The moment recognition finished assembling itself in my skull, my body acted—closing the distance between realization and response in a single, fluid motion that erased the brief paralysis of surprise. My hand shot out and seized Elvina’s wrist with enhanced strength, fingers clamping down like iron around fragile bone.
I twisted hard, the kind of sharp rotation that targeted the small bones and tendons in ways that made resistance physically impossible, biomechanics overriding willpower through simple leverage.
Elvina screamed, the sound tearing from her throat with raw agony as her fingers spasmed open involuntarily. The knife slipped from her grasp to clatter against the floor, the metallic sound ringing out sharp and final in the hush of the room.
Then she collapsed completely, the last vestiges of whatever had been holding her together simply dissolving as though someone had cut the strings keeping her upright.
She began crying in full then—not the subtle tears from moments ago but full-bodied sobbing that wracked her entire frame with violent shudders. Her breathing lost any resemblance to rhythm, collapsing into ragged, desperate gasps that bordered on hyperventilation.
Each inhale hitched painfully in her chest before escaping again as another broken sob, the sound carrying the unmistakable weight of someone who had nothing left to hold themselves together with.
Tears streamed down her face without restraint, cutting bright, wet paths through the grime and sweat smeared across her skin. They gathered at the edge of her jaw and fell steadily from her chin, dark droplets striking the fabric of her ruined dress one after another. Each one spread slowly into the cloth like a stain, small blooming marks that looked almost like fresh wounds opening across the material.
Her hands rose instinctively to cover her face but couldn’t quite muffle the sounds escaping her—wordless keening that spoke to pain so deep it couldn’t be articulated, expressed only through raw vocal anguish.
Her shoulders shook with each ragged breath she took, her body curling in on itself as though she were trying to physically collapse into nothingness, to simply cease existing because existence had become too unbearable to maintain.
It was heartbreaking in the most literal sense—watching someone’s emotional infrastructure crumble in real-time, hearing the exact moment when whatever had been keeping their psyche functional simply gave up and fled.
This wasn’t the cold, calculating Elvina I’d faced in the arena. This was the shattered remnants of a person who’d been broken by circumstances far beyond her control, who’d tried to reassemble herself using cruelty as mortar and finally discovered that foundation couldn’t support the weight of consequences.
I remained silent while my mind spun through possibilities with the kind of analytical detachment that came from forcing emotion into a mental box labeled "deal with later." Because if I let myself feel about this situation—about the sobbing girl who’d just tried to kill me, about the complicated web of causality and blame, about my own role in reducing a human being to this state—I’d probably join her on the floor and we’d both be useless.
This was obviously Madame Seraphine’s work. The neighboring brothel owner I’d spotted abusing Elvina on the balcony not long after arriving at the theater, that woman with the calculating eyes and the casual cruelty that spoke to someone who viewed people as game pieces rather than living beings.
I doubted Elvina was acting purely from her own volition—more likely she’d been threatened, manipulated, positioned like a weapon and aimed at me with the expectation she’d either succeed or die trying.
The cunning behind it made me want to applaud even as it pissed me off. Seraphine had identified Elvina’s hatred for me as fuel for what—given my reputation and display of strength during the match—would likely be a suicide mission.
She’d used that rage to break past the protective barrier my public persona had created, betting that Elvina’s personal vendetta would read as exactly that.
And if the assassination failed? Well, Elvina was the perfect scapegoat. Pin the whole thing on her rampant emotions, her desire for revenge, present it as an act of personal desperation rather than calculated assault. Seraphine’s hands would remain clean while I’d be dealing with the aftermath.
The real reason for this attack had to be our rising status. It was obvious really, basic economics dressed up as attempted murder. With all the resources we’d gathered, the skilled workers, the backing from Lloyd, the connections I’d been building—it was inevitable our theater would become a threat to Seraphine’s establishment.
We weren’t just another brothel anymore; we were competition with momentum, the kind that could steal clients and prestige if left unchecked.
I couldn’t help but admire her strategic thinking even as I plotted revenge. She’d targeted me specifically, recognizing I was the main source of our success. Remove me from the equation and the whole operation would probably collapse. I was the connective tissue holding this chaos together, and Seraphine had identified that weakness with surgical precision.
"I’m—I’m sorry—" Elvina managed to gasp out between sobs, the words barely coherent through her crying. "I didn’t—I couldn’t—she said she’d—" Her voice dissolved into another wave of sobbing before reforming around broken apologies. "I’m sorry—so sorry—never wanted—tried to say no but she—she—"
She clutched at my dress with desperate fingers, her grip surprisingly strong despite the trembling, before burying her head against my chest.
I could feel her tears soaking through the thin fabric, could feel each shuddering breath she took transmitted through our contact, could feel the absolute wretchedness radiating from her in waves.
I didn’t move against it. Didn’t push her away or try to extract myself from the embrace. Just stood there and let her unleash her emotions in full, let her sob and shake and slowly begin to form words again through the crying.
"I don’t want to go back," she whispered with such desperate terror it made something in my chest constrict. "Please—please—don’t make me go back there. The things she makes us do—the clients she brings—" Her voice cracked completely before reforming around descriptions that made my stomach turn.
She begin giving details as to her current situation, each scenario worse than the last, painting a picture of systematic brutalization that went beyond simple prostitution into something approaching organized torture.
Clients who paid for the privilege of breaking bones and watching them heal poorly. Group sessions that lasted days, slaves rotated through without rest or food. Chemical substances forced into their systems to keep them awake through experiences that should’ve triggered unconsciousness from the sheer pain alone.
My internal monologue had gone eerily quiet, the usual commentary replaced by something darker and more analytical. Because what was I supposed to feel here? Disgust? Anger? Sympathy?
