"Wait, you wanna kiss me?"
The words left her mouth low, heavy, like the last drag of a cigarette.
Sae sat cross legged on Kaezren's shitty single bed, springs whining every time she shifted. A lazy sphynx sprawled across her lap, purring like it owned her. Traitor.
Kaezren's knee brushed her shin. He shrugged, casual, except for his fingers pinching the blanket like it was an anchor.
"For luck," he said, voice roughened, almost steady. "Call it… farewell blessing."
Sae stroked the cat's bare head, nails dragging slow until it rolled, belly up, purr growing louder.
Her chest. Louder. She tilted her chin at him, smirk curved sharp. "We're friends, Rey. You sure you can stop at a kiss?"
His mouth opened. Closed. Those red eyes sparked, caffeine stung, exhausted. "I can behave," he rasped. "If you tell me to."
She pressed her palm flat on the cat's chest to hold it still, leaned in closer. Close enough to count flecks of gold swimming in his eyes. Her pulse slammed wild against bone. Do it. Don't. Screw it…
"Kissing a girl in a stolen hoodie," she breathed, mint and stale coffee on her tongue, "kinda sounds cliché, huh?"
"Most clichés survive 'cause they feel good to repeat."
Silence stretched tight. Only the laptop fan ticking, rain dripping outside in some forgotten gutter.
Sae tilted her head, lips hovering one heartbeat away. He smelled of faint aftershave, solder, new plastic. "One rule," she whispered, word trembling against her will. "I pull back when I say."
His answer was barely breath. "Deal."
He moved first, slow, careful, like she might break. Their mouths touched, just a brush, but heat jolted through her veins like wires sparking live.
Goosebumps rose sharp along her neck. Not just a kiss. Felt like a mark carved into blood.
She kissed back, harder. Testing. The cat sighed, shifting weight against her stomach, tugging her top down.
Her hair slipped, strands of blue red grazing Kaezren's cheek. His breath caught. His hand lifted, stopped, hovered, asking.
She gave the smallest nod. Fingers slid along her jaw, down the back of her neck, warm even through the fabric.
She kissed him again, mouth parting a fraction, stealing the bitter taste of coffee and exhaustion. Want screamed louder. But rules, slow.
Take my breath, she thought, tongue flicking once before retreating. He groaned low, frustration leaking through the sound. Their foreheads pressed, both breathing shallow.
"Still friends?" His voice cracked, hope bleeding with guilt.
She closed her eyes, let her smile cut crooked. "Friends who kiss too damn good," she murmured. "Lucky for you I'm generous tonight."
He laughed, rough, broken. "Your generosity's gonna ruin me."
"Not yet." She shifted the cat aside, stood. Knees a little shaky, but her swagger covered it. Snatching the towel, she flicked her hair over her shoulder, shot him a look sharp enough to slice.
"Save the rest for the rooftop. If you last that long."
Challenge. His smirk answered, but the way his knuckles whitened on his knee screamed how thin his leash was.
Sae slipped toward the bathroom, heartbeat still drumming wild in her throat. Too close. Way too close.
Yet her lips tingled, burning with the ghost of him. She pressed her hand to her mouth, stifling the laugh bubbling up.
Outside, the world wanted her captured, caged. Inside, behind this cracked wooden door, she'd tasted something else. Freedom, messy and dangerous. Sweet as hell.
Let them chase Neyra. Saelyn was busy deciding if one kiss was ever gonna be enough.
The back of her hand still pressed against her mouth, breath ragged, lips hot. In the mirror, her own smirk stared back. mean, crooked, like it knew too much.
"Damn," she muttered, eyes narrowing at the reflection. "What kinda friends kiss like that, huh?"
Tongue clicked sharp, laugh breaking out half by accident. Water pattered from the showerhead, steady drip masking the riot inside her chest.
She tugged her top off, jerky, rushed. cotton caught at her elbow when the vibration buzzed low in her jeans pocket. Not the usual hum. Different. Heavy.
"…shit."
Her hand dove in, pulled out the small brick of a phone. Scuffed edges, screen scratched, looked like some old burner pulled out a grave.
But the weight? Cold, layered, too clean to be harmless. Not hers. Not supposed to be hers. Daddy's little toy.
She held it like it might bite. Like poison wrapped in silver. Couldn't be traced, couldn't be called. One way street. Her street. Power's mine, cabrón.
Screen blinked once. Not a call. Not a text. A feed. Live.
"Don't play me…" Her teeth cut into her bottom lip as her thumb slid across.
Grainy black and white spilled open, hallway of the mansion. Familiar walls, familiar shine. The camera tilted, focused. Two men in the frame.
One, her father. Suit sharp, jaw locked, the kind of presence that made air bow.
