“She’s going to come back. Try again.”
“She will.”
Vi finally looks at me. “And then what? Will you let me take care of business? Because you know I can.”
I step closer, until there’s barely any space between us. “Wewill deal with her. Permanently.”
Her throat moves as she swallows. “You’ll kill her.”
“If we have to.”
“Just because she threatened me?”
“Just because she threatened what’s ours,” I correct.
Vi stares at me for a long moment. Then she exhales shakily and looks away. “Not sure I like being something people fight over.”
“Then stop thinking of yourself as something,” I say. “You’re not property. You’re not a prize. You’re bound. Protected. Ours. That’s not the same thing.”
“Feels the same.”
“It’s not.”
She pushes off the wall, steps into my space. Close enough I can smell sweat and something faintly floral on her skin. “Then what am I?”
“Irreplaceable.” The word lands between us like a stone in still water.
She searches my face, looking for the lie. She won’t find it. “You really believe that,” she whispers.
“Yes.”
Her hand comes up slowly, fingers brushing my cheek. Just... touching. Like she’s testing whether I’m real.
“The older woman,” she says. “The one with the scar. She keeps looking at me.”
I stiffen slightly. “What about her?”
“She knows something.” Vi’s gaze sharpens.
“Leave it alone.”
“Why?”
“Because digging gets people killed,” I say. “You know that.”
“I’m not digging,” Vi counters. “And she’s just watching. Waiting. Like she wants to say something but doesn’t know if she can trust me.”
I step back, putting space between us. “Even if she doesknow something, it doesn’t matter. Your father is dead. The Favor is gone. You need to let it go.”
“I have let it go,” she says. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t still want to know the truth.”
“The truth won’t change anything.”
“Maybe not.” Her voice hardens. “But it’s mine.”
Before I can respond, footsteps echo down the corridor.
Sting appears first, coat already half off, eyes scanning the alcove. Rogue follows, mask in hand, expression unreadable.
