All Chapters of Claimed by the Fallen Five: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The stars still shimmered overhead, but the tension in the air had calmed, like even the cosmos understood this quiet moment. Riven lay beside her, one arm tucked beneath his head, the other draped protectively around her waist, not holding her down, but keeping her close. A silent promise. Mae rested in that silence for a while, heart still racing, not from fear, but from something more delicate.Anticipation. Choice. Then, she sat up slowly, breath steady, eyes fixed ahead. Riven blinked, stirring beside her. “Mae?” She turned to look at him, lips parted, words caught just behind them. And then, she spoke, quiet, sure, real. “I do want to.” Riven sat up too, slowly, cautiously, like he didn’t want to scare the moment off. Mae met his eyes, her voice softer now. “I was afraid before, but I’m not now. I want you. I want this. Because it’s me choosing it. Not fate. Not visions. Not fear.” A long pause. Then Riven reached up and brushed her cheek again, his fingers warm and careful. “

Mae felt the world hush around them, the glowing runes along the sacred stone flickering in soft rhythm, responding to her choice, to him. Ashar stood before her in the warm stillness, his golden eyes searching hers for any hesitation. He found none. Without speaking, he reached out, fingers brushing the hem of her shirt. He paused. “May I?” Mae nodded, heart thudding against her ribs. His hands moved slowly, reverently, lifting her shirt over her head, baring her skin to the cool air and the shimmer of starlight. She shivered, not from cold, but from the gravity of the moment. He let his eyes drink her in, not like a man hungry with lust, but as one who’d wandered an eternity and finally found water. Mae looked away for a second, her blush creeping across her cheeks and neck. But Ashar’s hand gently touched her chin, tilting her face back to his. “You’re beautiful,” he said, simply. Then he unfastened her pants, slow and precise. His touch was warm as he slid the fabric down her leg

Riven stood there, watching the tension settle like dusk. The weight of the vision, the depth of what they had all just felt, was still fresh in the air, still too real to ignore. Then he exhaled and looked at Ashar. “Look, we obviously are all bound to each other, right?” Riven said, voice steady despite the storm he’d been navigating. “So, why not all just be together?” Ashar’s golden gaze remained fixed on him, silent. “It might not feel good at first,” Riven continued. “But it’s real. We both get her, Ash. She chose us. You and me. And we’re both in those visions for a reason. So instead of fighting fate, maybe, we protect her together.” Mae blinked at him, stunned. Ashar’s jaw tightened, but then, slowly, he nodded. Once. “I would rather fight beside you, than against you,” Ashar said, finally. Riven let out a breath, some of the tension in his shoulders easing. Then he turned to Mae with a crooked grin. “So I guess the next baby’s mine?” Mae let out a scandalized half-laugh, eye

Mae stepped outside into the cooling air, the fractured sky hanging above like a cracked mirror. The horizon shimmered in shades of copper and violet. She didn’t care. She was done pretending everything was okay. Her steps were shaky but sure as she made her way toward the cluster of silver-barked trees near the edge of the reborn garden. They looked peaceful, untouched, but even they bent slightly with the tension in the air. She clenched her fists. Her breaths came fast, uneven, too close to sobs. “Why would he do that?” she whispered to herself. “Why now?” Her throat closed tight.The trees around her stood still, waiting. Mae didn’t scream out loud. But inside, she roared. The power surged up again, hot and fierce, and as she forced herself not to lose control, she pressed her hands against the trees. The bark was cold and grounding. She remembered what Riven had said. Back when they tested her power together. “Let it through you, not from you. Guide it.” She took a breath. Let it

Riven wasn’t done. He stalked toward Kaine again, fists clenched so tight his knuckles were bone white. “You lied. You planted a tracker. You made her doubt herself, put her through hell, and now, now you’ve got something else to say?” Kaine’s lip curled, blood at the corner of his mouth from where Riven had shoved him earlier. “She’s unstable. She doesn’t even know what she is. And now she’s carrying those things? Please. We all know how this ends. She’ll destroy them, just like she destroys everything else-” Crack. Sethis’s boot collided with Kaine’s face before anyone else could react. The sound echoed through the great hall like a thunderclap. Kaine dropped hard, knocked halfway across the floor, blood smearing beneath his jaw as his head lolled back, stunned and gasping. “Say that again,” Sethis snapped, his usually controlled voice dipped in venom. “I dare you.” Everyone froze. Even Riven. Lucien blinked, his mouth parting like he wasn’t sure whether to smirk or scream. “He’s no