Leaving the mangled remains of Drevaris sprawled across the ruined bed, Vivienne allowed herself o indulgent g her handiwork. The gaudy bedroom reeked of excess ah, its once opulent deow tainted with the metallig of blood. Her tongue flicked over her lips, sav the lingering taste of her kill—a sensation as intoxig as it was satisfying.

  With a deliberate calm, she adjusted her blood-drenched brown dress, smoothing out the fabric as if the events of the st hour were nothing more than a routine chore. Quietly, she crept to the door, her movements fluid and deliberate, her bare feet silent against the plush carpet. The hall beyond was dimly lit, the heavy st of inse failing to mask the more sinister odors wafting from the bedroom.

  Her sharp eyes sed the corridor until they settled on Renzia. The mannequin stood motionless in the shadows, a sileinel awaiting her mistress's and. The flickering light from a nearby mp caught the stitg on her face, casting eerie shadows that made her look even more uling.

  Vivienured for Renzia to join her with a subtle tilt of her head. The mannequin moved instantly, her frame creaking softly as she emerged from the darkness. The quiet sound of her movements was almost meical, a stark trast to Vivienne's predatrace.

  “e,” Vivienne whispered, her voice low and anding. “We’re finished here.”

  The mannequin followed silently as they moved through the vish halls of Drevaris’s home, their footsteps muffled by plush carpets. Vivienne’s senses remained on high alert, sing for any signs of lingering servants uards who might plicate their exit.

  The house was gaudy, ea dripping with opulence—gold filigree, heavy drapes, aravagant dispys of wealth that only highlighted the owner's insecurity. Vivienne’s lip curled in distaste as they passed a massive crystal delier, its glow casting sharp shadows across the walls. “He built his empire on the backs of others,” she murmured, almost to herself. “And now, it crumbles beh him.”

  They moved through the estate and collected the ledgers and dots they’d found earlier, st them inside Ranzia for the time being.

  The pair reached the frorahout i, slipping through the heavy doors into the cool night air. The city beyond was still alive with the hum of activity, even ie hours. Lanterns flickered along the cobbled streets, their light dang across the stone facades of the tightly packed buildings.

  Vivienhem through narrow alleyways, avoiding the main roads to ehey weren’t seen leaving Drevaris’s estate. The ess of the cobblestones beh her bare feet was a sharp trast to the warmth of the air, but it brought her no disfort. If anything, it grounded her, each step a reminder of her purpose.

  As they moved further from the estate, Vivieuro Renzia. “We have a name,” she said, her voice quiet but firm. “Laiken. She operates out of the eastern trade depot, he riverway.”

  Renzia tilted her head slightly, the movement jerky and doll-like. Vivienne wasn’t sure if the mannequin truly uood the significe of the name, but it didn’t matter. For now, she needed Renzia’s quiet obedience.

  Vivieurned her gaze toward the darkened city streets stretg before them. The air was heavy with the faint smell of damp stone and the distant mingling sounds of te-night revelry and quiet industry. For a moment, she allowed herself to simply breathe it ihoughts sharpening like a bde.

  “We’ll move carefully,” she murmured, more to herself than to Renzia. “Laiken won’t be easy to approaot if she’s as cautious as Drevaris suggested. But caution has its weakoo.”

  Renzia remaiill, her bnk, stitched visage catg the dim light of the distant nterns. Her silence was both eerie and f—a steady presen the chaotic tapestry of Vivienne’s pns.

  Vivienured for Renzia to follow as she began weaving her way through the byrinth of alleys and side streets. Each step was deliberate, her setuo the shifting atmosphere of the city. The bustling energy of the markets had long faded, repced by the subdued hum of te-night dealings and the occasional scurry of a stray animal.

  As they he district closer to the depot, the buildings took on a different character. The finely adorned facades gave way to more practical, weathered structures. The smell of oil and salt lingered in the air, though no river flowed nearby—only the memory of trade goods ferried from distant coasts.

  Vivieopped at the er of a narrow street, her eyes narrowing as she observed the faint glow of light spilling from a guarded warehouse. Two figures stood outside, their postures teheir ons casually dispyed but clearly ready for use.

  “Laiken’s operation,” Vivienne whispered, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. “It would seem she values her privacy. Iing.”

  Renzia’s head tilted again, the jerky motioraying ion, but Vivienne could feel her attentiveness.

  “We’ll o approach this with precision,” Vivienne tinued, her tohoughtful. “A direct assault would be... messy. And we need Laiken alive—at least long enough to talk.”

