CHAPTER 5

Chapter 5: The Wedge

"You’re eating," Abram said. He reached over and brushed a crumb from the corner of my mouth. "Good. I don't like my things looking like they’re being neglected."

I kept my head down, staring at my plate. I didn't flinch or pull away. I just let the silence sit there until it felt like I was giving in.

"It’s hard to have an appetite in a cage, Abram," I said quietly. "But I guess I should get used to the view."

He laughed—a low, dark sound that seemed to vibrate through the table. "It’s not a cage, Elara. It’s an empire."

He picked up his wine and started tapping a rhythm on his phone with his other hand. I didn't look at him directly. Instead, I watched the reflection in the polished silver of my spoon.

Four. Nine. Two. Six. He usually used his thumb for the sensor, but I’d memorized the backup code. He was getting sloppy. Being on top made men soft; they start thinking they’ve already won.

"The Council is meeting tomorrow," he said, scrolling through messages. "They’re nervous. They think I paid too much for a territory full of rogues and a deadbeat Alpha."

I tilted my head, letting my hair cover my face so he couldn't see the look in my eyes. "Is that what I am to them? A high price?"

Abram set the phone down on the table, screen up. A total rookie mistake. "They don't see what I see. They don't know about the leverage I have now."

He stood up and leaned over me, his shadow completely covering me. He smelled like tobacco and that cold, metallic scent of a man who’d spent his life around weapons. He kissed the top of my head—like he was marking his property—and walked toward the balcony. He left the phone right there on the table.

My heart started thudding against my ribs like a trapped bird. I didn't grab the phone yet. I just stared at it, memorizing the notification bar. Obsidian Group. Port 44. Clearance Alpha.

I stood up and walked to the door, my silk slippers silent on the marble. Vane was standing in the hallway, like he always was. He looked at me, his jaw tightening. Usually, his eyes were cold as ice, but tonight, I saw something else.

Pity.

The big, bad Enforcer felt sorry for the broken girl. Perfect.

"The Master is busy, Elara," Vane said. His voice didn't have its usual bite. "Go back inside."

I stepped closer—way closer than a prisoner should to a guard. I let my lip tremble just a little. I made sure he saw the faint bruise on my neck that Abram had left earlier.

"He’s going to kill me eventually, isn't he?" I whispered. I made my voice sound small and pathetic. "Once he's bored. Once he doesn't need the 'leverage' anymore."

Vane looked away, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his holster. "He doesn't get bored of things he’s been hunting for three years."

"Then I’m just a trophy. A ghost in a blue dress." I reached out and barely touched the leather of his sleeve. "You see everything, Vane. You see what he really is. Tell me... does it ever stop hurting?"

Vane’s eyes snapped back to mine. For a split second, the killer was gone, replaced by a man who clearly hated the leash as much as I did. He didn't say anything, but he didn't pull away either.

I had him. The Enforcer had a crack in his armor, and I was going to jam a knife into it.

I went back into the suite and locked the door. I walked over to the mirror and just stared.

The terrified girl from the village was gone. In her place was something cold and sharp. I traced my jawline, my fingers feeling like they belonged to a stranger. I wasn't Elara Miller anymore. I was a weapon.

I looked at the diamonds around my neck—the literal price tag of my life.

"I'm going to take everything he loves," I whispered to the mirror. "Starting with his mind."