Steven’s POV

  A warm breeze slid through the branches, carrying the scent of crushed leaves—and something faintly sweet, almost floral, almost too perfect.

  A figure moved between the trees.

  “Dipsi.”

  Aqua said it almost as a warning.

  Dipsi… was not sneaking. Not rushing.

  Walking like the forest was supposed to part for her.

  And when she stepped into the edge of the clearing, the night felt smaller.

  Like it had to make room.

  She looked… wrong for this place.

  Not in a scary-monster way.

  In a too much way.

  Like she’d brought an entire different world with her and the forest didn’t know where to put it.

  Dark hair spilled down her back in a heavy, glossy wave. Skin warm and sun-kissed, like she belonged under a brighter sun than mine. Her features were sharp in a beautiful way—regal and modern at the same time, like she’d been painted and then stepped out of the frame just to prove she could.

  Model wasn’t even the right word.

  Model was human.

  This was something else wearing human beauty like it was a casual choice.

  Her gaze landed on Aqua first.

  Her lips curved—slow, knowing.

  “Aqua,” she purred, like the name tasted familiar.

  Then her eyes slid to me.

  And when they did, I felt it.

  Not heat.

  Not a surge.

  Something colder than that.

  Like being weighed.

  Like her attention had hands.

  My lungs forgot what they were doing.

  I didn’t blink.

  I couldn’t look away.

  Like a deer in headlights who couldn’t help but look at the something coming right at them.

  Dipsi’s smile widened just a little, as if my stillness pleased her.

  “Well,” she murmured, voice smooth as water over stone. “So it’s true.”

  My throat tightened. “Who—”

  Aqua stepped half a pace forward, just enough to put herself in the line between us. As Dipsi walked closer to us, now only a few yards away.

  “Dipsi,” she said evenly. “Why are you here?”

  Dipsi blinked slowly, then smiled like Aqua had asked her something adorable.

  “Oh, dear sister,” she said, sweet as sugar and twice as sharp. “I could ask you the same thing.”

  Sister.

  My brain snagged so hard it almost derailed.

  Stolen story; please report.

  I shot Aqua a look, but Aqua didn’t look back. She kept her eyes on Dipsi like she was tracking a blade.

  Dipsi’s gaze drifted over Aqua’s face with faint amusement. Intimate. Familiar.

  Not romantic.

  Just… claiming.

  “I heard that you ran away from home.” Dipsi said casually.

  “I didn’t run from home. I ran from a decision that wasn’t mine. If you’d been told you could never choose love, you would’ve found a door too. This was mine.” Aqua said as if for the first time putting her foot down.

  Dipsi’s expression flickered—so fast I almost missed it.

  Understanding.

  Tiny. Involuntary.

  “Mmm. Cute… but don’t think you can run forever.” Dipsi said, almost like a threat. “And here I thought you loved traditions.”

  Aqua’s fingers curled at her sides. The air near her hands shimmered faintly, like water wanted to rise just because she was angry.

  “You know exactly what I mean,” Aqua said. “If you were told your life was already decided.”

  Dipsi hummed. “Love.” The word came out like she didn’t trust it. Like she’d tasted it once and found it too sweet.

  Aqua didn’t back down. “If Mother and Father were forcing you into something you didn’t want—”

  “Don’t,” Dipsi cut in, still smiling. “Don’t act like you know what I want.”

  Aqua’s eyes flashed. “I know you’d find a way out.”

  For a second, the teasing dropped. Not completely.

  But enough that Dipsi looked… almost human.

  Then again she blinked, and it was gone—buried under charm and cruelty like it had never existed.

  “Fine,” Dipsi sighed dramatically. “So you ‘didn’t run.’ You ‘left.’” Her gaze slid past Aqua—lazy, deliberate—toward me. “And you left for what, exactly?”

  Aqua shifted half a step, placing herself between us before Dipsi could fully aim her attention at me.

  Dipsi’s smile widened. “Ah.” Her eyes glittered. “So you ran to your boyfriend.”

  Aqua’s voice sharpened. Her eyes panned to me for a moment, which what seemed concern, before returning them back to Dipsi.

  “He isn’t your business.”

