Chapter Thirty-Two
POPPY
Back in the Sacred Spring
Consciousness starts to pull at me as my brain rests in the state halfway between sleep and consciousness. The fire is no longer crackling as it was when I fell asleep, but I can still smell the ozonic scent of warm water wafting from the spring.
I stir slightly, pressing into the warm body under me. My head rises, a steady rise and fall, moving with Riven’s breaths. His arm is wrapped around me, protecting me even in his rest.
Riven.
I’m lying on Riven’s chest.
It all comes back to me in a rush, stealing the breath from my lungs.
The pirate attack. Riven’s confession. The blood oath.
Riven wants me. Riven chose me. Heat flushes my cheeks as the two parts of my brain war: the side that has fallen in love with him this month vs.
the part that no longer trusts love entirely.
I slowly blink my eyes open. The steam from the spring is thinner now in the warmer morning air, drifting lazily around Riven’s shadows that hover above it like a curious storm cloud.
I inhale deeply, though my heart is racing, letting the faint salty scent of the sea calm me.
I shift against him, considering getting up to conjure clothing for my body, which I’m suddenly remembering is entirely naked.
“Careful,” he murmurs, voice rough with sleep.
“If you sneak away, I’m going to think you regret our night together.
” Wakes up, and the first words out of his mouth are flirty and mocking.
Classic Riven. It’s probably good he woke up, because knowing me, I was likely only moments away from spiraling.
My throat tightens when he pushes up and looks me up and down with hunger.
Maybe the panic isn’t fully gone, actually.
“Don’t do that.” He clicks his tongue in disapproval and pokes the space between my furrowed brows.
“Do what?” I deflect, but I can hear the nervousness in my voice.
I should trust him. Want to trust him. He did a death-binding blood oath for coven’s sake, and yet I fear what would happen if I gave him my heart and this ended.
I survived losing Rodrick, but I don’t think I can survive losing Riven.
“That thing where you start overthinking and decide I’ve ruined your life.
” I laugh nervously, snapping my fingers and conjuring clothing on both our bodies so I can have this conversation at least physically concealed, if not emotionally.
“You confessed first, just to be clear,” he adds with a smirk.
“I’m the victim here.” The lightness of his voice is disarming.
As is the visual shimmer of his blood oath over his heart.
“Hey.” He waits until I look at him. “I’m not going anywhere.
Bit late for that anyway.” He subtly nods to the faintly marked symbol of his bond.
An iridescent tattoo just below his collarbone, visible only to me, that shows his devotion.
Like the magic that it is, the faint shimmer of his bond, his promise, erases all my concerns.
My body uncoils as he brushes hair from my face, his fingers lingering longer than usual.
“You’ve known how you felt about me for weeks, and yet you were able to keep your hands off me? I’m not even a day in, and that task seems impossible.” His hand finds its perch on my hip. “Honestly, I admire the restraint.”
“I know you’re joking, but honestly, it was hard sometimes.” I ease into his touch, moving until I’m straddling his lap and tucking a lock of hair behind his ear.
“So, speaking of honesty, I’m pretty sure I tied myself to you in a way that is going to make the Moirai deeply uncomfortable.
” I can see the vulnerability in his eyes.
Like he’s nervous I’ll be angry at him for an act he made in a moment of emotion.
“So congratulations, you’re stuck with me and we’ve potentially made very powerful enemies. ”
I swallow, readying my throat for the vulnerable words about to come out. “It’s worth it if you’re by my side through it.”
“Yeah?” he asks, lips tilted upward. A rare vulnerability is shining in his eyes.
“Yeah.” I nod. “More than worth it. Who needs the blessing of Fate when they’ve got you?”
The wrapping of his arms around me nearly takes my breath away.
“I can’t believe I let you do the match ceremony twice without me.
” He inhales deeply. “I’ve almost lost you so many times while I was hiding from myself.
” He scoffs quietly, a smile deepening the lines around his full lips.
“It would’ve been bad to have to kill the poor bastard once I finally came to my senses. ”
“I would’ve gotten over it,” I tease, relaxing into him, leaving all doubts behind us. This is good. This is what I’ve always wanted. Unwavering devotion and a best friend.
“There she is.” His fingers thread into my hair, holding my head to his chest. “I think a part of me knew I was yours for years…” He waits a beat, like her finding the words to finish.
“I just didn’t realize you were mine too.
That you’d want to belong to me. You just,” his voice cracks, “deserve so much better.”
I pull back, looking into his eyes as I say, “I want to be yours.”
The beginning of tears well in his eyes but refuse to fall. “Good, because only death would rid you of me now.”
I snort. “I’m sure you’d find a way to haunt me even if death did claim you.” Riven laughs, nodding his head in agreement. “Also…not to ruin the moment,” I look around conspiratorially, “but do you think there are still pirates on this island?”
“Maybe,” his arms tighten again, “but I’m choosing to ignore that.” He presses a kiss to my temple. Certain. “For now, everything is perfect.”
But like his words conjured something, the world around us shifts. His shadows go still, and the air tightens. The fire lights once more in a whoosh of heat. Riven tenses, moving until I’m behind him and he’s facing the only exit.
Light fractures around us, and I feel a sharp pull, not physically, but magically.
Reality begins to fold around us until we’re holding hands in a starlit void of endless white.
Threads of golden light, like threads of a great tapestry, weave around us.
They fold over one another, twisting and knotting until the world materializes once more.
A circular dais appears below us, facing the long and seemingly never-ending ocean.
The other contestants stand scattered, confused as we are but seemingly unharmed.
The final breath I’d been holding since last night releases. Everyone is alive. My eyes pass over them, counting once and then another time for good measure. No injuries. No blood. No more pirates.
