Jacob POV I have learned over the years that battle rarely gives second chances, and when it does, it only does so to expose the weakness you were trying to hide from yourself. I had always believed my strength was in decisiveness, in the ability to act before doubt could take root. That belief had carried me through wars, uprisings, and betrayals that should have broken me long before I ever stood here. But this time, I hesitated. It happened in less than a heartbeat, yet it stretched inside me like something far longer, something that refused to collapse back into instinct the way it should have. I saw the attacker moving toward Faye with clear intent, his body already committed to the strike, his focus narrowed to a single target. My body reacted immediately, pushing forward with everything I had, closing the distance the way I had done a hundred times before. And then I saw him clearly. Not an enemy. Not a threat. Riven. Recognition struck me like a sudden weight, for
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