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“Are you looking at yourself right now?” I asked, my voice rising an octave, sharp enough to cut through the thick air as I leaned in. “You’re the only one here wrapped in deadly flames, throwing a tantrum. No one is trying to hurt you.” Stepping forward, our noses nearly brushed. “All I heard was Arianna warning you not to burn her. And that, that, was too much for you? She gave you hospitality. You repaid it with fire?”

In that moment, I knew I was right. No one here had truly intended to harm him. They were trying to keep him contained. Every one of them saw it: he was reckless, and they wanted him restrained, not punished.

Well… except maybe me.

That much I couldn’t deny. He had been grating on my nerves since the moment I stepped into the clearing, wearing everyone thin like a child daring someone to discipline him. It took everything in me not to dominate him, to force the respect he so clearly demanded. My rational side, the one I kept chained to my spine, still whispered for patience. To be sure. That maybe this wasn’t betrayal, but a misunderstanding.

Still… after everything? After faking his own death?

I wouldn’t put anything past him anymore.

Silence brewed between us, thick and suffocating. Mark’s lips remained locked, his gaze cutting toward Arianna at the mere mention of her name, his mouth curling with unspoken bitterness. It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke.

And it wasn’t the truth I had demanded.

“You’d rather I let them drag me, then?” he asked at last, his voice cold enough to frost the air. Flames coiled tighter around his wrists, heat pulsing outward in sharp waves. Sparks snapped between us, landing against my tunic, tiny embers searing holes into the fabric like warnings.

Glancing at the burn marks, my jaw tightened.

Behind me, Kleitos let out a low growl at the sight of flames aimed in my direction. His fury pressed against my back like a shield ready to strike. I lifted a hand, subtle, but commanding. A silent order for him to stand down. Not yet. “No,” I said evenly. “I want answers. That’s what you owe me.” My tone sharpened, unwavering. “I won’t play your game, and I won’t let you twist this around. Stop speaking in circles.” I met his eyes. “I’m only going to say this once, put out your flames. Or I will have Arianna make good on her promise.” The words landed heavy. Mark’s gaze faltered, rage flickering into something else. For a heartbeat, his expression collapsed, betrayal, then sorrow, before fury surged back into place.

His lips parted, stunned, before snapping shut into a tight, bitter line. “You feel so grown,” he sneered, shaking his head. “Like you’ve got it all figured out.” His eyes cut to Kleitos, venomous. “I did this for you. I changed for you. And this is how you repay me? By running into a demon’s arms?” The flames dimmed, but his voice flared hotter. “You’re so ungrateful.”

My head tilted slightly. Me? Ungrateful?

Was I supposed to feel thankful that he vanished, only to return unannounced like a gift I never asked for? That I should smile and nod while the forest I trained in still smoldered from his tantrum? I must’ve missed the part where destruction equaled devotion. Every move he’d made stemmed from the same pitiful place: fear. Fear of being replaced. And instead of standing firm like someone with a spine, he always ran. He couldn’t take accountability for the hurt, or for the role he played in this chaos.

Even as a child, I hadn’t had the words for it.

Now, I saw it clearly.

This man was fear incarnate—dressed up as control, held together by the fragile glue of his ego.

And I was meant to be grateful?

Silence pressed in again, heavy as stone. Beneath the shimmer of the dome’s sapphire glow, the air felt wrong, too still. Too false. I glanced at the barrier, then back at him. His flames had dwindled to a faint whisper of heat.

“Ungrateful,” I echoed, my voice soft now, dangerously so.

He’d finally managed to distract me, to pull me away from my own questions and force my focus somewhere else entirely. Mark had shifted the conversation into something far more corrosive than disobedience. And it tore at me in ways I hadn’t expected, because I was grateful. For everything he’d given me. For the years we’d shared.

But we’d lost that over the last year. Slowly. Quietly. And what exactly did he expect my reaction to be now? If he thought guilt would make me fold, he wouldn’t like where this was headed. Stepping closer, my chest hovered an inch from his, crowding his space. Without ceremony, my hand snapped forward, fingers gripping the collar of his tunic with rough finality.

Then I yanked.

My father’s body lurched as I dragged him across the snow, boots carving furrows through powder and ice. Dirt sprayed behind him as I hauled him straight through the barrier, then released my grip. He crashed face-first into the snow with a dull, final thud.

Arianna followed as we stepped beyond the safety of her dome. Her voice rose into a ritual chant, spoken in a language I didn’t recognize. Violet light shimmered in her eyes as smoke curled from her hands, flashing white when she turned back toward the cottage and drove the energy into the barrier. The sapphire dome rippled, shuddering against the terrain. For a brief moment, the snow beneath our feet stirred, as if something beneath the surface had exhaled. “Since you have kin in the city,” she called, her voice ringing with raw power, “how about you stay there.”

The word kin slammed into me like an alarm bell. It ricocheted through my skull, setting every instinct screaming. “What do you mean he has family?” I demanded, snapping my head toward her.

She didn’t answer me right away. Instead, her gaze dropped to Mark, still sprawled in the snow,now staring at me like I’d just shattered the ground beneath his feet. Arianna lifted her boot, heel aimed squarely at his chest. He rolled at the last second, narrowly avoiding the strike.

He scrambled upright, turning his back like he was ready to run.

But Arianna was faster.

She seized him by the scruff of his neck, claws digging deep enough that blood bloomed beneath her fingers. “Ah, no,” she murmured into his ear. “You don’t get to just leave.” Even from here, I saw the hair along his neck bristle at her words. Then, with one sharp twist, she yanked him back around to face me. “Try that fire shit again,” Arianna growled low, “and I’ll break your fucking neck.”