In the middle of us all, three figures form from light and shadow.
The Maiden is sharp and bright, the Mother beside her warm and calm, and then the Crone curmudgeonly yet slightly amused.
They all look equally unharmed, though like they’re harboring a scandalous secret.
The scene around us, the beach at sunset, a swirl of pinks and blues, is beautiful but made slightly unsettling by the spectacle before us.
“Hello, matches,” the Crone welcomes. “Seems you’ve all survived your final trial.”
My mouth falls open, and I hear Riven’s soft laughter float into my ears. “Of course it was.” The pirate attack…was never real? A sharp intake of breath fills my lungs as I digest this new information.
The other contestants murmur around us, an emotional combination of disbelief and amusement. Well, Riven seems to be the only one amused, though he was also the only one capable of properly dealing with such an ordeal. I wonder where the rest of the contestants spent the night hunkered down.
Obviously, I’m stunned, but I think I understand.
This attack, this trial, was the very thing that pushed Riven into seeing his true feelings.
With a man like him, the danger of loss might have always been the only thing that could do that.
And with that revelation, I begin to laugh.
The pirate attack wasn’t a mistake. Come to think of it, I bet none of this was.
The Moirai’s attention and the attention of the rest of the contestants lock onto me.
“My being here wasn’t an administrative error, was it?” I ask, everything finally seeming so clear.
“Administrative error?” The Mother’s voice is soft and amused. “Oh, child. We don’t make errors.”
The Maiden cocks her head to the side, a smirk playing on her lips. “Your application was never misplaced.”
The Crone smiles, knowingly. “We plucked it. Once more. When he was ready.” She points subtly at Riven.
“Fate isn’t blind,” the Mother continues. “We knew the two of you were faking it. Trying to pull a fast one.” Somewhere, someone gasps. My face heats with shame. Of course Fate knew.
The Maiden’s eyes fall on Riven. “We were simply waiting for you to stop running from the truth, and when we saw the way you held her in the bar and defended her against that brute the day before matching, that’s when we knew.” They were watching that? My face heats. How often do they spy on us?
“You wanted her years ago,” the Crone says without hesitation.
“We simply waited for you to grow brave enough to admit it, and when we felt you were close, we started magically prodding you to enter the Festival once more.” And suddenly, everything makes sense.
I can see the heavy hand of Fate in it all.
Riven alone would have never joined the Festival again.
He needed Fate to intervene. The Crone smirks.
“You didn’t think it was your idea, did you? ”
Riven’s hands tighten around mine, and for a moment I fear the worst. He hates being lied to and detests being deceived even more. Will he lash his shadows out? Throw a few punches? Get us banned from the Commonwealth and force us to beg the shadowland of Ombra to allow us refuge there?
“Thank you,” Riven says, stealing the breath from my lungs. His voice is grounded and filled with earnest emotions. “I don’t know how long it would have taken unless you intervened.” The other contestants laugh, and I lean in, wrapping my free hand around his bicep and kissing it.
“Some souls do not find each other the first time,” the Crone agrees.
“Or the third,” someone in the group yells, sending another wave of laughter around the beach.
“Some must break or rebel,” the Mother adds.
“And some must see what they stand to lose if they keep running.” The Maiden’s final words hit home, right in my soul where Riven’s blood bond rests.
“I felt like I’d been forsaken by Fate,” I admit, voice cracking. “All those years of being forgotten.” I swallow down the emotion. “They were worth it though.” I look up at Riven, from freckled skin to golden-hued eyes.
“You were never forgotten, child. We were simply preparing him. The most stubborn contestant of all.” She gestures to the other matches.
“Each of you has a special, unique connection.” I look across the crowd, and the interlaced fingers and heads resting on shoulders.
Somehow, for the first time in decades, it seems every match is in harmony. “But this one, we’ve toiled for.”
“Right person, wrong time,” the Maiden says, looking at Riven. “Until now.”
“Why didn’t you just tell us?” Riven asks, the soft sea breeze blowing his hair. “Or force me to see reason?” Years of one-night stands and riotous behavior flash in his eyes. “She shouldn’t have had to suffer because I was an idiot.”
“We cannot force,” the Maiden answers as if it’s obvious. “Only nudge.”
“Your nudging sometimes felt a lot like being stabbed repeatedly with a knife,” Riven retorts dryly.
“And yet…” the Crone smirks. “It still took you three years to see it.” Another round of laughter at Riven’s expense, but in the mirth, the Crone’s eyes narrow. She studies him, from joined hands to the place above his heart, where I can see his sigil shimmering.
“You rushed what should be Fate’s call.” Silence falls.
“A blood-bound oath.” A beat, silence settling around us like death.
Pain smarts my molars as I grind my back teeth together.
“You may have received a soulbond…had you waited.” Silence once more turns to whispers as the other matches speculate about what this will mean.
Riven doesn’t hesitate. Doesn’t look at me. Doesn’t second-guess. “I couldn’t risk it.”
The Moirai exchange a look. It’s not quite angry—though sometimes it’s hard to tell—but it definitely doesn’t seem approving either. Maybe…intrigued? Sweat slicks my palms, and I can feel the slight tremor in Riven’s normally steady hand. Will they banish us? Curse us?
Threads of light begin to shimmer around us.
My eyes close, a flinch shuttering my body in anticipation of the Moirai’s fury.
“Fate may have guided them,” the Crones voice shakes.
“But this—this was a choice. Their choice.” Like a judge endorsing a document, she decrees, “Fate approves!” and the cheers begin.
“A celebration is in order. You all should enjoy your last week here as a true vacation.” And her snap sends them all into stark white light once more.