  The faint creak of wood underfoot drew Vivienne’s attention to a nearby stairwell leading to the rooftop of a low building. She gestured silently, and the two asded the narrow steps, their movements as quiet as shadows.

  From the rooftop, Vivienne had a clear view of the warehouse and its surroundings. The guards occasionally exged quiet words, their eyes sing the street with the practiced boredom of those who had dohis a huimes before.

  Vivienne crouched, her cws lightly tapping against the stone. “We’ll watch for now,” she said, her voice low but steady. “Observe the patterns, the ings and goings. When the moment is right, we’ll make our move.”

  Renzia crouched beside her, her frame unnervingly still, as if she were aension of the shadows themselves. Together, they waited, the night stretg on as the city murmured around them, unaware of the predator perched in its midst.

  The hours passed slowly, the quiet hum of the night broken only by the occasional murmur of versation from the guards below. Vivienne’s sharp eyes tracked every movement, every twitch of their hands on their ons, and every subtle shift in their posture. Patterns began to emerge—a zy circuit of pag, a momentary distra when they spoke, a tendency to goward the adjat alley more often than anywhere else.

  “They’re expeg something from that side,” Vivietered, her lips barely moving. “A ot, or perhaps just habit. Either way, useful.”

  Renzia didn’t respond, but her stillness was an answer in itself—she was ready, always waiting for Vivienne’s lead.

  Vivienne’s focus shifted to the warehouse itself. A third figure emerged from the shadowed entrance, handing off a small buo one of the guards. The exge was quid practiced, the kind of efficy that came from repetition. The bundle disappeared into a satchel, and the guard resumed his post as if nothing had happened.

  “Shipments,” Vivienne mused. “Whatever Laiken’s moving through here, it’s happening tonight.” Her grin was sharp, predatory. “This just got iing.”

  The third figure returned inside, leaving the guards once more to their restless watch. Vivienne g Renzia, her golden eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light. “We’ll need a closer look. Stay close, and keep quiet.”

  Renzia he movement small and meical, before she followed Vivienne down from the rooftop. The pair desded with practiced ease, their movements silent as shadows. Keeping to the edges of the alleys, they approached the warehouse from its blind spots, slipping past the narrow beams of light spilling from the nterns.

  Vivienne paused he back of the building, pressing her ear against the cold stone. Faint voices carried through the walls, muffled but distinough to identify at least three individuals inside. She crouched lower, examining the perimeter. A single, rusted side door caught her attention.

  Vivieioned for Renzia to wait and stepped closer, her fingers brushing against the metal. A faint vibration ran through it as though the hihemselves were holding their breath. With a cwed fiip, she teased the edge of the door open just enough to see through the crack.

  Ihe warehouse, the air was thick with the st of wood and dust, the dim light from nterns casting long shadows across the cluttered interior. Crates and barrels were stacked haphazardly, creating an obstacle course of sorts for anyone who wasn't familiar with the pce. From the high rafters, Vivienne observed the se below with quiet precision.

  Laiken, the woman with dark hair tied tightly back, was still barking orders, her sharp tone punctuated by the occasional angry gesture. The men around her seemed to cower slightly, their movements quid hesitant. The tension in the room alpable. Vivienne’s bck eyes glinted in the low light, each word Laiken spoke only further igniting the hunger for information that had been driving her.

  She moved soundlessly along the rafters, her lithe form blending with the shadows, as she motioned for Renzia to follow. The mannequin was no less silent, her creaking joints barely audible amidst the murmurs below. They moved as one, seamlessly, watg the exge unfold beh them.

  “Laiken,” Vivietered to herself, her lips curling into a sly smile. The woman’s anger only made her more intrigued.

  The situation below grew more heated, Laiken’s frustration mounting. “I don’t care what Drevaris promised! We’re running out of time,” she snapped, her fist nding heavily oable, causing the map to ripple slightly. “If we don’t deliver by tomorrow, Rathik will have our heads!”

  Vivienne leaned forward, her sharp ears catg every word. The mention of Rathik was a clue, a thread she could tug on ter. But for now, her attention was firmly on Laiken, her pulse quiing with the thought of finally fronting the woman.

  One of the mehe table muttered something about the cargo, but Laiken silenced him with a mere flick of her wrist. “No excuses. Get the cargo loaded before first light,” she ordered, her voice tinged with both authority and desperation. “We ’t afford another dey.”

