Elira’s lips curled, and I saw her fists clench at her sides.
Vasquez turned his gaze to her, and this time there was no pretence of formality. Just intent. Cold and calculating.
“She needs to understand her place.”
Elira’s eyes narrowed. “And you thinkyou’llteach me that?”
I winced at her defiance.
Gods, this girl is going to get us all killed!
Vasquez’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Oh, I think we’ll understand each other well, in time. I have broken wilder things than you, child.”
Phoenix moved subtly closer, his hand still resting between her shoulder blades, steadying her. I could feel the tension radiating off her like heat—she was seconds from snapping.
Vasquez took one more step, now close enough to reach her if he wanted to. His voice dropped, silken and slow. “You think your power makes you untouchable, but you’ve already been claimed. You belong to the crown now. And through it…” he paused, tilting his head, “…to me.”
“Over my dead body,” Leo muttered.
Vasquez chuckled softly. “That, Captain, can be arranged.”
Elira’s voice came like a whipcrack. “Touch me and I’ll bury you in a shallow grave, right after I piss on your bones.”
The murmurs in the gallery rose again. Whispers. Laughter. A few gasps. Ashton seemed thoroughly entertained.
Vasquez looked affronted by her words. “See?” he said to the king. “So much passion. Such…fire. Let me temper it. Let me make her useful to you.”
“Sheisuseful,” I interjected before I could stop myself, stepping beside her again. “But she’s not a blade to be dulled and mounted on your wall, Vasquez. She’s a storm. And if you mishandle her—”
He turned that withering gaze on me. “You forget your station, Thorne.”
“No,” I said, my voice low. “I remember ittoowell.”
Ashton leaned lazily against his throne, looking between all of us like a man watching dogs fight over scraps. He clapped his hands once, loud and sharp, drawing the room back into stillness.
“Enough. Elira will be trained, but she will not be broken.”
He smiled again. “Yet.
I stepped forward, heart hammering in my chest like it hadn’t in years. Every instinct told me this was the moment—the one I couldn’t afford to stay silent for.
“Your Majesty,” I said, dipping my head just enough to show respect without bowing. “If I may speak.”
Ashton looked amused, tipping his goblet toward his lips. “Always so eager to play the hero, Thorne. Go on.”
I ignored the jab.
“Elira’s power is raw. Wild. And if you want to wield it without losing control of her, you need her stable. She’s not ready to be paraded around like some trained beast.”
Vasquez’s lips twitched, his gaze landing on me like a blade. “You presume to dictate what the King should do with his property?”
I turned my head just slightly toward him—barely a glance—but I made sure he saw the warning in my eyes. “I presume to protect the Crown’s interests. If you leave her with Vasquez, he will destroy her, we both know that. If she panics, we risk her turning that power on us. You want a weapon, not a disaster.”
Ashton said nothing, swirling his wine. Watching. Judging.
I took a breath. “Let her stay with me. I’ll see to her training. My wing is shielded and secure. I’ll monitor her. Keep her focused. Controlled.”
Behind me, I could feel Elira tense, her body like a bowstring about to snap.
