Phil’s eyes flick past me, and his smile turns cold. “Watch it, boy. Remember your place.”
Then his attention returns to me, dismissive and final. “Come quietly,” Phil says, extending one hand. “This little spectacle has gone on long enough. It’s time to stop playing pretend.”
The reasonable tone makes my skin crawl. Because I know what lies underneath it. I remember what reasonable got me in my apartment. What it cost me every day I lived under his roof.
My heart hammers against my ribs so hard I’m sure everyone can hear it. The light at the edges of my vision makes the world feel wrong, tilted, like I’m standing on the deck of a sinking ship.
You don’t have to be unafraid. You just have to stand.
Theo’s words echo in my head, and I cling to them like a lifeline.
“No.” The word comes out barely above a whisper.
Phil’s smile doesn’t waver. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“No.” Louder this time. The Ether swirls higher around my feet. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Something flickers in Phil’s expression. Not anger—amusement.
“Now, Bree. We both know how this ends. You can make it easy on everyone, or…” His gaze shifts to the crowd behind me. “Well. Let’s just say these people have already suffered enough, don’t you think?”
The threat is clear. Comply, or watch him hurt the people I’ve tried to protect.
My vision starts to blur at the edges. The familiar panic rising, threatening to pull me under.
Stand. Just stand.
“Leave them alone,” I manage. “This is between us.”
“Is it?” Phil takes a step forward, onto sanctuary ground. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’ve dragged all these innocent people into your mess. Made them targets.”
Each word is a knife between my ribs. Because he’s not wrong. They are here because of me. In danger because of me.
“That’s enough,” someone says behind me—Rhett, his voice tight with anger.
But Phil doesn’t even glance at him. His focus stays locked on me, like a predator watching his prey.
Zira appears at my side, her presence steady and fierce. “You heard her,” she says, voice cutting through the tension. “She said no.”
Phil’s smile widens as he takes in this new player. “And who might you be?”
“Someone who’s tired of men like you,” Zira replies coolly.
“Adorable,” Phil says, dismissing her with a glance. “But this is business.”
“You were always so dramatic,” he continues conversationally, speaking to me again. “Making everything harder than it needed to be. Remember what I used to tell you about keeping quiet? About being a good tenant?”
I do remember. The cameras. The threats. The way he’d lean too close and breathe alcohol into my face while explaining what would happen if I caused trouble.
The panic claws higher, making it hard to think, hard to focus. The world starts to feel unreal, like I’m watching it happen to someone else.
Phil’s magic hits without warning.
Green light. Pain splitting through my skull. I’m on my knees, gasping.
“There we go,” Phil says. “Much better.”
I try to get up, but the magic makes it impossible to think straight.
