Serena Vale was being watched.
She felt it in the way her uncle's eyes lingered too long at dinner. In the way her father's questions weren't questions at all—they were traps, waiting for her to slip. Even the servants seemed sharper, quieter, like their ears had grown twice as big overnight.
The Vale empire ran on paranoia. Trust no one. Control everything. And now, every move she made felt like a hand tightening around her throat.
She couldn't stop thinking about Aria. The kiss. The cigarette smoke. The word yes breaking from her lips like confession. It burned her awake at night, and it made her reckless by morning.
So she slipped out again.
Aria was waiting by the docks, hood up, hands shoved deep in her pockets. The stink of diesel, fish, and rot clung to the water. Cargo cranes groaned overhead, unloading boxes that probably carried more contraband than actual goods.
"You're late," Aria muttered when Serena came down the pier.
"You didn't even know I was coming," Serena shot back.
Aria smirked, cigarette hanging from her lips. "Yeah, I did."
Serena rolled her eyes, but her chest betrayed her—tightening at the sight of her, relief flooding in. "Why here?"
"Because no one gives a shit at the docks. Nobody cares if I'm talking to some glass-tower girl." She tilted her head. "Unless you're stupid enough to get seen."
Serena bristled. "You think I'm careless?"
"I think you don't know how dirty this city really is," Aria said flatly. "One wrong look, and your family will have my body dumped in the fucking river."
Serena stepped closer, pulse thudding. "Then why are you still meeting me?"
Aria's smirk faltered for just a second. Smoke curled between them. "Because I can't stop."
The words hit Serena like a blade and a balm all at once. She wanted to kiss her again, right here against the rusted railing, let the ocean swallow the sound.
But voices cut through the night.
Serena froze.
Two dockhands rounded the corner, laughing, shoving each other. One of them stopped when his eyes landed on her. His grin spread slow.
"Well, well. What the fuck is a Vale doing down here?"
Aria stiffened. "Keep walking."
The man's grin sharpened. "Didn't know you were slumming it, princess. Daddy know you're down here rubbing elbows with gutter rats?"
Serena's cheeks burned hot with rage and shame. Aria's hand brushed her arm, subtle, grounding.
"Back off," Aria said.
The men laughed, but they moved on, muttering. One of them spat on the ground before turning the corner.
Serena's stomach twisted. "They recognized me."
"Of course they did," Aria muttered. "You glow like a fucking chandelier down here."
"Then why do you keep calling me back?"
Aria turned, eyes sharp. "Because you come back."
The silence after burned hotter than the dock lamps. Serena wanted to scream. She wanted to kiss her. She wanted to run.
Instead, she whispered, "I don't know how to stop."
Aria's smirk softened, almost sad. "That's your problem, princess. You don't know how to stop anything."
The next night, Serena's uncle cornered her in the study.
"Funny thing," he said, pouring himself a drink. "Word on the street is a Vale girl was seen at the docks." He sipped, watching her over the rim of the glass. "Now, I don't believe rumors. But it would be…unfortunate…if they were true."
Serena's chest locked tight. "It wasn't me."
His smile was sharp and empty. "Good. Because if I ever catch you sneaking off again, it won't just be you who pays. Do you understand?"
Her stomach flipped. He wasn't bluffing. If he thought she'd dirtied the family name, Aria wouldn't see another sunrise.
"Yes," Serena forced out.
"Good girl." He patted her cheek like she was a dog, then left.
Serena's hand shook as she gripped the edge of the desk. She wanted to smash his skull against the wood. Instead, she whispered, "Fuck," and tried to breathe.
Across the city, Aria knew something was wrong before she even made it home.
The hall lights were out. The stairwell was too quiet. Her gut twisted. She slipped a blade from her boot and crept up the stairs.
A voice cut out of the dark. "Nice place you've got, Aria."
Her stomach dropped.
Two men stepped out from the shadows, the same ones from the docks. One grinned, slow and mean. "Word is you've been keeping dangerous company. A little Vale bird."
Aria's hand tightened on the knife. "You should mind your own fucking business."
The man's grin widened. "See, that's the thing. Her business is everybody's business. And if her family finds out you've been touching what's theirs…" He leaned in close, breath reeking of cheap liquor. "…you won't be breathing long."
Aria's grip stayed steady, but her heart thudded hard.
The men laughed and backed away, disappearing into the dark as quick as they came.
Aria stood in the stairwell, smoke and blood and fear clinging to her lungs.
For the first time, she realized this wasn't just a dangerous game.
They were already being hunted.