The Dragon Stone ↣ Riven ↢

29: Control Is Overrated Anyway

"You see tonight, it could go either way"

BONG. BONG. BONG.

It was the sound of the clock tower announcing that it was now 3 am. Rose had been spending the last few hours hiding in the garden to figure out the rotation pattern of the specialists patrolling the school premises.

Even though the days certainly were warmer in April, the nights were still quite cold. The wind was whipping at her cheeks despite being crouched down between a bunch of bushes and she flexed her fingers trying to get some feeling back into her hands. They felt frozen but using her magic would give away her location. Besides, it didn't matter anyway. In a few moments, she would be deep into the forest, and she could start a fire without anyone even noticing.

The chiming of the clock meant she had now approximately five minutes to get out of her hiding spot and into the shelter of the trees. She could easily make it.

While taking a deep breath, she moved as silently as possible from behind the bushes and hurried over to the pergola she'd visited so many times with Riven. As she felt her mind wandering to relive all the happy moments, she gave herself a little shake. Now was not the time.

She did a quick scan of the area, but just as calculated, there were no specialists in sight. To her right, the forest appeared intimidating and eerily, but she wasn't scared. Tonight, she was going to get closer to figuring it all out and the ghastly darkness of the night was not going to stop her.

Rose got up from her crouched position and made a dash for it. She plunged herself into the shadows and nothingness looming in between the trees and a warm jolt ran through her body. Adrenaline.

Her heart was beating loudly in her chest, the determination to deal with the spiders once and for all driving her to go just a little faster. Her hands were swatting around, trying to prevent any low hanging branches from cutting at her cheeks and her eyes were working hard to form shapes despite of the absence of sunlight.

She didn't stop until her legs were aching with exhaustion and her lungs were burning from the lack of oxygen. With her hands on her knees, panting like a lunatic, she tried to get her bearings.

Rays of moonlight shone through the open spaces between the trees and the leaves, but it wasn't much to go on. However, the stale odour of stagnant water was thick in the air, and she knew she had to be close to a lake. She'd only ever come across one lake, a lake close to the barrier and she prayed silently that this was the same one.

She exhaled deeply while throwing her head back, eyes closed in bliss as she welcomed the cool air on her skin. This was it. No fear, no hesitation. Just resolvement to put an end to the madness that had been following her around.

Her senses were on high alert as she flicked her wrist to channel a small flame and the soft shuffle of feet moving over loose earth coming from somewhere behind her didn't go unnoticed. She paused a few seconds to focus on her hearing, but as everything went quiet again, she trudged forward.

It was the moment she took another step that she knew someone was about to approach her. She felt the air move, heard the slow and steady breathing, but she was ready.

Rose whirled around, hands already flying through the air as she channelled her magic, and swirling skeins of fire bled into the air. But it was no use. The attacker was right in front of her, easily blocking her movements with his arms and causing her magic to miss its target.

"Riven!" She shrieked as she squinted up at him while he held her wrists into a tight grip. "What ar—" the words died on her lips as her shock suddenly gave way to a burning wave of anger. She yanked her wrists free and glared at him. "Are you crazy sneaking up on me like that? I could've seriously hurt you."