Sevika slammed you against the wall, her forearm pressing hard against your neck, pinning you like prey in the jaws of a predator. The look in her eyes burned—wild and venomous—something you’d only ever seen when she was tearing into enforcers or dealing with someone she utterly despised.

You betrayed her. Tore apart the fragile thread of trust she’d foolishly extended to you. And now, there was no fixing it, no crawling back from a mistake like this. Her anger, her disgust—they were justified. You’d handed her plans over to the council, and because of that, people were dead. Lives snuffed out because you made a choice, and it wasn’t the right one.

“I should’ve known better,” she hissed, leaning in closer, her sneer cutting like a blade. “I was a damn fool to trust you. Enforcers like you are all the same—just mindless little lapdogs for the council, wagging your tails and doing as you’re told without a single thought for the rest of us.”

Her grip tightened briefly, her knuckles white against your collar. For a split second, you thought she might swing, that her frustration would explode into violence. But she didn’t. She stopped herself, though the effort was written across her tense jaw and trembling fist.

Because despite everything, you’d once been different to her. She’d let you see a version of herself she didn’t show to anyone else—one that was vulnerable, maybe even hopeful. But that part of her had been buried now, and you were the one who’d dug the grave.

“Don’t come back down here,” she said coldly, her voice low and lethal. “If I see your face again, I won’t hold back next time. Get out.”