Beside him, Rhazen. Big frame eating the shot, eyes lit with that cold fire, like he could burn through the lens straight to her skin.
Her chin lifted, smirk twisting back even while her gut sank. "Chaos already? Figures."
They were talking. Her father's mouth moved slow, deliberate. Pressure in every syllable she couldn't hear.
Rhazen leaned closer, didn't blink. Didn't back down. That stare, like business, like blood, like her.
Of course it's me. Who else.
Sae's nails dug into the soft skin of her waist, shirt still hanging limp off one arm. Half dressed, half bared, she tilted her head like she could catch the sound off the silent tape.
"Course you're talkin' 'bout me," she whispered, tone flat, heartbeat a drum line out of control.
Hand snapped up over her mouth again. Not to stifle laughter this time, but to hide the way her jaw locked.
They thought she was still up there, dead girl playing corpse. Keep thinking that.
The phone buzzed again. The feed zoomed closer. Rhazen bent, lips to her father's ear. Whispered something. Her old man's face shifted, tightened, cracked with frustration.
Heat crawled her spine, cold sweat on her ribs. She swallowed hard.
"Damn," she said again, laugh bitter on her teeth. "If only you knew, papí."
The screen died with a flick. Phone back in her pocket. Her spine met the sink, bare skin against porcelain chill.
Rhazen's eyes burned in her mind, ghost image stamped behind her lids. Couldn't shake it. Wouldn't.
They're already moving. Already hunting.
Her head tipped back, laugh bubbling raw, jagged. In the mirror's dark, her eyes glinted wild.
Your move, boys.
The black tank slid down her ribs, skin still warm from the shower. Jeans followed, stiff denim tugged over her hips with a little hop.
Quick hands, automatic hands, but her head… Still trapped on that damn image, screech of brakes, horn blaring, body airborne for a heartbeat too long.
"Hope that old man who clipped me don't end up in papí's radar," she muttered, dragging eyeliner sharp under her lashes.
The smirk came easy, lazy. "Cuz if he does? Shit. My ass gets traced too. Game over, baby."
Lipstick last. Dark red, thin as a cut. In the mirror, her reflection stared back. Not daddy's daughter anymore. That girl was dead. This face? Predator.
A voice slipped through the door, rough velvet. Kaezren. "Crossin' oceans don't mean they won't sniff ye out. Better think backup. Or… contacts. Somebody waitin' for ye already."
Her grin curved, teeth on display though he couldn't see it. "Who says I don't? Always got one. At least… one."
Silence stretched. Then his low laugh, soft as smoke. "Aye. Dangerous wee thing. But alibis crack. Won't hold forever."
"Mhm. Truth always does," she tossed back, playful lilt masking the heavy weight in her chest.
She yanked the handle, pushed the door and nearly ate the floor.
Kaezren leaned against the frame, arms crossed, grin sharp like he'd been posted there for hours.
"HOLY SHI, Rey!!" Sae snapped back a step, heart slamming so loud she swore he heard it. "Tryna kill me for real this time?"
His laugh rolled deep, shoulders shaking. "Worth it. That face… priceless."
She shoved past, shoulder colliding with his chest on purpose. "Asshole. Hope you cry missin' me."
"Gonna miss ye," he shot quick, sing song, almost mocking.
Her foot halted. She glanced over, lazy eyes slicing. "Then come. Nobody stoppin' you." The words came low, sultry, dare wrapped in velvet.
He just watched, quiet, before one corner of his mouth ticked. "Ye dinnae want me crashin' yer freedom party. Trust me."
Her smile widened, wicked. "Hotter."
"Hot's relative. Death's permanent."
"Yeah? Lucky me. I don't die easy."
Their rhythm snapped like flint, light but venomous, playful but sharp enough to bleed. Her stride carried her past the small table in the corner, eyes snagging on the glow of his laptop.
Open window. Something flickering, doc, feed, image…? Couldn't pin it down, but her gut clenched tight.
The moment she leaned, subtle, Kaezren moved. Too fast. Bag shoved against her chest like a wall.
"Yer ride. Time's burnin'."
Her mouth parted, protest coiled sharp. But his stare, quiet steel, an unspoken border. snapped it shut.
She snatched the bag anyway, mask of a grin slipping back on. "Fine. But you're hidin' somethin', Rey."
His smile stayed soft. Too soft. No answer.
It burned worse than a lie.
She swung the strap over her shoulder, stride sharp as knives. But the laptop glow followed in her skull, phantom light buzzing in her nerves.
What the fuck was on that screen?
Behind her, Kaezren chuckled low. "Don't be late for yer own rebirth, Neyra."
She snorted.
Rebirth, huh? Then why the hell did it already feel like he'd tied strings to her wrists?