Page 20 of Fourth

Her heart knocked hard in her chest, breath ragged in her throat. She dragged her hand lower, pressing harder against the edges of the panel. There had to be something. Anything. Aweakness she could exploit. Away out. But each pass of her hand only sharpened the frustration. The heat. And beneath all of it, the craving she couldn’t shake no matter how hard she tried.

“Do you believe trying again will end differently?” The voice cut through the silence, coming from directly behindher.

Maya froze, her heart crashing into her ribs. For a split second, she swore she could sense the heat of his presence behind her, close enough that if she leaned back she’d collide with solid muscle. Her breath caught sharp in her throat, body locked tight with the urge to run. But she didn’t move. Couldn’t. Not until she turned— gradual, cautious—and found only emptyair.

And then, with a single shift, Riv’En appeared as though he’d always been there.

He stepped out of the shadows like a living fracture in reality, unfolding with a grace that was less like movement and more like inevitability. Dark eyes locked onto hers, unblinking. His entire body held a lethal calm, astillness so absolute it made her breath stutter, as if even the air wasn’t sure it was allowed tomove.

Maya staggered back a step, mind racing, pulse skipping in jagged, uneven stutters. For a breathless second, all she could think was: how long had he been standing there? Watching her? How many times had she walked these halls, thinking she was alone, while he stood inches away, unseen? Her pulse kicked harder, adrenaline surging hot and sharp in her veins. Her voice scraped out, harsh with disbelief and the edge of something she didn’t want to name. “What the—how did you do that?”

“Camouflage.” His voice stayed cool, unaffected by the shock radiating off her. “A designation inherited from my mother’s people. It is intuitive. As natural to me as breathing.”

She stared, heart still racing, mind stuttering to catch up. Disappear. Just—gone. No sound. No warning. The idea made her skin prickle all over again. Her gaze traced over him like she could anchor him in place just by looking hard enough, memorizing the exact cut of his jaw, the way his hair hung loose and dark around his shoulders. Trying to convince herself that if she saw him once, she could always find him again. “You can just—disappear? Whenever you want?” Her voice cracked a little, breath short and tight.

“Affirmative.” His gaze didn’t flicker. “It is why I and others like me are assigned assassin status. We are not seen until we choose to be.”

Her mouth opened, closed.Assassin. That word clanged in her head, cold and final. Aflush climbed her neck, an awareness that had nothing to do with the heat from before. He’d said it like it was nothing. Like being able to disappear, to kill without warning, was just another detail. Her gaze flicked down his frame, unwilling but unable to stop herself, remembering too well the sensation of his hands. His mouth. How close danger had alreadycome.

He took another slow step forward. “You will never know when I am watching.”

Her breath caught, sharp and shallow. Adistinctive drumbeat thudded in her chest, steady but relentless, like her body couldn’t decide if it was fear or adrenaline taking over. And yet—that prickle, that impulsive warning she’d experienced before she even saw him. It wasn’t random. She’d detected him. Somehow. Maya swallowed against the dryness in her throat, eyes locked onhis.

“You’re an assassin,” she said, voice low, pushing past the rasp in her chest. “And I sensed you. Before I saw you. That’s not normal.”

He ignored her comment. “If you continue,” he informed her, voice dropping lower, “I will lock you in a secured cabin.”

Maya swallowed. Her mind scrambled, but her body didn’t move. She should have been scared. Maybe she was. But that wasn’t all of it. What she felt now was sharper. Edgier. Hungry.

“Understood,” she said finally. But her voice didn’t sound as steady as she wanted itto.

Riv’En gave her one last long look, then turned and walkedaway.

The moment he was gone, Maya exhaled hard, her heart still hammering. Her skin was still hot. Alive. Her fingertips tingled where they’d touched the panel. Her mind caught and stuttered, running over what he’d said on a tight, repetitiveloop.

Assassin and camouflage. That he could vanish into the walls whenever he wanted. Her pulse refused to settle. Part of her knew she should be terrified, that she was standing in the middle of a ship with an alien who could watch her any time without her knowing.

But beneath the fear, deeper and more unsettling, was the memory of how her body had reacted. The heat in her neck. The shiver down her spine. She’d sensed him before she saw him. Like something inside her had already been tuned to his frequency.

That wasn’t normal. That wasn’t human. And it scared her even more than Riv’En did. Because if she could sense him, what else was happening to her? What else might she be capable of? Her breath came sharper, unsteady, but she didn’t step away from the panel. She wasn’t ready tostop.

She stared down the corridor in the direction he’d taken. She could only hope he’d considered the warning sufficient and hadn’t doubledback.

Maya waited a long count before she moved again. Back to the red-lit door. Her hand hovered over the panel. Her breath stuttered once. Then she pressed again.

Nothing. Locked. Again.

She moved to another door. And another.

The corridor appeared too quiet, too still. Her skin prickled again, that same low thrum as before. But no footsteps. No voice. No warning.

And then, just as she touched the next panel, her vision blurred. Her skin buzzed with that same electric pulse she now recognized as something more than nerves. It wasn’t just the cold fear she’d chalked it up to before. No, this was something different. Sharper. Like her body was tuned in to something it shouldn’t be able to sense. Ashimmer. She looked down at her arm—

Her breath caught.

Her hand wasn’t visible. It was there, but it blended perfectly with thewall.

“What the hell...” Maya whispered.

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