Chapter Nine
Tori's POV
My body stiffened the moment that voice cut through the air.
Riven.
The name alone carried weight, and I felt it settle deep in my chest like something I wasn't ready for.
Nicole didn't move immediately. His fingers were still resting lightly against my skin, just above my waist, warm and steady like he hadn't just been caught in something he wasn't supposed to be doing.
Slowly, he turned his head toward the door, his expression shifting back into that usual calm, unreadable look he wore so well.
"What does it look like?" Nicole replied, his tone flat, almost bored.
My heart was still racing, my breathing uneven as I instinctively pulled the thin fabric of my singlet down, trying to cover more of my body even though it barely made a difference.
I hadn't even noticed how exposed I was until now.
Heat crept up my neck, mixing with the lingering sensation of Nicole's touch on my skin, soft but deliberate, like he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
I hated it.
Or maybe I hated how my body reacted to it.
My eyes slowly lifted.
And then I saw him.
Riven Blackthorne stood by the door, tall, unmoving, his presence filling the entire room without him needing to take a single step forward. His gaze dropped to me first, slow and assessing, and I felt it like a physical touch, like he was stripping away every layer I had left.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Riven Blackthorne stood by the door, tall, unmoving, his presence filling the entire room without him needing to take a single step forward. His gaze dropped to me first, slow and assessing, and I felt it like a physical touch, like he was stripping away every layer I had left.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"Interesting," he muttered.
The word sent a strange chill down my spine.
Nicole finally pulled his hand away from me, standing to his full height as if nothing had happened, as if I wasn't sitting on his bed half-dressed with my entire body covered in bruises.
"She's injured," Nicole added calmly, walking past me like this was nothing more than a routine explanation. "Or would you rather I let her rot?"
Riven stepped further into the room, the door closing behind him with a soft click that echoed louder than it should have.
My fingers curled slightly against the sheets beneath me, gripping them as my body tensed without my permission.
"I didn't say you should stop," Riven replied, his voice low, controlled, but there was something underneath it. Something sharp. "I'm just surprised you care."
Nicole let out a quiet scoff, reaching for the small container of ointment on the table.
"I don't," he said simply.
That lie was so obvious it almost made me laugh.
Almost.
Riven's eyes flickered back to me, slower this time, more intentional, and I felt my throat go dry under the weight of his stare.
There was something different about him compared to Kael and Nicole.
Kael was fire, intense and consuming.
Nicole was control, quiet but dangerous.
Riven…
Riven felt like something else entirely.
Something darker.
"Stand up," he suddenly said.
My brows pulled together slightly, confusion flashing across my face before I could hide it.
"What?"
His gaze hardened just a little.
"I don't repeat myself."
My jaw clenched as I pushed myself up slowly, my body protesting with every movement. The pain shot through my legs immediately, and I couldn't stop the small wince that escaped me as my weight settled unevenly.
Nicole noticed.
Of course he did.
His hand reached out instinctively, gripping my arm to steady me, his touch firm but not rough.
"Careful," he muttered under his breath.
Riven's eyes dropped to where Nicole was holding me.
For a second, something unreadable crossed his face.
Then it was gone.
"Turn around," Riven said.
My stomach tightened.
I didn't like this.
I didn't like the way they were both looking at me like I was something to be examined, something to be… evaluated.
But I turned anyway.
Slowly.
The thin fabric clung to my back, doing nothing to hide the bruises, the cuts, the marks left behind from the last competition. I could feel their eyes on me, heavy and silent, taking everything in.
The room went quiet.
Too quiet.
"Who did this?" Riven finally asked.
His voice was lower now.
Dangerously low.
I hesitated.
Because the truth was simple.
The games did this.
Their games.
"No one," I said after a moment, my voice steady despite everything. "This is what your world does."
Silence.
Then I heard it.
A quiet exhale from Nicole.
Riven stepped closer.
I felt it before I saw it.
That shift in the air.
His fingers brushed lightly against one of the bruises on my back, and my body reacted instantly, a sharp breath escaping me as pain and something else shot through me at the same time.
Not harsh.
Not cruel.
Just… there.
"I see," he murmured.
My eyes shut tightly for a second before I forced them open again, refusing to let them see any more weakness than I already had.
"I'm still alive," I added, my voice quieter now but firm. "Isn't that all that matters?"
Riven's hand stilled.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then he let his hand drop.
"Yes," he said finally. "For now."
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
Nicole stepped in again, his fingers brushing against my arm as he gently turned me back around, his movements slower this time, more careful like he didn't want to hurt me further.
"Sit," he said softly.
I didn't argue.
Didn't have the strength to.
As I sat back down, my eyes flickered between the both of them, my chest rising and falling unevenly as I tried to steady myself.
Three brothers.
Three different kinds of danger.
And somehow…
I had caught all of their attention.
That realization settled heavily in my chest.
Because deep down, I knew one thing.
Surviving the games was only the beginning.
Surviving them…
That was going to be the real battle.