  Vivienne’s grin deepened, a dangerous excitement bubbling within her. She carefully watched Laiken move way from the bourers and into another part of the warehouse, Isoted from the rest. Everything she o know was falling into pce—this was her ce.

  She turo Renzia, her bck eyes glowing with iy as she whispered, “It’s time. Let’s meet Laiken.”

  Her movements were fluid, elegant, as she dropped from the rafters with ease, nding soundlessly on the warehouse floor. The shadows seemed to bend to her will as she glided toward the tral table, her figure emerging from the darkness like a predator stalking its prey. Renzia followed in her wake, her stiff ahodical movements a stark trast to Vivienne’s fluid grace.

  As they approached, the tension in the room shifted. Laiken’s eyes snapped up, her sharp gaze log onto Vivienne as she emerged from the shadows.

  “Well, well,” Vivienne’s voice purred, dark and intoxig, cutting through the tense silence. “Seems like things are getting quite... urgent around here.”

  Laiken’s eyes flickered with a mix nition and suspi, but she quickly masked it with a scowl. “Who are you?” she demanded, her hand subtly moving toward a hidde her side.

  Vivienne’s smile never faltered. “Just someone who’s here to make things easier for you,” she said, her voice low aig. She took a slow step closer, the distaween them narrowing. “I’m sure we e to an uanding.”

  Her eyes flicked over to the map oable, studying the markings and routes. “Rathik must be eager to see this all go smoothly,” she added casually, her voice like silk, each word dripping with the promise of something darker beh.

  Laikeated for a moment, her eyes narrowing. “You’ve got no business here,” she spat, but there was an unmistakable wariness ione.

  Vivieilted her head, the smile never leaving her lips. “Oh, but I do. I’ve been following your little operation for some time now, and I think it’s time you and I had a chat. Maybe you tell me more about Rathik’s... is.”

  At that, Laiken’s hand faltered slightly over her bde, the unease creeping in. She studied Vivienne for a long moment, her eyes flig over to the men in the room, who seemed increasingly unfortable with the situation.

  Finally, Laiken exhaled sharply, her shoulders sagging slightly. “You’re pying a dangerous game,” she warned, but there was a certaian her words.

  Vivienne’s grin widened, her bck eyes gleaming with predatory anticipation. “I’m ting on it.”

  Laiken’s gaze hardened as she assessed Vivienne, her hand moving away from the bde at her side and instead drawing out a curved dagger with a jagged edge, its hilt ed in worher. Her stance shifted, body coiling like a serpent preparing to strike.

  “You think you just waltz in here and threaten me?” Laiken’s voice was cold, a razor-sharp edge cutting through the tension in the room. She shifted her weight, every movement precise, calg, like a seasoned fighter who had faced tless foes.

  Vivienne’s smile never faltered, her bck eyes gleaming with i. She tilted her head, watg Laiken’s every move, sav the challenge. “I don’t just threaten, dear,” Vivienne purred. “I act.”

  Before Laiken could react, Vivienne lunged, moving with a speed that was almost a blur. Her cws extended, aimed for Laiken’s throat, but the woman was faster. Laiken sidestepped the strike with ease, her body flowing like water as she parried Vivienne’s cw with the dagger, the bde’s edge scraping against Vivienne’s skin.

  The impact sent a spark of pain through Vivienne’s arm, but her grin only deepened. She danced back, her movements fluid, cirg Laiken as the woman’s stance became even mrounded, every inch of her being attuo the fight.

  “You’re fast,” Laiken muttered, her eyes never leaving Vivienne’s. There was a glint of something darker in her gaze now—an uanding that this fight wouldn’t be easy. “But not fast enough.”

  With a sudden burst of energy, Laiken struck. She moved in a blur, her dagger a streak of silver as it sshed toward Vivienne’s side. The edge of the bde bit into her flesh, leaving a trail of cold ichor in its wake. Vivienne’s expression remained unged, as if she hadn’t been touched at all.

  Laikeated, notig the mediate rea. But Vivienne’s smile only grew, darker, more dangerous. “Is it i?” she teased breathily, her tone mog.

  Laiken’s hand tightened around her dagger, and for a brief moment, the cold glint of uainty flickered in her eyes. She had expected to see a flinch, to hear the telltale gasp of pain, but instead, Vivienne only smiled—darker, more predatory than before.

  "You're persistent," Vivienne purred, her voice dripping with disdain. "But I told you, this isn't over until I say it is."