The girl currently sobbing into my chest had orchestrated Mia’s assault, had terrorized my crew, had spent her entire life making everyone’s existence miserable for her own amusement. She’d earned consequences through her own actions, had painted a target on herself through accumulated cruelty.
But the consequences she’d received—what I’d done to her in that arena, the public humiliation, the systematic destruction of everything she’d built—that had been calculated to hurt.
I’d wanted her to suffer, wanted her brought low, wanted to prove I could take everything from someone who’d made themselves my enemy. And I’d succeeded. Spectacularly. Thoroughly. To the point where the broken thing currently clinging to me barely resembled the person I’d fought.
I quickly came to reassess what Iskanda has asked me before. Had she deserved it? The question felt simultaneously obvious and impossible to answer. Yes, in the sense that she’d hurt people and earned retribution. No, in the sense that nobody deserved to be reduced to this—to become so shattered they’d attempt suicide rather than continue existing.
We were products of a system designed to grind people down, to force cruelty as survival mechanism, to make monsters out of anyone who wanted to keep breathing. She’d leaned into that role. So had I. The difference was I’d been better at it.
"Please," Elvina whispered again, her voice small and broken. "Please forgive me. I know I don’t—I can’t—but please—"
I decided to be straightforward. Lying would be kinder in the moment but ultimately more cruel in the long term, and I was tired of pretending this situation had clean answers. "What I did to you was wrong," I said quietly, the admission tasting bitter on my tongue. "You didn’t deserve what I did to you. Not truly. Nobody deserves to be torn apart like that, to have their life destroyed as entertainment, to be left with nothing."
Elvina’s sobbing hitched, her body going still against mine.
"But," I continued with the same quiet firmness, "what you did was also unforgivable. The pain you caused, the suffering you orchestrated, the way you used your power to crush people who couldn’t fight back."
I felt her tense like I’d struck her.
"We’re both monsters in the end," I finished simply. "Different methods, different motivations, but the same core truth. So no, I don’t forgive you. I can’t. But I understand you better than I’d like to admit."
I stood then, extracting myself from her grip with gentle firmness before bringing my fingers to my lips. The whistle I produced was loud enough to wake the dead, sharp and piercing, cutting through whatever residual quiet remained in the theater.
Moments later, heavy footsteps thundered up the stairs with the subtlety of a stampeding elephant. Brutus burst through the door with enough force to nearly take it off its hinges, his massive chest heaving as he panted, clearly having sprinted from wherever he’d been sleeping.
"Loona—what—need—" He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes landed on Elvina’s crumpled form on the floor, taking in her tear-streaked face, the knife lying nearby, my rumpled appearance. "Oh fuck," he breathed quietly. "What happened?"
"Get some rope," I commanded with calm authority that belied the chaos of the past few minutes. "We need to bind her. Nothing too tight—we’re not trying to cause damage—but secure enough she can’t make another attempt on anyone’s life."
Brutus nodded once before disappearing back through the door, his footsteps receding as he rushed to comply. I turned my attention back to Elvina, extending my hand toward her with deliberate slowness.
She stared at it like I’d offered her salvation and damnation wrapped in the same gesture, her tear-filled eyes tracking from my fingers to my face and back again. Then, with movements so trembling I worried she might collapse before making contact, she reached up to take my hand.
I pulled her to her feet with careful strength, watching her sway slightly before finding her balance. "I need to make something very clear," I said with the kind of blunt honesty that left no room for misinterpretation. "I’m not doing this out of kindness. I’m not saving you because I think you deserve redemption or because I’ve suddenly decided to forgive your past transgressions. You tried to kill me tonight, which objectively speaking is pretty solid grounds for letting you face whatever consequences follow."
Elvina’s face crumpled but I pressed on.
"The only reason I don’t want you dead is because of the value you hold. Even broken, you’re still quite useful. And more importantly, Madame Seraphine just became our enemy by using you as her weapon. Which means keeping you alive and functional serves my interests. For that reason alone I won’t let you die. Not because I care about you, but because you’re worth more to me breathing than rotting in a grave."
The words should’ve been crushing. They were designed to be pragmatic, transactional, stripped of anything resembling compassion. But instead of recoiling, Elvina threw herself at me in a desperate hug, her arms wrapping around my waist with surprising strength, fresh tears soaking into my dress as she sobbed out thanks that tumbled over each other incoherently.
"Thank you—thank you—I’ll be useful—I promise—whatever you need—I’ll do anything—just please don’t send me back—please—"
I sighed, one hand coming up to pat her head with mechanical gentleness while my brain spun through the implications of what I’d just agreed to. I knew then that things had just gotten exponentially more complicated.
We now had a mentally broken former noble with powerful magic and traumatic baggage living in our theater. We had a neighboring brothel owner who’d just declared covert war through attempted assassination. And, naturally, all of this had unfolded before we’d even had the chance to properly open for business.
In short, things were progressing exactly as one might expect.
Brutus returned with rope, his expression carefully neutral as he took in the sight of Elvina clinging to me like a drowning person to driftwood. I met his eyes over her head, saw the question there, the concern mixed with readiness to follow whatever order I gave.
"Tie her hands," I said quietly. "Then prepare a room—somewhere we can lock from the outside but that’s not the basement. She’s staying with us now."
"Loona," Brutus rumbled with warning tone, "are you sure about this?"
"Absolutely not," I replied with grim humor. "But since when has certainty ever been a prerequisite for my decisions? Just do it. We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow when my brain is actually functional."
As Brutus began working with the rope, as Elvina allowed herself to be bound without resistance, as the weight of yet another impossible situation settled onto my shoulders, I couldn’t help but laugh internally at the absurdity of it all.
This city was going to kill me. But saints help me, it was going to be entertaining until it did.