Page 62 of The City Of Fractured Memory

“Damn it,” I mutter, sprinting after him with Stryx close behind. “Xavier, stop! Think about what you’re doing!”

But grief has deafened him to reason.

I don’t blame him.

When my parents died, my anger was an uncontrollable inferno. It threatened to destroy everything I touched, until Xavier saved me from myself. He was all I had for a time, and now our roles have been reversed. I run as fast as I can, desperate to save him from himself, but by the time we reach the grand vestibule of the Division, it’s already too late.

Riven stands calmly in the centre of the room, all dark and quiet menace, flanked by two wardens when Xavier comes barreling through the crowd like a storm. We stop behind him, panting, trying to cajole him, but the moment he lays his eyes on Riven, I see something inside him break.

The world blurs as his rage eclipses reason. He doesn’t seem to register my voice calling his name before he crosses the space in three furious strides and drives his fist into Riven’s jaw.

The crack of it rings out through the vast hall, echoing off the vaulted ceilings. Riven’s head snaps to the side, a few dark strands of hair falling across his eyes. To his credit, he barely flinches. He blinks once, slow and deliberate, his eyes flashing emerald fire before he straightens, blood blooming faintly on his lip.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he says, his voice low and dangerous.

But Xavier lunges again, deaf to anything, but his grief.

The two men collide like thunder, Xavier’s raw fury against Riven’s cold precision. Fists meet, boots strike marble, a chair shatters against the wall.

“You killed her!” Xavier roars, his voice hoarse with grief. “You cursed her! You destroyed her!”

He swings again, and this time Riven catches his wrist mid-air. The impact jars Xavier’s arm as he clashes with Riven’s unyielding strength.

“I warned you what would happen if this got out of hand,” Riven hisses, twisting Xavier’s arm sharply enough to make him grunt. “You never listen. Her death is on you, not me.”

Xavier wrenches free with a snarl, throwing his weight forward and slamming Riven into one of the marble pillars. The stone cracks from the force, dust falling around them like ash.

“Say her name,” Xavier spits. “Say Vesper’s name, you bastard!”

Riven’s eyes flash, something dangerous stirring behind the green. “Do not test me, Blackwood,” he says, hissing Xavier’s name like it’s a joke. “You’ve no idea what you’re dealing with.”

But Xavier is beyond hearing. He lunges again, fists wild, grief and fury pouring out in every blow. Riven dodges the first few easily, but Xavier catches him off guard with a shoulder slam, sending both of them crashing to the floor. They roll, grappling, their boots scraping across marble, every movement desperate and violent.

“Stop!” I shout, my voice cracking with fear.

Neither of them hear me.

I look frantically between them both, torn between the horror of Xavier’s accusations and the instinct to protect him.

Xavier manages to get on top of Riven, his hand closing around his throat. “I should have done this years ago,” he snarls, pressing down hard, but Riven’s lips curve into a faint, cruel smile.

“Then do it,” he chokes out. “Let’s see what happens when you kill the only man who can stop what you’ve started.”

The words give Xavier pause, long enough for Riven to shift his weight and flip them both, pinning Xavier in an instant. His strength is otherworldly, predatory, his eyes burning bright with restrained fury. He presses down hard on Xavier’s throat, crushing the breath from his lungs.

I look around desperately, but all the wardens just stare transfixed at the scene, too dumbstruck to intervene. I can’t take it anymore, and with a scream, I dive between them.

“Enough!” I cry, shoving at Riven’s chest. “Enough, both of you!”

He freezes immediately, his hand still poised like a threat, yet his gaze softens as it lands on me. But Xavier is beyond reason. He pushes Riven back and they both scramble to their feet. When I plant myself between them he tries to shove me aside, shouting. “He killed her! He killed Vesper!”

“You don’t know that!” I scream back, tears pricking at my eyes. The hall falls silent except for the sound of Xavier’s ragged breathing.

“Get out of my way, Octavia,” Xavier warns, his voice softer now, but shaking. “He’s not walking out of here alive. If I have to go through you to do it, then I will.”

I freeze at his words, my heart shattering. I try to convince myself he doesn’t mean it, that his grief is making him say horrible things, but one look in his eyes and I know he’s deadly serious.

Could I really mean so little to him? After all this time?