  Laiken’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t about to let this creature taunt her. Drawing on every ounce of her loam aether, Laiken’s body surged with unnatural strength, her movements swift and fluid as she lunged again.

  This time, Vivienne’s smile didn’t waver. She darted to the side with inhuman speed, sidestepping Laiken’s deadly strike, and with a swift movement, she sshed at Laiken’s side, the cws at her fiips digging deep into the woman’s flesh.

  Laiken’s breath hitched in her chest as she staggered back, clutg at the deep gash across her side. Blood flowed freely, staining her skin with a dark crimson as it seeped through her fingers. The pain was a sharp reminder of how easily Vivienne could end her, but Laiken was far from finished. Her eyes bzed with fury, her lips curled into a grimace of determination.

  She straightened up, her body trembling slightly, but her resolve remained unbroken. With a low, guttural snarl, she reached within herself, calling upon the loam endomancy that ran like fire through her veins. The air around her seemed to as she tered herself, the very grouh her feet quaking with power. Her skin shimmered, rippling like liquid as the magic surged through her muscles, strengthening them, bulging them with unnatural force. The wound on her side, though still gaping, was momentarily ignored as she pushed herself back to her full height.

  Her chest heaved with each breath, but her gaze never wavered from Vivienne. "You think you kill me so easily?" she hissed, her voice dripping with venom. "I’ve fought worse than you, creature."

  Vivienne’s lips twitched into a dark smile, her bck eyes gleaming with cold amusement. The sudden increase in Laiken’s power only seemed to make her more dangerous, but it didn’t faze her. Vivienne’s grace remained unbroken, and she stepped forward with an eerie calm, her cws extending with a satisfying hiss, ready to tear through flesh once more.

  “There’s worse than me?” Vivienne purred, her voice smooth as silk, but carrying an edge like the sharpening of a bde. “I suppose whatever that might be just hasn’t found its way onto my me.”

  The words lingered in the air between them, almost taunting, as Vivieook another deliberate step forward. Laiken’s pulse raced with the raw iy of the fight, but the poison of Vivienne’s calm, predatory nature sent a shiver of uainty through her. She gritted her teeth, but a bead of sweat trickled down her brow as the tensioweehied.

  "e on then, creature," Laiken spat, her hand g around her dagger with rerength. "Let’s see if you handle what I’m about to give you."

  Vivienne’s smile deepened, a cold, merciless curve that sent a chill through the very air. She took aep forward, then another, until she was within striking distahe two stood there, locked in a silent moment of shared anticipation, before Laiken moved.

  With a speed that should’ve been impossible for someone so wounded, Laiken luhe dagger fshing like lightning as it cut through the air. Vivienne’s reflexes were lightning-fast as well, but instead of dodging or blog the strike, she chose to let it e. The dagger sshed toward her side, but at the st moment, Viviewisted, feeling the bde slide across her skin, a sharp sting of pain that only fueled the fire in her eyes.

  Laiken’s eyes widened in disbelief. Vivienne had allowed it.

  "You missed," Vivienne whispered, her voice thick with dark amusement. "But don’t worry, love. I’m just getting started."

  Before Laiken could react, Vivienne’s cws shot out, gripping Laiken’s arm and wreng it back, causio lose her band stumble forward. Without missing a beat, Vivienne brought her knee up into Laiken’s stomach with a siing thud. The woman gasped, the air forced out of her lungs as she doubled over in pain.

  Vivienne didn’t give her a ce to recover. She spun Laiken around, her cws raking down the woman’s back, tearing through the fabric of her clothes and leaving deep, bloody gashes in their wake. Laiken screamed in agony, but the sound was cut off abruptly as Vivienne’s hand shot to her throat, her grip tightening like a vice.

  "Is this it?" Vivienne whispered into her ear, her voice low and mog. "Is this all you have left?"

  Laiken’s breath came in desperate, ragged gasps as she struggled to break free, but Vivienne’s hold only tightened, cutting off her air. Her strength was waning, the magic that had infused her fading with each passing sed of struggle. A, she fought on, defiaill burning in her eyes, even as her body weakened.

  Vivienne’s chuckle echoed in the dimly lit warehouse, a sound rich with dark amusement. Her cws pressed deeper into Laiken’s throat, the pressure building as the woman’s breaths grew more desperate, her pulse flutterih Vivienne’s fiips. Laiken’s struggles became weaker, her defiance flickering like a dying fme, but Vivienne wasn’t do. No, she ehis far too much to let it end so quickly.

