The silver blade gleamed under the harsh fluorescent light, a chilling contrast to the sterile metal table.

Vivienne traced a manicured nail along the edge, smiling faintly at Aria. “Pretty, isn’t it? Simple, elegant, effective. Just like truth.”

Aria swallowed hard, forcing herself to sit taller. “If you think you’re going to scare me into talking, you’re wasting your time. I don’t know anything.”

Vivienne tilted her head, her smile widening. “Oh, I believe you. For now.” Her eyes flicked to Damien. “But he knows everything. And he’ll let you bleed before he gives me a single word.”

Aria’s breath caught, her gaze darting to Damien. He didn’t flinch, didn’t move. He just sat chained to the table, his expression carved from stone.

Vivienne leaned closer to Aria, her perfume rich and suffocating. “So the question is, how much will you endure before you stop protecting a man who would never do the same for you?”

“Stop it,” Damien snapped, his voice cutting like steel. “She’s not part of this.”

Vivienne’s laughter was soft, mocking. “Oh, Damien. That’s where you’re wrong. She’s part of this. She’s leverage, she’s a distraction, she’s a weakness. And you gave her to me the moment you walked into that bar.”

Aria’s hands clenched in her lap. “I’m not anyone’s weakness.”

Vivienne arched a brow, intrigued. “Oh? Then prove it.” She nudged the blade toward her. “Take it. Cut him. Show me you’re not a pawn.”

Aria recoiled. “What? No!”

Vivienne’s voice dropped to a purr. “Do it, darling. Or I will.”

She reached for the knife, her long fingers closing around the hilt.

Damien’s chains rattled violently as he lurched forward, gray eyes blazing. “Vivienne, don’t you dare”

“Or what?” she asked, lifting the blade just enough for the light to catch on the sharp edge. “You’ll glare at me until I drop dead?”

Aria’s pulse thundered. The room was too small, too suffocating, the air thick with tension. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but her body stayed rooted to the chair.

“Why are you doing this?” she demanded. “What do you even want?”

Vivienne’s eyes locked on hers, dark and burning. “I want Damien to suffer. And nothing hurts him more than losing someone he tries to protect.”

Aria froze. The meaning hit her like a blow.

Damien spoke through gritted teeth. “Leave her out of this. Your war is with me.”

Vivienne smirked, lowering the blade but not releasing it. “Everything is with you. Always has been. Always will be. But she” Her gaze slid back to Aria. “She makes it more interesting.”

The door clanged open suddenly, breaking the standoff. Two guards stormed in, eyes on Vivienne. “Ms. Cross, we’ve been ordered to”

“Not now!” she snapped, eyes flashing.

The taller guard shifted uneasily. “It’s urgent. The Council wants him transferred immediately.” He nodded at Damien.

Aria blinked. “Council?”

Damien’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

Vivienne’s eyes narrowed, calculating. Then, with a slow smile, she set the knife back on the table and rose gracefully. “Fine. But this isn’t over.” She leaned down close to Aria, her lips grazing her ear as she whispered, “He’ll destroy you, darling. I’m just deciding whether to let you realize it slowly or quickly.”

Shivers raced down Aria’s spine, but she didn’t move until Vivienne swept out, the guards trailing after her. The door slammed shut, leaving silence in her wake.

Aria exhaled shakily, pressing her palms against the cold table. “What the hell was that?”

Damien’s eyes met hers, raw and stormy. “A warning.”

“No,” she shot back, anger spiking through her fear. “That was personal. She hates you. She wants to break you. And she’s going to use me to do it. Why me, Damien? Why am I in this?”

For a moment, he didn’t answer. Then, finally, he leaned back, his cuffs clinking softly. “Because you saw me.”

Her brow furrowed. “That’s it? That’s all?”

“You looked at me like I wasn’t a ghost.” His voice was low, rough. “And in my world, that’s dangerous.”

Aria’s chest tightened. “That’s not fair. I didn’t ask for this.”

