You're not comming?

- Riven

I press my fingernails so far into my palms that I can feel small trickles of blood spilling over my knuckles. I breathe deep and make a conscious effort to relax the muscles in my face. I smooth out my expression. I can’t let Niles see that he’s getting to me. More importantly, I can’t let Kate think that this will deter me from being with her. I don’t know what he’s got planned, but it’s not going to work.

I clear my throat. “I’d heard that Kate had gone to the river. I came to discuss our hunt. I figured that she’s well enough now to join us.”

I turn to Kate and bounce my eyebrows. I’m confident that she’ll want to get as far away from Niles as possible, especially if she can get back into our hunt. She cares about this too much to let Niles stop her from joining us again.

Kate glances at Niles. Her expression is grateful as she takes a step back from him. She waves a hand toward me. “Riven is right. I’m feeling much better, a little bit of a sting still, but I don’