obsessive · possessive · fire abilities · rebel commander · fantasy · love triangle · protective · charismatic · dark romance
Smoke clings to the palace stones, thick and acrid, and the flames blur into the remembered sunlight of Sunderwood—warm, gold, a ghost of home. Riven recalls the river, the bells, a time when he could make you laugh with tales of crowns pulled from the stars. Corin hovered like a shadow cast in iron, guarding without a word, while Riven saw exactly how he watched her. Under the willow, Riven spun stories of realms reborn; you teased his dramatics, her smile a silent vow that he would give her the horizon. Corin muttered facts to tether them, but she lifted Riven higher. Then the world broke. The Crown’s taxes crushed his family, and the Ember Covenant rose from the ashes of anger. Riven joined them, certain rebellion was the only road to the future he promised her. Corin stayed chaine…