“I know,” he said, his gaze dropping. “But now you’re in it. And I can’t protect you if you don’t listen to me.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “Protect me? You can’t even protect yourself.”

His head lifted sharply, his eyes flashing. “You think I’m weak? That I’m at their mercy?” He leaned forward, chains rattling as his voice dropped into a deadly whisper. “The only reason you’re still breathing, Aria, is because I’m letting them believe they’re in control.”

Her breath caught, her defiance faltering. There was something in his voice, something terrifying and undeniable power, barely leashed.

Before she could respond, the door opened again. This time, it wasn’t Vivienne or guards. It was a man in a tailored black suit, his silver hair slicked back, his presence commanding.

The guards stiffened.

“Mr. Blackwood,” the man said smoothly. “You’re coming with me. The Council is waiting.”

Aria frowned. “And me?”

The man’s eyes lingered on her, sharp and assessing. “You’ll come too. They’re very curious about you.”

Damien’s shoulders tensed. “No.”

The man’s smile was thin. “You don’t have a choice.”

The guards moved forward, unshackling Damien only to cuff his hands tighter. Aria was pulled roughly to her feet. She struggled, panic rising. “Where are you taking us?”

The man’s eyes glinted. “To decide your fate.”

As they were dragged from the room, Aria’s eyes met Damien’s and in that moment, she realized he wasn’t afraid of the Council at all. He was afraid of what he might do to them.

The hallway stretched endlessly, lined with glass panels that reflected Aria’s pale face at her with every step. The guards’ grips on her arms were like iron, leaving bruises she’d feel later. Damien walked ahead, his stride steady despite the chains, his presence filling the space as if he were leading instead of being dragged.

Aria’s heart pounded. “Damien,” she whispered, breathless. “Who are these people?”

He didn’t look back, but his voice carried. “The Council. Old money. Old power. Families that built empires in shadows and pulled governments down when it suited them.”

One of the guards barked, “Quiet.”

Aria ignored him, her voice sharper. “And they want you dead?”

Damien gave the faintest smile. “They’ve wanted me dead since the day I was born.”

Her stomach twisted. “Then why bring me?”

He glanced over his shoulder, his gray eyes meeting hers. For a fleeting moment, there was no mask, no steel. Just something raw, dangerous, and unsettlingly human. “Because you make me unpredictable.”

The words lodged in her chest, confusing, terrifying. She opened her mouth to answer, but the guards shoved them forward through massive double doors.

The chamber inside was unlike anything she’d seen: a vast, circular room lined with high-backed chairs, each occupied by a figure cloaked in shadow. The air buzzed with power, with judgment.

Aria’s pulse stuttered. She wasn’t just in danger anymore. She was standing in the lion’s den.

“Damien Blackwood,” a voice boomed from the shadows. “And his companion.”

The word dripped with disdain, making her skin crawl.

The Council leader leaned forward into the lightand Aria’s blood ran cold when she saw his face. She knew him.

Aria’s breath snagged in her throat. That face. It shouldn’t have been here, shouldn’t have been tied to Damien’s world, but she knew it. Recognition struck so hard her knees nearly buckled.

She forced her expression blank, terrified that if Damien saw the flicker of shock in her eyes, he’d askand she didn’t have an answer that would make sense.

Damien’s gaze cut toward her anyway, sharp and questioning. He didn’t miss anything. “Aria?” he murmured, low enough for only her to hear.

She shook her head quickly, clutching her hands together under the table to keep them from trembling. “Nothing,” she whispered. “I don’t I don’t know him.”

A lie. A shaky, fragile lie.

The leader’s cold eyes swept over her, pausing just long enough to make her skin crawl, before shifting to Damien. “The Council has waited long enough for this reckoning.”

Aria sat rigid, heart pounding, her secret pressing against her ribs like a blade. Whoever this man truly was, he wasn’t just Damien’s enemy was part of her past to

She prayed Damien couldn’t see the truth written all over her face. Because if he did, everything between them would shatter.