Chapter Sixteen

Riven’s POV

It had been five days since the incident, and for the first time in a long while, I could actually say I felt good.

The arena had been loud that day, filled with pointless excitement and shallow entertainment, but what stayed with me wasn’t the noise.

That exact moment when she dropped. It showed that she was weak, vulnerable, and human.

A faint smirk stretched across my lips as I leaned back against the chair, one leg crossed lazily over the other, my fingers tapping lightly against the armrest in a slow, absent rhythm.

For once, things had gone exactly the way I wanted, and more importantly, I had proven my point.

Kael had been wrong. The whole point wasn’t to prove him wrong, I just didn’t like her and probably not sexually attracted to her.

That alone made it worth it.

I tilted my head slightly, staring at nothing in particular as my thoughts drifted back to his expression that day, the way his body had gone stiff when she fell, the way his attention had locked onto her like nothing else existed.

It had been subtle, almost unnoticeable to anyone who didn’t know him well enough, but I did.

I always did. He was my brother and I’d notice any slight difference with him, and that was exactly why it irritated me.

The room felt too quiet without him around. Three days had passed, and I hadn’t seen him once, which was unusual even for him.

My jaw tightened slightly at the thought, my fingers pausing briefly before resuming their slow tapping.

What was he doing?

Was he still sitting by her side like some pathetic guard dog?

The thought made a quiet scoff slip past my lips as I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on my knees. If that was the case, then he was even worse than I thought.

All this... over a girl? Especially girl who was nothing more than a game.

The deal had already been broken the moment she lost, so whatever attachment he thought he had was completely pointless now.

There was nothing left to hold onto, nothing left to prove, yet knowing Kael, he would still find a way to complicate things.

The sound of the door slamming open snapped me out of my thoughts, my head turning sharply toward the entrance, irritation flashing briefly across my face before it settled into something more controlled.

Kael, of course. The only one who’d barge into the room that way.

My eyes moved over him slowly, taking in the tension in his shoulders, the tightness in his jaw, the way his chest rose and fell just a little heavier than usual. Did he run to this place?

Then I noticed the knife in his hand.

My brows lifted slightly. "Well, that’s interesting," I muttered under my breath before straightening up properly.

"Where did you get the knife from?" I asked, pushing myself to my feet in one smooth motion, my curiosity outweighing everything else for a moment. "I’ve been searching for it."

I took a step toward him, but the movement halted immediately. The blade was pointed at me.

Not out of fear, but calculation. Whaf was he doing?

My gaze dropped briefly to the knife, then lifted back to his face, my expression unreadable as I slowly raised my hands in a mock gesture of surrender, though the faint amusement tugging at the corner of my lips didn’t disappear.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

He looked furious.

"Where did I get the knife from?" he repeated, his voice edged with something dangerous as he suddenly threw the knife across the room.

The blade hit the floor with a sharp sound.

"Are you trying to feign innocence right now?"

My eyes followed the knife as it slid slightly across the floor before settling, and for a brief moment, the only thing I felt was annoyance.

That was mine.

"You should calm down and listen to him first," Nicole cut in, stepping forward as he reached for Kael’s arm, trying to hold him back.

I ignored them both.

Instead, I walked past Kael, my steps slow and deliberate as I moved toward the knife, crouching slightly to pick it up. My fingers wrapped around the handle carefully, almost instinctively, as I lifted it into the light.

A small smile pulled at my lips.

"It’s a beautiful one," I murmured, turning it slightly in my hand as though I was seeing it for the first time all over again.

"That was the same knife used to stab her."

Kael’s voice cut through the moment, sharp enough to make my hand pause mid-motion.

Then my brows furrowed slightly, and I let out a quiet breath. What?

"That’s not possible," I said, straightening slowly, my grip on the knife tightening just a little. "I don’t—"

"Things had been going smoothly until you came back," Kael snapped, his voice rising slightly as he took a step forward. "I know you don’t want her. Fine. We could have replaced her because of you, but wanting to kill her—"

"Listen to his side first," Nicole interrupted again, this time pushing against Kael’s arm with more force.

A low chuckle slipped out of me before I could stop it, the sound quiet but laced with disbelief.

What exactly was I supposed to say?

That I had no idea how my knife ended up in the middle of that mess? That I had been searching for it before all of this happened?

It all sounded ridiculous, even in my own head.

"How did the knife get to one of the participants?" Nicole asked, his tone calmer now, more measured.

I turned my head toward him slowly, my expression hardening.

"Why should I answer you," I said, my voice dropping slightly, "when he has already made up his mind?"

The irritation was clearer now, sitting just beneath my skin as I tightened my grip on the knife again.

"Why would you gain from her dying?" Kael cut in, his voice slicing through the air before Lincoln could respond.

I let out a short laugh, shaking my head slightly as I looked at him.

"Do you hear yourself right now?" I asked, taking a step closer, the space between us shrinking. "That’s the same thing I should be asking you."

My eyes locked onto his.

"What exactly do you think I would gain from all of this?" The silence stretched for a second, but I didn’t stop.

"Everything about this screams setup," I continued, my voice steadier now, more controlled, though the tension in my shoulders didn’t ease. "I’ve been looking for this knife, and suddenly it shows up at the scene of a stabbing? You don’t find that suspicious?"

I watched him carefully, searching his face for any sign of doubt, any shift in his expression.

Nothing.

That only made my jaw tighten. If that was how he wanted to play it, then so be it. I would find whoever did this and make such a person pay.

"See, that’s the problem," I added after a moment, a faint smirk returning to my lips. "Everyone had fun at the last competition. The only reason you wouldn’t see it that way..."

I paused deliberately, letting my gaze drag over him slowly. "...is if you’re in love with her."

The words hung in the air.

For a split second, something flickered across his face, something sharp enough to catch my attention, and it reminded me instantly of that day, of the way he had looked when she fell, of the way his entire body had reacted like it wasn’t something he could control.

It made him look weak, and I hated that.

A loud laugh broke out of him suddenly, the sound echoing through the room, but it didn’t last long before it cut off just as quickly, his expression shifting back into something serious.

"You know how I act over things like that," he said, his voice steadier now. "I haven’t even had fun with her yet."

My eyes narrowed slightly.

"Love is a very strong word, don’t you think?" he continued, a faint smirk pulling at his lips. "I’m just possessive over my favorite toy."

There it was.

"I’ll discard it when I’m done."

Typical Kael.

I leaned back slightly, watching him with a new kind of interest, my fingers tapping lightly against the handle of the knife again.

The way he spoke about her should have annoyed me.

Instead, it did the opposite. It made me curious..It made me want to see what he saw, maybe I was too angry to the point that I decided to pretend about the whole thing.

Because if she was enough to make him react like this, then she was worth breaking.

And clearly, he was taking too long. A knock sounded from the door, pulling my attention away as it creaked open slightly.

"I was told to inform you that she’s awake."

Finally,