**Chapter 21: The Hour of Truth**
The night air was thick with tension, a biting cold that seemed to seep into every crevice of their camp. The flickering flames of the campfire barely cut through the darkness, casting long shadows on the faces of the weary soldiers. The aftermath of their last battle had been a hard one, but it wasn't the physical wounds that had them all on edge tonight—it was something far more dangerous, something far more insidious.
Riven stood near the edge of the camp, his arms folded tightly across his chest as his mind raced. The sounds of his comrades settling in for the night, trying to find rest, felt distant and muted. His thoughts, however, were sharp, focused on the revelation that had come earlier in the day. A traitor. One of them—someone they had fought alongside, trusted—had turned against them.
The implications were crushing. In the middle of a war, with lives on the line at every turn, betrayal was more than just a personal wound—it was a threat to everything they had worked for. Everything they had sacrificed. The very foundation of the group had been shaken, and Riven wasn't sure how to fix it.
His gaze drifted to Lia, sitting near the fire, her face illuminated by the soft orange glow. She was speaking quietly to Zephyr, her words lost to the crackle of the flames, but Riven knew the topic of their conversation. He could see it in the way they spoke, the subtle tension in their voices. They knew what was coming, just as he did. They all knew that a decision had to be made.
A voice broke through his thoughts.
"Riven."
He turned sharply, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of Astra. Her expression was grim, her eyes shadowed with the same sense of unease that had gripped the entire camp.
"I need to talk to you," she said, her voice steady but laced with the weight of the situation. "Now."
He nodded silently and followed her to a quieter part of the camp, away from the prying eyes and ears of the others. The distant sounds of the night were more pronounced here, but the air felt suffocating in a way that made the tension seem even more palpable.
Astra stopped walking and turned to face him. "We know who the traitor is."
Riven's stomach twisted at the words. He had been dreading this moment, but now that it was here, the reality of it felt like a crushing blow. The group had always prided themselves on their unity, their loyalty to one another. How could someone betray them like this?
"Who?" Riven's voice was low, his anger barely contained. The thought of someone within their ranks working for the enemy made his blood boil, but he had to know. He had to face the truth.
Astra took a deep breath, her eyes scanning the camp as though expecting someone to overhear. "It's Nyx."
The words hit Riven like a punch to the gut. Nyx—quiet, reserved, and one of the most skilled members of their team. She had been with them through everything. She had saved their lives more times than Riven could count. The very idea of her being the traitor was unthinkable.
"No," Riven whispered, shaking his head. "You're wrong."
But Astra's expression remained firm, her gaze unwavering. "I'm not. She's been passing information to the enemy. I've seen the signs. I've caught her once already, and we've been watching her closely. The way she moves, the way she talks—it's all part of her cover. She's been feeding them intel on our strategies, our positions. She's been sabotaging us from the inside."
Riven's mind reeled, the words failing to sink in. He wanted to deny it, wanted to believe that there had to be some mistake, but Astra's eyes told him everything he needed to know. Astra wasn't the type to lie, and she had no reason to accuse Nyx without solid evidence.
"Why?" Riven found his voice again, though it was thick with disbelief. "Why would she do this?"
Astra's expression faltered slightly. "I don't know. But whatever her reasons are, they've put all of us in danger. We can't ignore it anymore. We need to decide how we move forward."
The weight of the situation hung heavily in the air. Riven felt the full extent of his role as leader pressing down on him. This was his responsibility. The lives of his friends, his comrades, were in his hands. And now, he had to decide what to do with a traitor in their midst.
"She can't be allowed to stay," Astra added, her voice colder now, her determination clear. "We can't trust her. If she's been working with the enemy all along, she's a liability."
Riven clenched his fists, his knuckles white. The anger was rising in him again, but now it was mixed with confusion and betrayal. How had he missed it? How had he failed to see what was right in front of him? Nyx was more than just a member of their team. She was a friend, someone who had fought alongside him when it counted.
"I need to talk to her," Riven said, his voice firm now, though there was an edge of hesitation to it. He wasn't ready to believe what Astra was saying, not yet. There had to be another explanation. There had to be some way to save Nyx from whatever dark path she had walked down.
Astra didn't object. She only nodded grimly. "Be careful. We don't know how far she's gone."
Riven's heart hammered in his chest as he made his way back to the camp. Each step felt heavier than the last, the weight of the decision that loomed before him pressing down on him like an anchor. How could he confront Nyx with this accusation? How could he look her in the eye and ask her if everything they had shared, everything they had fought for, had been a lie?
He found her sitting alone by the fire, her back to him, staring into the flames. She didn't notice him approach, her expression distant, almost detached. For a moment, Riven simply watched her, studying the way the firelight danced across her features, casting her face in flickering shadows. She looked so much like the Nyx he had come to know—sharp, cunning, strong—but there was something different now. Something he couldn't quite place.
"Nyx," he said, his voice low but commanding.
She turned at the sound of her name, her eyes meeting his with an unreadable expression. "Riven," she said, her voice smooth but laced with something else. There was a tension in her posture, something almost imperceptible, but it was there.
"I need to know something," Riven said, his heart pounding. "Are you working for the enemy?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly, a flash of something dark crossing her face. For a long moment, neither of them spoke, the weight of the question hanging in the air between them. Riven searched her face for any sign of guilt, any hint of the truth, but all he saw was calm resolve.
Finally, Nyx spoke, her voice almost too soft to hear. "What if I am?"
Riven felt as though the ground had been ripped out from under him. The words were like ice, freezing him in place. For a moment, he couldn't breathe. The shock of the realization hit him like a tidal wave, and for the briefest of moments, everything seemed to collapse.
"Why?" he whispered, the question barely escaping his lips. "Why would you betray us?"
Nyx's lips curved into a thin, almost imperceptible smile. "Sometimes, the lines between friend and enemy blur, Riven. You can't always see the full picture. But I'm not the one who's betrayed you. It's you who's been deceived all along."
Riven's breath caught in his throat as her words sank in. Everything he had fought for, everything he had believed in, had just shattered in front of him. And the worst part? He didn't know if he could fix it.