Aria didn't sleep.
She sat on the edge of her shitty mattress, knife still in hand, staring at the door like the two men might kick it in any second. Her cigarette burned to the filter. The smoke made her eyes sting, but she didn't blink.
They knew.
Not everything, not yet. But enough.
The second they'd said Vale, Aria knew she'd fucked up. She should've cut Serena loose the first night. Let her glitter in her glass tower while Aria rotted in her gutter. But she hadn't. And now the wrong eyes were on her.
Stupid, she told herself. You're gonna get her killed. Or yourself.
She finally shoved the knife under her pillow and laid back, but her chest wouldn't loosen. Every creak of the pipes made her jolt. Every car passing outside felt like headlights aimed straight through her ribs.
By dawn she hadn't closed her eyes once.
Serena Vale sat through breakfast like a statue.
Her father barely spoke, but her uncle watched her like a hawk. He always did. Today, though, the weight of it pressed harder, like he already knew.
"You're pale," he said casually, buttering bread. "Rough night?"
Serena forced her voice even. "Didn't sleep."
"Why?" He looked up, eyes sharp. "What kept you awake?"
Her throat threatened to close. She reached for her water. "Business on my mind."
Her uncle's smirk curved. "Good. As it should be. Because if I find out you're wasting your nights… I'll make sure whoever's wasting them with you disappears."
Her father didn't flinch, didn't correct him. He just kept cutting his bread.
Serena's nails dug into her thigh under the table until they nearly broke skin. She smiled like she always did. "Understood."
But her chest screamed.
That night, she slipped out anyway.
Every step down the service hall felt heavier than the last. Every camera she ducked, every guard she avoided, her skin burned hotter. She told herself to turn back. To stop being stupid. To let Aria burn alone.
But she didn't.
The city air hit her lungs like poison and freedom all at once. She kept walking.
Aria was waiting in the back of a half-dead bar, hood pulled low, a bottle sweating in front of her. She looked up as Serena slid into the booth.
"You're insane," Aria said flatly. "You know they're watching you."
Serena's pulse hammered. "You texted me."
"Yeah. To tell you to stay the fuck away."
"Then why are you here?"
Aria's mouth curved bitter. "Because I'm worse at staying away than you are."
Silence. The jukebox in the corner crackled through a sad old blues song. A drunk muttered curses at his glass. The world kept moving like none of it mattered.
Serena leaned in, low. "They threatened you, didn't they?"
Aria's jaw ticked. "Doesn't matter."
"The hell it doesn't."
"They were just trying to scare me."
"Did it work?" Serena asked.
Aria met her eyes. For once, there was no smirk, no mask—just something raw, shaky, almost human.
"Yeah," she said finally. "It fucking worked."
Serena's throat clenched. She reached across the table, fingers brushing Aria's hand. Aria didn't pull away, but she didn't close the gap either.
"This is gonna get us both killed," Aria muttered.
Serena's voice came out rough. "Then I guess we die."
For a second—just a second—they let the silence swallow it. Their hands stayed almost touching. Their eyes burned into each other.
And then the bar door opened.
Two men stepped in. Same cheap suits. Same sharp eyes. Dockhands? No. Worse. Hired muscle.
They scanned the room. One smirked.
"Fuck," Aria hissed, yanking her hood lower. "We're burned."
Serena's chest locked.
The men started walking toward their booth.
Aria slid out first, blocking Serena from view. Her hand brushed Serena's thigh under the table, sharp and quick. Don't move.
The men stopped at the edge of the booth. "Evening, ladies." Their smiles didn't touch their eyes. "Funny place for a Vale to be slumming."
Serena froze.
Aria lit a cigarette slow, blowing smoke in their faces. "You're lost. Get the fuck out."
The men laughed. "Lost? No. We're exactly where we need to be."
One of them leaned closer, voice dropping. "Tell your family to keep its dog on a leash. Or we'll do it for them."
Aria's knife was in her hand before Serena even saw her move. The blade pressed against the man's gut under the table.
"Try it," she whispered, eyes like steel. "See what happens."
The man's grin didn't fade. He just looked past her, straight at Serena. "Be careful who you keep company with, princess. Some rats aren't worth burning down a kingdom for."
He stepped back. The two of them left as calmly as they'd entered.
Serena realized her nails had drawn blood in her palms.
Aria flicked ash into the empty glass, pretending her hand wasn't shaking.
"This city's not gonna let us have this," she said quietly. "Not for free."
Serena's chest ached. "Then we don't pay."
Aria's laugh was low, bitter. "That's not how it works."
Before Serena could argue, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen—and felt ice in her veins.
Uncle: My office. Now.
She looked up at Aria, panic sharp in her throat. "They know."
Aria crushed out her cigarette, eyes hard. "Then run, princess. Run before they make me disappear."