POV: Aria
"Name?" His words cut through the stress in the room like a knife through silk.
I blinked quickly because I knew this was dangerous ground. I smiled anyway. I'm done if I tell him the truth. I might be able to live a little longer if I lie.
Luca: "Name?" as he leans in closer and his eyes burn into mine.
Aria says, "Selene" with a small, rehearsed smile.
Luca laughs grimly and says, "Pretty name." "The way you see me doesn't fit."
(His eyes move slowly over me, like a hunter circling its prey.)
"Silk is not worn by predators."
Aria: "Kings don't either... unless they're hiding scars."
It's quiet. The kind that wraps around your ribs. His smirk falters for just a heartbeat, and I know I struck something raw.)
The private room hummed with low music and muted laughing from below. Aerial strands of cigarette smoke flowed through the golden light, but the air between us was more charged and sharp. Luca leaned against the shiny wood bar and held a whiskey glass. I sat on the edge of the leather stool.
We were only a breath apart. Every word was like a chess move that could lead to death.
"Scars?" Why do you think I have any?"
(Aria's voice gets lower and her eyes get narrow) "Everyone who rules does." Some people put them on their skin. "Some bury them in silence."
I see his jaw clench. Reading to him is not fun. Okay. (Keep him off balance.)
"How about you?" Selene, what kind are you? The quiet one… or the scarred one?"
Aria: "The kind who survives," she whispers as she leans forward.
His eyes get darker. The air between us changes for a split second, and it's no longer just danger. It's something heavy. The desire is strong, but hesitant. It hurts to eat. This is not right. He is the bad guy. Still, the way he looks at me makes me feel like he's removing layers that I've been putting on for years.
Luca says with another grin that hides something darker, "Survivors lie well."
"And kings believe lies when they want to," Aria said with a half-smile.
"You think I want to believe you?" Luca asks as he moves closer.
Aria: "You already do," she said, holding his gaze as her heart beat fast.
For a long time, we're stuck in a storm that neither of us agrees on. His hand touches the edge of his glass, but all he can think about is me. It's like I'm the one drink he wants but can't have.
Luca says in a sharp voice, "You're not one of mine." Not from my world. "No one knows you."
(His voice gets rougher, and every word sounds suspicious.)
"Selene, will you tell me who sent you?"
I can't breathe. He's more like the truth than I thought. I'm sure he can hear my heart beating so fast. Panic starts to spread for a moment. But then gut feeling. I tilt my head and smile in a sneaky way.
Aria: "Perhaps I sent myself."
Luca: "No one walks into my den without a reason." He laughs once, but not at all. Unless they have a secret, no one looks me in the eye like you do.
He lifts his hand slowly and carefully, and a hair falls off my face. I try not to flinch even though his fingers are burning my skin. He's trying me out. Follow me. There is a part of me that wants to let him catch me.
Ariel asks in a soft, close voice, "What if the secret is you?"
(That surprises him. His eyes show something raw for a half second: maybe he's feeling lonely or guilty. After that, the mask falls. His smile gets so sharp that it could kill you.
In a whisper, Luca said, "Be careful, Selene." Too good at this game... "You'll never leave it alive."
His words make me cold, but there's also heat beneath them. Something he didn't say that scares me more than his threats is the thought that I might not want to leave.
Aria: "Maybe I don't want to leave," she said, pulling back a little to hide her fears.
I can't stop the truth from coming out. My chest gets tight. I can't tell if his eyes are red from anger or desire. But I've crossed a line now, and both of us know it.)
"Then you're either the bravest woman I've ever met... or the most foolish," Luca says with a slow, sly smile.
Aria smiles back, even though my hands are shaking in my lap. "Sometimes... they're the same thing."
His eyes briefly move to my lips. It hurts to breathe. Not at all. This is not right. I swore I would kill this man. The person who has the power to make everything bad. Still, why does my body lie to me every time he looks at me this way?
"You're dangerous, Selene," Luca says in a rougher, more personal voice.
Aria: "And you like it," she said in a whisper.
"For a heartbeat, it's just us in the world." We're almost touching as his hand stays close to mine. There is an unmistakable spark that jumps. I need to back off. (I don't.)
Afterwards, an explosion.
The windows break. The whiskey glass in Luca's hand breaks when a bullet goes by.
Aria: "What the hell?" she gasped and ducked low.
Luca grabbed my arm and pushed me behind the bar, saying, "Stay down!"
It's a mess. More loud, sharp gunshots cut through the air. Shouts can be heard below. Luca's men scramble and draw their guns. My heart beats fast with fear and energy.
Aria yelled over the noise, her heart racing, "They're here for you!"
Luca growls and checks his gun. "No," he says. "They're here for us."
He looks right into my eyes and gives me a look that makes me feel ice cold. He knows. He knows I'm not who I said I was. While guns are firing, I'm hit with the truth: this night has gone from dangerous to deadly.
Luca's firm grip on my hand as he pulls me toward the back exit is the last thing I see before the room fills with smoke and screams.
His words cut through the chaos like a knife:
Luca told Selene, "You're not going to leave my side." "Not until I know the real you."
Fireworks. Smoke. The thread of my secret is thin.