  Vivienne’s eyes gleamed with a predatory satisfa as she leaned in closer, her voice soft yet dripping with malice. “You’re not even worth the effort anymore,” she whispered, almost tenderly, as if pitying her oppo. “But I thih know you’ve run out of options.”

  With a final, brutal twist, Vivienne lifted Laiken off the ground, her body jerking as the st of her breath was choked out. She barely seemed to notice the woman’s arms filing weakly at her, each attempt to escape only making her grip tighten further. The silence of the room was broken only by the wet sounds of Laiken’s strangled gasps.

  Vivienne’s voice dropped to a silken purr, as she toyed with her prey. “So, which way will it be? The slow way... or the quick way?” Her tone was sugar-sweet, far too pleasant for the brutality of the situation. “I make it so, so slow if you let me. Just... tell me what I want to know, and I’ll be merciful.”

  Her cws flexed against Laiken’s throat, threatening to snap it if she didn’t ply. Vivienne’s expression softened into somethiively calm, her eyes never leaving Laiken’s, sav the growing pani her prey’s eyes.

  A beat passed.

  Laiken's eyes flicked to the side in a desperate attempt to find a way out, but Vivienne was uing. Her voice became more coaxing, more honeyed. “Tell me, Laiken. Tell me where Rathik is, or all this suffering will be for nothing.”

  The words hung heavy in the air. Vivienhe st vestiges of Laiken’s resistance crumble, as the woman’s breath became increasingly ragged. Finally, with what little strength she had left, Laiken’s lips parted, and she spat out the words that Vivienne had been waiting for.

  “Rathik...” Laiken’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “He’s in the uy... the Old Keep... but... you’ll never make it out of there alive.”

  Vivienne’s lips curled into a sharp, satisfied smile, her teeth catg the flickering light. She leaned in, her breath brushing against Laiken’s skin as the st vestiges of life drained from the woman’s body. Her cws dug into the soft flesh of Laiken’s throat, her fingers cold and unyielding, the pressure of her grip intensifying. “That’s all I o hear,” she whispered, her voice hushed, sav the final moment of her prey’s resistance.

  Without hesitation, Vivieightened her hold, her cws sinking deep, and with a siing, wet crack, Laiken’s neck gave way uhe pressure. The sharp snap echoed iillness, the sound of bones breaking like dry twigs beh her grip. The light in Laiken’s eyes flickered, then vanished altogether, leaving behind only the cold, lifeless body hanging in Vivienne’s grasp. The weight of the woman’s fallen form was suddenly too much, and Vivie her drop to the floor with a soft, wet thud.

  She stood over the body for a moment, watg the blood slowly pool beh the cooling corpse. A slight tilt of her head, her expression cold and calg, before a flicker of amusement danced across her dark eyes. Vivienne’s lips quirked into a smirk, and she shrugged as though the death of her prey were little more than an invenieo be dismissed.

  "Waste not, want not," she mused aloud, her voice low and dangerously sweet.

  Her fiwitched, hunger gnawing at the pit of her stomach. With swift, practised movements, Vivienne’s cws tore into Laiken’s clothes, rending the fabric without a sed thought. The rich material gave way easily, falling to the ground in tatters as Vivienne exposed the flesh beh. She didn’t bother with gentleness. The huhe need, surged within her, making the act of disrobing seem almost ical, an unfeeling y.

  She paused only for a moment, taking in the sight of the freshly exposed body, her gaze lingering on the smoothness of the skin and the faint trace of Laiken’s life that still g to it. Vivienne’s eyes darkened as she bent low, her lips curling into a satisfied grin, and then with a savage hunger, she sank her cws into the flesh.

  The first bite came with a siing ch, bone splintering under her cws as she tore into the meat, her teeth sinking into the warm flesh. The taste was rich, savoury, and intoxig—blood and sweat mixing oongue in an unholy bination of fvors that made her heart race. She devoured with ferocity, paying no mind to the blood now spttering across her dress. The once soft brown fabriow looked more like the colour of rust as it became soaked in crimson, the stains spreading as she tore deeper into the corpse.

  With each bite, she could feel the rush of power fillihe essence of Laiken’s life surging through her as the flesh and blood disappeared into her. Vivienne’s eyes closed briefly, sav the sensation—the warmth of the life she was abs, the way the blood dripped down her and stained her hands. There was a sense of primal satisfa in it, a deep and guttural pleasure that only came from taking life for herself.

  SupernovaSymphony