150. With pleasure
The mansion felt different the moment she returned — brighter, louder, alive in a way it only became when Marcelline was home.
Dinner Time Chaos at Shadowline Mansion
Alpha was already in the kitchen, arms crossed, pretending he wasn't cooking even though the scent of sizzling garlic and roasted chicken filled the place.
"Don't burn anything," Marcelline teased as she slid onto the counter.
"I don't burn food," Alpha grumbled, flipping the pan with unnecessary aggression.
"I burn monsters."
"Last week you burned toast," Amara said.
"IT WAS A DISTRACTION TO TRAIN YOUR REFLEXES."
Sister Florence pat Alpha's arm. "Yes yes, child. We all believe you."
Everyone burst into laughter — even Alpha cracked a tiny smirk.
At the dining table, plates arrived magically (thanks to Florence's subtle enchantments).
Marcelline sat between Sister Florence and Amara, looking like she'd never left.
They talked, laughed, bickered, threw bread, got scolded, argued again — like a proper dysfunctional family.
Amara was complaining about her boots, Alpha was arguing with a fork, Florence was reminding everyone to sit straight…
Marcelline?
She just smiled softly.
She missed this.
All of them.
Sister Florence's Innocent Question
As they neared dessert, Sister Florence blinked suddenly and asked:
"Marcelline dear… where is Leo? Why didn't that child come with you?"
Amara smirked. "Yes, where is your Greek God boy?"
Marcelline shot her a look. "He's not my anything."
Alpha snorted. "He helped stabilize your teleportation once and now he gets promoted to Golden Boy?"
Marcelline rolled her eyes.
"He stayed back at the villa. Handling administrative things. Watching stabilizer runes. Making sure the place isn't… you know… burning."
Sister Florence nodded peacefully.
"Ah. Good child. Last time he tried to fix the kitchen pipe, he almost flooded the house."
Alpha growled. "LEO SHOULD NEVER TOUCH TOOLS."
Amara laughed. "He's pretty. Let him stay pretty."
Marcelline hid her smile in her cup.
She genuinely loved all of them.
Loved how they teased her, how they treated Leo like a wayward toddler, how they made the world feel normal.
For a moment… she forgot about the darkness chasing her.
Just a moment.
---
After dinner, Amara dragged her to the balcony — the one overlooking Shadowline City's night lights.
Wind brushed their hair as Amara leaned on the railing.
"All right," she said. "Spill it."
Marcelline blinked innocently.
"Spill what?"
"Don't act cute. You came home early, teleportation residue all over you, Alpha sniffed your aura three times like you were radioactive, and you've been smiling too much."
A beat.
"You're hiding something."
Marcelline sighed, shoulders dropping.
She walked to the far corner of the balcony, tracing a faint glowing sigil on the stone.
The air thickened with unspoken truth.
"Ama," she said quietly, "…it's back."
Amara leaned against the railing, arms folded, watching Marcelline with that sharp, all-knowing stare.
"So," she said quietly,
"…it's the same one."
Marcelline didn't turn.
Her fingers tightened on the stone rail.
"Yes."
Amara's jaw clenched. "The bastard really crawled back from whatever pit you shoved it into."
"It's been trying for years," Marcelline murmured.
"But the seal finally cracked. I felt it in Hollowmist."
Her voice dropped, colder.
"It's angry."
Amara scoffed. "Let it be angry. It's still terrified of you."
Marcelline smiled without humor. "It should be."
A sharp breeze cut between them.
"You waited nine years for this," Amara said.
"Trained yourself into a weapon. Became the strongest thing walking this realm just for one reason…"
Marcelline finally looked at her —
eyes dark, glowing, ancient and furious.
"To kill it," she said simply.
"No mercy. No sealing. No second chances."
Amara pushed off the railing.
She stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"It hurt them, Elli ."
A flicker — violent, burning — passed through Marcelline's expression.
"I know."
"You almost died because of it."
"I know."
"You've dragged that night through every year of your life."
"I know."
Her voice trembled the slightest bit — not with fear.
With rage.
"I'm done running. I'm done waiting. It wanted to finish what it started—"
She leaned forward, whispering like a promise, not a threat.
"—now I will."
Amara exhaled, half a laugh, half a growl.
"That's my devilish angel."
Marcelline smirked faintly.
But her eyes were pure cold fire.
"It thinks it can scare me by returning?"
Her wings flickered like shadows of destruction.
"It should pray it never meets me fully grown."
Amara grinned.
"Twenty-four and lethal. The poor creature chose the wrong decade."
"It chose the wrong girl," Marcelline corrected softly, dangerously.
Amara placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You're not doing this alone."
Marcelline shook her head.
"No.
This part… is mine."
A silence.
Heavy. Sharp. Respectful.
Amara didn't argue.
She only said—
"Then kill it clean, sis. Kill it for them."
Marcelline's smile was slow… devilish… serene.
"Oh, I will," she whispered.
"With pleasure."
The air around her pulsed —
angelic light and infernal shadow twisting like a crown.
The night itself seemed to retreat from her aura.
Because the girl who once survived…
was now the woman who would annihilate.
---