The tea house smelled like jasmine and expensive sugar. Raze sat across from Mariabel Valtee, very aware that small flames still danced across her fingertips.
"So, sweetie." Her voice was honey over steel. "You're planning something dangerous. Possibly stupid. Definitely illegal. And you need someone with real power." Those amber eyes studied him like a cat examining a mouse. "Keep talking. You have thirty seconds before I get bored again."
Raze leaned forward slightly. "There's a criminal organization in this city. The Twilight Syndicate. They're extracting mana from underground ley lines, creating corruption that seeps into the water supply of poor districts. That corruption manifests as Black Cough. A disease that kills children slowly and painfully."
Mariabel's flames flickered. Interest, not dismissal.
"The Healing Hall charges fifty gold to cure it. The actual cost is maybe fifteen. So families watch their children die because they can't afford the markup." Raze's voice hardened. "The Syndicate creates the problem. The Healing Hall profits from treating it. It's a perfect system. For them."
"And you want to disrupt this system." Mariabel's smile was sharp. "By doing what, exactly?"
"By raiding their main operation. An abandoned textile mill where they run the extraction. We shut it down, gather evidence, and take it to authorities who can't ignore it."
"We." She emphasized the word. "You keep saying we. Who exactly is this we?"
"Me. An alchemist who's been investigating the outbreak. And whoever else we can recruit who's strong enough to survive."
"And what makes you think I'm interested in your crusade, darling?" The flames on her fingers grew larger. "I'm a disgraced noble's daughter with no prospects and infinite free time. Why should I risk my life for poor children I've never met?"
This was the critical moment. Raze met her eyes directly.
"Because you're tired of being defined by your father's failures. Because every time someone introduces you, they say 'Valtee' and watch for your reaction, waiting to see if you'll flinch. Because you have an Authority awakened at twenty two years old and no one knows. No one cares. You're bored because nothing in your life is worthy of your attention."
Mariabel's expression went very still. The flames died completely.
"You want people to remember your name for what you did, not what your family lost." Raze didn't break eye contact. "This is your chance. Do something so significant, so undeniably powerful, that when people hear 'Mariabel Valtee,' they think of you. Not your father."
Silence stretched between them. The tea house continued around them. Porcelain clinking. Quiet conversations. Normal life.
Then Mariabel laughed. It came out genuine. Delighted.
"My, my. You're either brilliant or completely insane, sweetie." She leaned back in her chair. "Tell me three reasons I shouldn't just burn you right now for wasting my afternoon with this ridiculous suicide mission."
Raze didn't hesitate. "One: You're curious. If you weren't, you'd have left already or set me on fire for the audacity of approaching you. Two: You've been searching for something worth your time for months. Years, probably. This is worth your time. And three:" He smiled slightly. "Because you're already imagining it. The fight. The challenge. The moment when you unleash your Authority and prove exactly how powerful you really are."
Mariabel's eyes glittered. "You're very confident for someone who looks like he's never been in a real fight."
"I've been in enough fights. Just recently, actually. Three Blight Rats in the sewers. Nearly died. But I won." Raze kept his tone light despite the memory of pain and terror. "I'm not claiming to be strong. I'm claiming to be smart enough to know I need people who are strong. Like you."
"Flattery, sweetie? Really?"
"Not flattery. Assessment. You're Expert rank with an awakened Authority. That makes you one of the most dangerous people in this city. Probably top fifty. Maybe top twenty." Raze tilted his head. "The question is whether you're brave enough to use that power for something meaningful."
"Oh, you're good." Mariabel's smile was predatory again. "Playing to my ego and my pride. Very good."
"Is it working?"
"Maybe." She gestured to a server. Ordered more tea without looking away from Raze. "Let me be completely honest with you, darling. The only reason I'm still sitting here is because you're a pretty boy with striking features and you've given me the most interesting conversation I've had in six months. That's it. Pretty boys get my attention. Always have."
Raze felt heat rise to his face but forced himself not to react.
"So here's what's going to happen." Mariabel's tea arrived. She took a delicate sip. "You're going to give me two days to think about this absolutely insane proposal. In two days, we meet again. Right here. Same time. You bring details. Real details. How many Syndicate members. What ranks. What the actual plan is. Everything."
"And if the details satisfy you?"
"Then maybe I'll join your little crusade. Maybe I'll watch you die horribly from a safe distance." Her smile showed teeth. "We'll see which is more entertaining."
"Fair enough."
"But understand something, sweetie." Mariabel leaned forward. Those amber eyes intense. "If you're lying about any of this. If this is some elaborate scheme to get close to me for other reasons. If you waste my time..." Small flames erupted on her fingertips again. "I will burn you. Slowly. While you scream. Clear?"
"Crystal."
"Good." She stood gracefully. "Two days. Don't disappoint me, darling. I so rarely meet people worth burning."
She left. The tea house staff watched her go with wary respect. The kind reserved for dangerous nobles.
Raze sat alone. His heart hammering. His hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline.
That had worked. Actually worked.
He paid for his tea. Left generous tip. Walked out into the afternoon sun.
Phase one complete. Mariabel was interested. Not committed, but interested. That was more than he'd hoped for.
Now for phase two.
The heist.