Page 17 of Fourth

Riv’En followed, silent as a shadow, and noted the faint crinkle in her brow as she examined each item. Her movements were cautious. Assessing not just the food, but the process, the taste, the surroundings. Everything.

“Try it,” he said, taking a seat across fromher.

Maya gave him a suspicious look but picked up the utensil and scooped up a bite of the protein. She chewed slowly, expression unreadable.

“Not bad,” she admitted after a moment. “Little bland, but... not as weird as I expected.”

Riv’En allowed himself to have a fractional tilt of his head. “Flavor modifiers may be adjusted to your preference.”

“Yeah, Igot that.” Her voice softened, slower now, carrying a quiet undercurrent of curiosity layered with something else—atension she seemed just barely aware of, like it had slipped past her defenses before she could catch it. “So... you eat too, right? Or is this just a human accommodation thing?”

“I eat,” he confirmed. “Not at this interval.”

Her gaze lingered on him as she took another bite, her movements unhurried, lips parting just slightly. The awareness between them built with every slow chew, tension coiling tighter until even the air around them appeared to wait for the next move. Riv’En tracked the movement of her lips, the subtle parting as she chewed, every detail sharper than it should have been. Her eyes dropped to his mouth, not just flicking down but holding for a single charged beat before glancing away again.

“Must be real entertaining, babysitting me.”

“It is necessary.”

“Right. Everything by the book.” Her voice lowered as she stirred her food. “Until it is not.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Going to just sit there and watch me eat, or is this where you tell me what comes next?”

“You still have not asked the question,” hesaid.

Her brow furrowed. “What question?”

“Why you.”

Her hand stilled mid-bite.

The silence returned, tension knotting the air between them. No words. No movement. Only pressure and awareness building like a pulse neither of them could ignore. Heat burned beneath Riv’En’s skin, not just instinctive, but sharp-edged and dangerous. The kind that lived between two bodies drawn too close, without a single word left to softenit.

Her voice came low. “You already said it. Something about my twin. About contamination.”

“That is what I was told. That is not the same as knowing.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So you don’t know for sure.”

Riv’En did not answer.

Her breathing slowed, each inhale deeper, steadier, as if she were consciously restraining herself. But Riv’En caught the small betraying signs: the faint quiver just below her jaw, the subtle flush warming her throat, the tightness around her mouth. It was not just awareness now. It was anticipation. Attraction sharpened under pressure, pushing against both of them, harder with everybeat.

“So what happens if you figure out I’m not contaminated?”

Riv’En let the pause hang there like a blade balanced onedge.

“Then my orders would no longer apply.”

Her grip tightened on the utensil. “And what happens to me then?”

He leaned forward slightly. Not enough to break posture. Just enough to let her deal with his focus pressing closer.

“That,” he said, “is what we must determine.”

Her eyes dropped to his mouth for a beat toolong.

The heat in the room shifted again.

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