Riley’s POV

The moment I finished speaking, I didn’t wait for his reaction.

I just pushed past him and walked out.

No, not walking.

Stormed.

Because if I stayed there one second longer, I was going to either scream or hit him, and honestly, I wasn’t sure which one would come first.

My head was a mess as I moved quickly through the halls.

I was going to see Cane.

And the truth was, I didn’t even know if I could actually help him.

They said it was Gravemaw rogue bites.

I had never heard of that in my life.

Not once.

And now suddenly I was supposed to fix it?

I almost let out a frustrated laugh.

This was insane.

Everything about this place was insane. And somehow, I was stuck right in the middle of it.

I clenched my jaw as I kept walking.

I wasn’t going to mess this up. Not in front of anyone.

Especially not that arrogant, controlling, selfish—

I stopped myself before I went further.

Because getting angry wasn’t going to help.

I needed to focus. Even if I had no idea what I was doing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him following me quietly, not saying a word.

That alone was annoying.

I almost preferred when he talked, at least then I could argue back.

Now he was just there, calm and watching, and it made me feel like he already expected me to fail.

That thought alone made me walk faster.

I finally reached the chambers where Cane was being kept.

Leslie’s chambers.

I didn’t hesitate. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Gunnar came in right behind me.

The room was quiet. And the moment my eyes landed on Cane, I stopped.

"Oh damn..." I muttered under my breath.

He looked even bad now than few minutes ago.

No... worse than bad.

His skin was pale, almost grey, and he wasn’t moving at all.

For a second, I actually thought—

No.

I walked closer quickly, my heart picking up speed as I leaned down and placed my fingers under his nose.

A second passed. Then another. And then I felt it.

A faint breath.

I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

"He’s still breathing," I said, more to myself than anyone else.

But barely.

And that wasn’t good at all.

But suddenly, Dahlia’s voice echoed in my head.

’You’re the last bloodline of the Emberwyn.’

I didn’t even fully understand what that meant.

But for some reason... it gave me something.

A small bit of confidence.

Like maybe I wasn’t completely useless here.

Like maybe... just maybe... I could actually do something.

I straightened up and turned around.

Amelia, Caden, Summer... they were still all here. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I took a breath.

"Everyone out," I said.

Silence.

"What?" Caden asked immediately, clearly not expecting that.

"I said leave," I repeated, my tone sharper now.

His expression hardened.

"Why would we do that?" he asked. "That’s my brother."

"And he’s dying," I shot back. "Do you want him alive or not?"

That shut him up for a second.

But not completely.

"What are you planning to do?" he asked, stepping closer.

"Something that requires space," I replied. "So either you trust me or you don’t. But standing here arguing isn’t helping him."

Amelia stepped in before Caden could say anything else.

"Caden," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm.

He looked at her, clearly frustrated.

"I don’t like this," he muttered.

"Neither do I," she replied. "But we don’t have a better option."

Summer stayed quiet the whole time.

She didn’t even look at me.

Not once.

That stung a little because she was just a kid, but I didn’t have time to think about it.

Amelia gently guided her toward the door.

"Come on," she said.

Summer followed without saying a word.

Caden stayed for a few more seconds, staring at me like he didn’t trust me at all.

Then finally, he turned and walked out.

Now it was just me, Leslie...

...and Gunnar.

I turned to him.

"You too," I said.

He didn’t move.

"No," he replied simply.

I blinked."What do you mean no?"

"I’m not leaving," he said, his voice calm but firm.

I stared at him, already feeling my patience snap again.

"Are you serious right now?" I asked. "I just told everyone to leave."

"I’m not everyone," he replied.

"Oh my God," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "Why are you so difficult?"

"Because I don’t trust you with my brother alone," he said.

That made me laugh."Of course you don’t," I said. "That’s not new."

"You want to be alone with him," he continued. "Why?"

"Because I need to be," I retorted sharply.

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only one you’re getting."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"What are you planning to do?" he asked again, his tone more serious now.

I crossed my arms."Something you clearly don’t understand," I said.

"That doesn’t mean I’m leaving," he replied.

"Then he dies," I said flatly.

That did it.

His jaw tightened immediately.

"Watch your mouth," he warned.

"Then stop wasting time!" I snapped. "You said you wanted him alive, right? Then let me do my job!"

"And how do I know you’re not going to mess it up? You’re not a healer or a doctor?" he shot back.

I took a step closer to him."I’m none of those yet you believe in me more than anyone to save him right?"

"Believe If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here," I said. "So either you move, or you keep standing there and watch him die slowly. Your choice."

We stared at each other.

Neither of us backing down.

The tension was thick, and I could tell he hated this.

Hated not being in control.

Hated having to rely on me.

But he didn’t have a choice.

Finally, after a long moment, he exhaled sharply.

Then he turned.

"Don’t try anything stupid," he said coldly as he walked toward the door.

"Same to you," I muttered under my breath.

He stopped for a second, like he heard me, but didn’t turn back.

Then he walked out and the door shut behind him.

I stood there for a second, listening to the silence.

Then I turned to Leslie. She was already staring at me, confused and worried.

"What are you planning?" she asked.

I took a breath.

"I’m going to be honest with you," I said. "I don’t know what Gravemaw is. I don’t know how to heal this."

Her expression dropped slightly.

"But," I continued, "I’m not completely guessing either."

She waited.

"I’m his mate," I said.

Her eyes widened just a little.

"And from what I understand," I went on, "that bond... it does something. It connects us in a way that might help him."

"You’re not seriously thinking—" she started.

"I am," I cut in.

She stared at me like I had just said something crazy.

"You want to use the bond?" she asked.

"Yes."

"That’s risky," she said immediately. "You don’t even fully understand what you are."

"I know," I replied. "But doing nothing is worse."

She didn’t argue with that. But she still looked uneasy.

"What do you need from me?" she asked after a moment.

"I need something that can wake him up," I said. "Anything that can pull him out of that state, even for a short time."

Her brows furrowed. "You think that will be enough?"

"It has to be," I said.

She hesitated."And then?" she asked.

I looked at Cane, then back at her.

"And then I let the mate bond do the rest," I said.

Her eyes widened again as she understood what I meant.

"You’re going to...?" she started, clearly shocked.

"Yes," I said, not looking away this time. "I’m going to mate with him while he’s wild."