  Dipsi’s brows lifted, pretending offense. “Not my business?” She let out a soft laugh. “Dear sister, everything is my business.”

  Aqua’s stare didn’t waver. “You still haven’t told me why you’re here.”

  Dipsi’s gaze returned to Aqua, and for a moment it looked like she was enjoying the fact that Aqua had to ask.

  Then she shrugged as if the truth was boring.

  “Mother sent me,” she said simply. “She felt a surge.”

  My stomach tightened.

  Dipsi’s eyes flicked to me again, slower now—measuring my outline, my posture, the way my body was holding itself like it didn’t know what it was anymore.

  “An Awakening,” Dipsi corrected, voice airy. “Over here.”

  Aqua’s shoulders stiffened. “From him?”

  Aqua said it as if trying to turn Dipsi’s attention away from me, but it failed.

  Dipsi’s smile turned sharp. “From someone.”

  Dipsi’s gaze narrowed, and I felt it again—that weight. That invisible pressure—her aura.

  Like her attention had hands.

  “I have to see for myself.” Dipsi said admittedly.

  Dipsi walked towards me now, her eyes fixed on me. I seemed to be her knew interest as she ignored Aqua’s guarded stance against her.

  As she got closer, she stopped about three feet away from me.

  And something in my chest pulled tight, hot and defensive.

  Dipsi’s eyes gleamed.

  Was she going to ready my aura?

  “Oh,” she said softly.

  She’d felt it.

  She’d found the source.

  “Salvatore,” she murmured, pleased now. “How interesting.”

  For some reason—I felt caught red handed, and stiffened like a board.

  I started to blush.

  She was so close to me.

  Dipsi lifted my chin with two fingers, to make sure she had my undivided attention. “You’re definitely handsome, but…”

  Then, Dipsi’s brown eyes turned bright purple, violet… as she stared into my own.

  My core pulsed under my ribs like it recognized something ancient and dangerous. Like it knew it was being seen by a predator and had chance of running.

  Though she was looking at my aura, it felt like she was looking past that. Like she was looking into my inner being… of who I was.

  Could she look into my mind too?

  My heart was starting to race from her constant staring.

  What was barely a minute, felt like five… as Dipsi took a step back and said out loud what she saw.

  Though, the smile on her face… made it seem she liked what she saw. Which scared me more than settled my nerves.

  Dipsi exhaled a small laugh.

  “A Tier Three, Shade Four Salvatore,” she said, almost fond—almost cruel. “All spark. No structure… so technically a baby in training diapers.”

  What did she mean by that?, I was puzzled by her words.

  “Even though you show as a Tier Three, Shade Four in cultivation, you clearly appear to be just that… a weakling.” Dipsi scoffed as if to prove I wasn’t worth worrying about.

  Oh… she is clearly one who likes to push buttons, I thought annoyingly to myself.

  Aqua’s voice snapped. “Dipsi.”

  Dipsi didn’t look away from me. “What?” she asked sweetly. “It’s true. It is clear he has just awakened, which caused Mother to notice him.”

  Aqua moved fully between us now, her presence turning into a wall.

  “You came,” Aqua said tightly, “to insult him?”

  Dipsi finally looked at Aqua again, smile still in place.

  “I came,” she said, “to confirm what Mother felt.”

  Her gaze slid back to me over Aqua’s shoulder.

  “And I did.”

  Aqua’s hands trembled once—barely—then steadied.

  “Then leave,” Aqua said.

  Dipsi blinked slowly, then smiled like she’d been waiting for Aqua to say it.

  “Oh, sister,” she murmured. “You always choose the hard path.”

  Then her eyes flicked to me one last time—purple flashing like a warning.

  “Grow up fast,” she said softly. “Little Salvatore.”

  With that, Dipsi turned back towards where she came from, but then stopped half way. She turned halfway towards us then said with a sly smile, “Till next time.”

  With a flick of her hair she poofed, leaving behind purple smoke. As if dramatic exits were her calling card.

  I collapsed onto the ground, my legs giving out from under me, and then looked to Aqua for answers.

  “Who or what… was that?”

  Next Chapter: Steven learns about the sister's complex relationship, and the roles they play in their families.