Soren pov
The light was the worst part.
It turned the bruises on her throat into a detailed crime scene. A perfect, hateful ring of purple and black. Someone else's violence painted on what I considered mine. I couldn't stand it.
I killed the light and left.
The drive back to the mansion was a red haze. The image of her curled up, trembling, kept flashing behind my eyes. That wasn't fear of me. That was raw, animal terror left by someone else. The steering wheel groaned under my grip.
I didn't go to the study. I didn't summon a council. I went straight to the gym.
It was dark, silent. I didn't bother with the lights. I went for the heavy bag first. Three punches in, the chain snapped with a metallic shriek. The bag thudded to the mats. I kicked it, sending it sliding across the floor.
A weight rack was next. I took a metal bar and swung it at the mirrored wall. The glass exploded in a spectacular, crashing symphony. Shards rained down, glittering in the faint security light from the hallway. Better. The destruction was a physical echo of the chaos in my head.
"Planning on rebuilding the place, or just redecorating?"
Cassian's voice came from the doorway. He was leaning against the frame, arms crossed, watching me with that unreadable, calm expression of his. He was already dressed for the day—impeccable, untouchable.
I threw the bar. It clattered against the far wall. "Someone touched her."
"I gathered." He stepped inside, careful of the glass. "Who?"
"I don't know." The admission was a fresh wave of fury. "They had their hands around her throat. Left a mark. Threatened her friend to keep her quiet."
Cassian was silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping the destruction. "And this… reaction. This level of investment. Are you in love with her, Soren?"
The word hit me like a physical blow. Love. It was absurd. Grotesque.
I flinched, a full-body recoil. "Don't be fucking ridiculous," I snarled, turning my back to him, my breath coming hard. "I'm not in love. She's a distraction. A game. I want to break her. I want to see how far she bends before she snaps. That's all."
"That's all," Cassian repeated, his tone flat. He didn't believe me. I didn't believe myself. "Then this is just about property damage. Someone damaged your toy."
"Yes." The lie was ash in my mouth.
"Fine." He moved to the untouched water cooler, poured a paper cup full. He didn't drink it; he just held it. "Then think. Who knew you had a… toy? Who knew you'd care if it got broken?"
The logic was a cold splash of water. The party. Dozens of people saw me with her. Saw Elio with her. Blackwood spies could have been among them.
"Sterling," I breathed, the pieces clicking with brutal clarity. "His cousin. This is the response. They didn't come for me. They went for what they thought would hurt."
Cassian nodded once, a clean, decisive motion. "It's connected. They're sending a message. They can reach what's yours. They're not afraid of you."
The calm in his voice was a match to the gasoline in my veins. The thought of Sterling, or any of his Blackwood puppets, putting their hands on her, marking her…
A new, quieter fury settled over me. It wasn't the hot, blind rage from before. This was colder. Sharper. Deadly.
I looked at Cassian, my best friend, the one who saw the board when all I could see was the bruise. "Find out. I want names. I want addresses."
"And then?"
I smiled then. It felt wrong on my face. "Then I pay Sterling a visit. And I return his message in person."
Cassian watched me for a long moment, then gave a slow, approving nod. Strategist to enforcer. "I'll get you what you need."
He left me standing in the wreckage of the gym, surrounded by shattered glass and the echoing lie I'd just told us both.
Just a game. Just a toy.
But as I stared at my reflection, fractured in a hundred broken mirrors, I knew the truth.
The game had changed.
And I had no idea who was really playing.