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“You okay?” I asked, my eyes scanning her. My mind couldn’t help but worry, she looked overwhelmed, freezing beneath the harsh winter air.

“I’m fine,” she muttered through chattering jaws, one hand folding against her chest as she fought another shiver. She was stronger than I’d given her credit for, enduring both us and the weather tonight. Her brows knit together as she looked down at the man trapped beneath us. Martha’s lips pressed into a thin line, her irises darkening with frustration.

My foot never left Mark’s chest; my heel drove deeper into the tender flesh. His hand clawed at my ankle, desperate for escape, but I held fast. When my gaze found his, he refused to meet it. Instead, he scanned the street, calculating, measuring, contemplating a run.

Arianna cut back at the sound of the commotion. She caught the same glint in Mark’s eyes that I had. And before he could commit to another thought of escape, her voice fell like a blade: “Try it… and I’ll kill you dead, father of Alexander.”

He lay beneath me looking like every coward I’d never imagined a man could be. It was such a strange thing to watch someone you once trusted unravel like this. I wondered what excuse would cross his lips. Would he try to justify his whereabouts? Was it a crime to be among the rank he’d been cast into? The thought soured quickly, muddled and murky with suspicion.

That alone had me fighting the urge to crush the heel of my boot in his ribs, just for the audacity. But I wouldn’t be the one to strike first.

Sucking in a deep, cool breath, I let the night air flood my lungs, only for it to sour instantly with Mark’s reeking scent. It was bitter, offensive to the senses. The rot seared my nose like hot iron kissed by flame, his family’s signature felt like a festering blister on Velarune itself. Rolling my neck, I shrugged out my shoulders and flexed my fingers at my sides. Beneath my veins, a spark still coiled, tingling through me like a low hum, vibrating through my bones. My emotions still boiled hot, tempting the magic that hadn’t settled yet. It simmered just beneath the surface like a second layer of heat, desperate to be released again.

It had been so long since I’d felt like this, so out of control. I hadn’t used my powers in years. And the last time I had… it was only because I’d been completely unrestrained by rage.

The last time had been when I was twelve.

The driver who’d taken my mother away that day, alongside my father and the Queen, refused to tell me what transpired. I knew I wouldn't get the truth from my father, so I went to the next person who had been there. He must have witnessed something. He was such a kind man to me, always riding me through the districts between my home and Queens. I thought I could trust him. When he refused to speak... There was an anger no child should have known festered deep inside me. Just like tonight.

My chest still pulled at the memory, but I pushed it back down. Stirring it now would only feed the heat inside me.

I steeled my expression into something calm and cold, my lungs holding the infected air in my body memorizing it. After a moment, I let my gaze fall back to Mark’s features. He hadn’t relaxed underneath me, still fumbling in the snow like a fish stuck on slick ice.

Alexander was lucky I cared about his opinion, his feelings, or I’d let the magic that slithered beneath my tendons loose to drag him through the snow. It’d be so easy, my fingers cracked at my sides before my gaze shifted to Ari.

“We’re going to haul you,” I said flatly. “Arianna. Take his arms. Martha and I will grab his legs. If you dare kick me, I will harm you. I won’t kill you. Your son wants to see you. But please,” I paused, letting the tension crackle in the silence, “do not try me again.” Before lifting my foot from his chest, I made sure we had him fully surrounded, our bodies turned inward, boxing him in. Arianna stood at his head, and Martha already was reaching for his ankle.

“You aren’t going to do shi—” he started, as my foot finally let him free and I bent down to reach hold of his thigh, trapping him in our grasp. We hoisted him into the air, his right leg over Martha’s shoulder and his left over mine.

Arianna seized him beneath his arms, while we steadied our grips on his thrashing legs. We hoisted him up, his body still convulsed in protest, twitching and kicking, desperate to break free. Without warning my fingers dug into his ankles, locking him in place like iron shackles. “Stop fighting us,” Arianna hissed, her voice sharp and low. He thrashed, swinging his head side to side, his skull repeatedly knocking against her cheek.

Without a word, we stretched him flat in the air, straightening his limbs between us to restrict his movement. Then, like one body, we sprinted back through the snow-laced streets toward the housing stables. Arianna led the way, barking quick, clipped directions, “Left, now! Keep right here!” Each turn meant to avoid the lantern eyes of late-night wanderers who might question why three women were hauling a man like a wild animal.

We had to retreat far from here, for now. But deep in my gut, I knew this wouldn’t be the last time I heard about that twisted little family. Once we crossed Arianna’s dome, I’d be the first to brief my father. But even before that, Mark was going to answer for his little escapade in the city. He would be dealt with. By the time we reached the stable, it was clear that hours had passed. The aurora lights had dimmed beneath a quiet haze, purple bleeding into auburn and pale cerulean. The streets stilled. Tealights burned out one by one, and the city fell into a chilling silence.

Mark’s ragged cry shattered it. Every few strides he twisted or kicked, trying to loosen our hold like a man possessed.

When we reached the housing stables, my muscles ached for rest. The adrenaline that had burned through me finally began to fade, leaving only a faint tingle beneath my skin. Yet the magic still clung tight behind my veins, unwilling to release me from its grip. I knew what Mark was capable of. The fire was proof. And he’d only barely resisted using it on us.

“Valentina.”

Arianna’s flat voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. My fingers tightened reflexively around my hold on him as we all ground to a stop, snow skidding at our feet. “Yes?”

“Drop his leg and come grab his arms. Martha, once she’s got him, let go.” There was no question in her tone. My body answered before my mind could object.

Without hesitation, I released my grip. His leg dropped like dead weight, thudding against the snow-packed path. Arianna shifted his upper body toward me, and I moved fast, hooking beneath his armpits and locking him tight against my chest. Martha, sensing the exchange from Arianna’s taller frame to mine, released his leg, letting it strike the icy cement with a muted crack. Wrapping my arms around his chest, I hauled his spine flush against mine, caging him like a beast. And in that moment, to me, he wasn’t far from one. It was easy to slip into prejudice when he so perfectly embodied the filth they were whispered to be.

He was lost.

But he wasn’t getting away.

Arianna vanished like a shadow into the back of the housing stables. The two wooden buildings were modest in size, one small living suite in front for the owners. It was perched right off the trailway, making it the easiest route in and the quickest escape out of the city. That left the three of us beneath a flickering tealight in the street, waiting for her return. The wind bristled against our skin like a warning, sending goosebumps flaring across my cheeks. Even Mark felt it, cold tracing a sharp line of tremors along his neck as winter continued to bite.

I leaned into his back, bringing my lips close to his ear.

“You were much better behaved in the human world, Mark,” I whispered. “Now tell me, who were those friends you made back there? They were very ill-mannered.” My breath ghosted across his cheek, low and deliberate, like a threat dressed as a secret. He jerked his shoulder, trying to break my grip.

Useless.