feels right.

He pulls back just enough to look at me, and there’s something solid and sure in his expression now. The vulnerability is still there, but it’s paired with determination and something that looks remarkably like hope.

“I’m still learning how to do this,” he admits. “How to be part of something bigger than just surviving.”

“We both are.” I trace the line of his jaw with my fingertips, marveling at how this controlled, dangerous man becomes something softer under my touch. “But we’ll work it out.”

“Yeah. I guess we will,” he murmurs, tightening his arms around me.

I press closer to him, savoring the solid warmth of his chest against mine, the steady rhythm of his breathing. Three days until the Blood Moon Eclipse. Three days until we infiltrate the hellish place the Syndicate is keeping Kieran.

Three days that might be all we get.

The thought hits me like an electric shock, and I must tense because Riven’s hands tighten on my waist.

“What is it?”

I shake my head, not wanting to voice the fear clawing at my throat. We’ve just found each other—this fragile, impossible thing between us that feels too precious to be real. The idea that it could all end before we’ve had a chance to see what we could become…

“I keep thinking about Ember’s visions,” I lie, because the truth is too raw. “All those possible outcomes.”

His thumb traces small circles against my hip bone through my shirt. “We’ll make it through this.”

“You can’t know that.”

“No,” he agrees quietly. “But I can promise you this—whatever happens down there, I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”

I close my eyes, memorizing this moment.

The feel of his hands. The sound of his voice.

The way my shadows seem to dance with his inner fire.

I burn it all into my mind, praying that I’ll have the chance to make more memories in the years to come.

I tell myself I’m being paranoid, that we’ll get through this. But I do it anyway.

Just in case.