The gala was drenched in decadence.
Gold chandeliers cast honeyed light over a sea of tuxedos and crimson lips. Music curled like smoke around clinking glasses, whispered secrets, and the steady thrum of lust barely disguised.
Riven hated it.
Not because he didn't belong—he looked devastating in black velvet and a diamond collar that whispered Cassian's every time it caught the light.
He hated it because Silas was here.
And Cassian knew it.
They entered side by side, Cassian's hand resting low on Riven's back—a quiet but possessive claim. Every step was a silent war. Every smile a blade.
And then he saw him.
Silas.
All tailored shadows and slow, poisonous charm, leaning against a marble pillar like he owned the night. He lifted a glass in mock salute.
"Still dressing him up like a prize, Cassian?" Silas asked, voice too smooth.
Riven stiffened.
Cassian didn't blink. "He's not a prize. He's my partner."
Silas smirked. "So you say. But I know how he begs."
Riven flinched like he'd been struck.
Cassian's fury was molten.
He wrapped an arm around Riven's waist and kissed him—hard—right there in the middle of the glittering crowd.
Possessive. Public. Proud.
When they pulled apart, Riven's lips were swollen, and Silas was stone.
"You ever touch what's mine again," Cassian whispered to him, "and I'll show you just how much of a devil I can be."
---
But the devil always finds cracks.
Hours later, after too much champagne and too many stares, Riven fled to the empty upstairs lounge to breathe.
And Silas was already there.
"You still wear my ghost, you know," Silas said, stepping into his space. "He'll never erase me."
"Don't," Riven hissed.
Silas grabbed his chin. "I made you what you are."
Cassian's voice was a gunshot.
"No. I did."
He stormed in, fire in his veins, grabbing Silas by the collar and slamming him against the wall. "Touch him again and I'll ruin you."
Silas laughed.
"You already did, Cassian. That's why I'm back."
Cassian looked like he might kill him.
But Riven—Riven stepped between them, eyes wild. "Enough."
Cassian's hands trembled. "He hurt you."
Riven cupped his face. "And you healed me."
He turned, and in front of Silas, dropped to his knees.
His hands slid up Cassian's thighs, eyes burning with love and hunger and defiance.
"You want to mark me again?" he whispered. "Do it now. Here. Let him watch."
Cassian growled and yanked him up, slamming their mouths together.
They didn't stop until Silas had left, fuming.
Only then did Cassian drag Riven into the nearest room, slam the door, and take him on the velvet chaise like he was putting a claim on his soul.
Hard. Desperate. Devouring.
Riven screamed his name over and over, body arching, until Cassian filled him with fire and everything else disappeared.
Only after, when they collapsed in a tangle of limbs and bite marks, did Riven whisper, "I love you."
Cassian kissed the back of his neck. "I'd burn the world to keep you mine."