“Nice performance,” she says, voice cutting. “Really sold that vision. Did Alexander script your lines for you, or have you convinced yourself they’re true?”
I turn slowly, fingers lingering at the collar. She leans against the door, blocking my only exit. The vanity lights cast her features in harsh relief, like someone wearing my sister’s skin, but not my sister at all.
“At least I’m doing something meaningful with my life. How’s your little rebellion going? Still playing detective while pretending to be Dom’s perfect fiancée?”
“Luna, I don’t even recognize you anymore.” Aria’s voice is raw in a way that scrapes at old, unhealed places.
“Maybe you never really saw me, or just liked me small and contained. The silent sister, always two steps behind. But I’m not in your shadow anymore, Aria. I’m building something that matters, more than you ever did, and you can’t stand it.”
“You think I’m jealous?” Her eyes flare. “Luna, I’m terrified for you.”
“Spare me.” I wave her off, venom coating every syllable. “How’s the engagement going? Did Dom let you pick the centerpieces, or does he script your vows too?”
“It’s not what you think—”
“No?” I slice in. “I didn’t think you were this stupid. Letting him leash you like some pretty little prize. Aria Ellis, once the Academy’s golden girl, now just another Blackwood trophy.”
Her face hardens. “And I never thought you’d be stupid enough to let Alexander use that brilliant mind of yours to experiment on humans. Those aren’t lab rats, Luna. They’re people!”
“We’re helping them! Advancing humanity! You’re too blinded by your paranoid delusions about Alexander to see it.”
“Delusions?” She steps forward. “He killed our parents, Luna.”
“You have no proof! I’m so sick of this conspiracy theory. Our parents died in an accident. The only person twisting anything is you.”
She’s shaking now. “Those people you’re recruiting aren’t test subjects, they’re desperate. They don’t understand what they’re agreeing to.”
“They’re signing up for a better future.” I start gathering my things, hands trembling despite my fury. “You want to throw your life away chasing some self-indulgent crusade? Go ahead. But don’t you dare pretend it’s for me.”
“Luna, please—”
“We’re finished.” I reach for the door. “You’ve made your choice, I’ve made mine. If you want to speak to me again, file a request through Alexander’s office like everyone else.”
“This isn’t you,” she whispers.
I turn back one last time, letting her see the conviction in my eyes. The fracture that will never mend. “No, Aria. This is exactly who I am. Who I’ve always been. You just never bothered to look past yourself long enough to notice.”
The door closes with a final click, leaving us on opposite sides of a divide that won’t be crossed. Both believing we’re right. Both knowing there’s no common ground left to find.
Alexander is waiting by the car as promised. He doesn’t ask why I took so long, just opens the door and lets me slip inside.
I fold into the seat, and the city glides past in shimmering silence, but all I feel is fire in my chest. Fury not just at Aria’s self-righteous accusations, but at what Dominic Blackwood has done to her. He’s made her weak and pathetic.
It’s almost poetic. While she wastes her time chasing conspiracies and planning her farce of a wedding, I’m finally stepping into the spotlight she always hogged. Showing everyone that the quiet sister, the afterthought, is the one who will change history.
The dressing room mirrorsplinters my reflection, each fragment revealing another version of the lie I’m meant to perform. The dress they’ve chosen is blood red—because of course it is. Everything leads back to blood now. Blood magic. Blood rubies. The Blackwood name etched into my future like a scar that refuses to close.
My ruby throbs against my throat, wild and erratic, echoing the chaos in my chest. Luna’s words still hang in the air, sharp and final. I didn’t recognize her, maybe I never really knew her at all.
The walls of the dressing room seem to constrict, the air thickening with every breath. I haven’t slept or eaten. Can’t stop replaying the way Luna’s eyes sparked when she spoke ofsacrificeandprogresslike they were gospel. My brilliant little sister, recast into something weaponized and ravenous.
The ring on my finger glints beneath the lights, a polished reminder of everything I’ve forfeited. The band presses into my skin as if it’s trying to brand me and mark me as Blackwood property.
“Miss Ellis?” An assistant appears in the doorway, clutching aglass. “Your water?”
I take a small sip and the words lash out before I can soften them, “I said room temperature.” Sweat prickles at the base of my neck. “This is freezing. Do you want my voice cracking while we are live?”
The girl recoils. “I’m sorry, I’ll—”
