VALENTINE
I waited until Cian's footsteps had completely faded down the corridor before allowing myself to breathe.
The exhale left me slow and controlled, though the curse that followed slipped out under my breath.
Madeline had just painted a target on my back.
She had warned him and handed him the exact blueprint he would need to control me, to bind me the same way Aldric once had.
And Cian had listened.
I had seen it clearly in his eyes. The way he had looked at me when he spoke about those files, about keeping them in reserve, about using them if I ever stepped out of line.
He would do it.
He was not Aldric. He did not crave control for its own sake, did not wield it with the same quiet cruelty. But he would use it if he believed he had reason to.
Which meant I had to be careful.
More careful than I had ever been.
