Aurelia stood at the head of the table. Her magic flared, swirling in the air as she studied the angles of the trap. "I can thaw her," she said. "But only enough to let her speak. The shell is keeping her power locked down."
Zaden leaned in. "Don’t let her out. Not all the way."
Aurelia nodded, lips pressed flat. She sprinkled more salt, muttered under her breath, then closed her eyes. Her hands hovered above Vivienne’s head, fingers splayed wide. The power in the room thickened. Heat and cold layered together, buzzing against my skin. Bryce stirred, watching from the safety of my arms.
The shell began to melt, top down, peeling away from Vivienne’s face. Her skin took on a sickly blue cast, eyes rolled back at first, then snapping open in a blink.
For a second, she just stared at us, registering the circle, the blood, the presence of the whole family.
When she spoke, it was not the smooth, friendly tone she used at the bar. It was sharp, stripped bare of all masks.
"You idiots," she hissed, testing her restraints. "You have no idea what you’re doing. Male dragon-born witches are extinct. Your son. Do you know what he could become?"
Zaden scowled, muscles standing out in his jaw. "Alive. Happy. That’s all we want."
Vivienne ignored him, turning her attention to Aurelia. "Think of the magical theory. The power in his bloodline. We could write new laws of magical hierarchy. Don’t you see? His existence changes everything."
Aurelia stepped back, arms folding. "You stole from a child. That’s not research. That’s predation."
The charge in the room was instantaneous. Ashton’s face went stone cold. Erin stepped closer to Zaden, putting her body between Vivienne and the rest of us. Even Drake showed up at the door, bristling.
Vivienne didn’t flinch. "He produces more resonance in a day than most witches in a month. It would have burned off in his sleep, wasted. I was just harvesting the excess."
I stepped forward, one hand on Bryce’s shoulder. His grip went tight, but I kept my own calm. "You violated my son. You took from him by force. You lied to us and covered your own needs. If Zaden hadn’t trusted his instincts—" I let the words hang, swallowing the rest. "He was right all along," I said. I looked Zaden right in the eye, letting the rest of the room hear it too. "You were right about her. I should have listened."
For a moment, there was only the sound of Bryce’s breathing.
Ashton broke the silence. "Zaden, I should have trusted your judgment. I failed you, and I failed your son."
Vivienne rolled her eyes, the movement cold and reptilian. "Go ahead. Play the noble clan. But you’re wasting a gift. You could be legends?—"
Aurelia cut her off, sharp as a blade. "No one here wants to be a legend. We want our family safe."
The group fell into debate. Zaden wanted banishment. Drake voted for magical imprisonment. Something slow, something ironclad. Erin said Vivienne should be forced to live like thehumans she scorned. Ashton threw every punishment on the table. Mind-wipe, permanent binding, excommunication.
It went around for a few minutes, the noise growing until my head ached with it all. Bryce just huddled closer, face buried in my shirt.
Then Aurelia’s phone buzzed.
She checked the message, face shifting from annoyance to shock. "Eleanor’s on her way. ETA five minutes."
Vivienne flinched for the first time. "No. Not her."
Ashton smirked. "Scared?"
"She’ll destroy everything I’ve worked for—" Vivienne’s words cut off as the shell re-formed over her mouth, silencing her.
We waited. The ritual room felt suspended, even the air unmoving. I held Bryce until my arms went numb, but I wouldn’t put him down. Not until this was finished.
Five minutes went by. Then the manor’s door creaked, and Eleanor swept in, cardigan over silk pajamas, hair in a tight knot, and eyes two chips of ice.
She took one look at Vivienne, the table, the mess of salt and blood, and said, "Get rid of her magic."
Aurelia arched a brow. "You sure?"
"Do it clean. No risk, no comeback. She doesn’t deserve a drop, not after what she did to my grandson."
Oh, now he was her grandson. Well, maybe she'd seen the error of her ways. I could hope.
