He didn't give me his name.
Not at first.
After the thread flared and vanished into nothing, I blinked—and the street sounds returned all at once. A car honked. A woman shouted. Rain tapped hard against the concrete again.
But he just stood there, watching me like I'd stepped out of a story he already knew.
"You shouldn't be able to see it yet," he said under his breath. "Not without training."
"See what?" I asked. My voice came out shaky, almost angry. "What is this thread thing? Why are you following me?"
He lifted both hands slowly. "I wasn't. The thread pulled me too. I'm just... following orders."
That didn't help.
"What orders?" I took a step back. "Who are you?"
He hesitated, then reached inside his hoodie and pulled something out—a smooth silver disk no bigger than a coin. He held it out like a badge.
Etched into the metal was a symbol: a circle crossed by thousands of tiny lines, like a web. It shimmered faintly in the light, almost alive.
"I'm Riven," he said finally. "Threadweaver of the Sixth House."
It sounded made up. A fantasy novel title.
But when I looked at the coin, my wrist started to burn where the thread had wrapped me.
"What does that mean?" I asked, eyes narrowed. "Threadweaver? House? What does this have to do with me?"
"You're not human."
The words landed like a punch. He saw the expression on my face and quickly added, "Not fully, I mean. You were born with power in your blood. It was probably hidden—suppressed, even. But the moment the thread showed itself, that part of you woke up."
"That's insane."
"You saw the thread."
I opened my mouth to argue, then stopped. He was right. I had seen it. Still could, if I focused hard enough. It shimmered faintly around his wrist now—red and alive, wrapping around his arm like a heartbeat.
"I don't want this," I whispered.
"No one does, at first."
"Then take it back."
"I can't."
For a moment, we just stood there, the rain washing over us. His hoodie was soaked through, and I was starting to shiver. But he didn't seem to notice the cold. He looked at me like I was more mystery than person.
"You're in danger, Sera."
He said my name like he'd known it for years.
"The moment the Desire Thread awakened, your life stopped being normal. Others will come for you. Ones who want the thread's power… or fear what you'll do with it."
"Why?" I whispered. "What's so special about this thread?"
Riven looked away, jaw tightening.
"Because Desire Threads only appear once every hundred years. And when they do, they change everything