VENETO DISTRICT,VENICE IN ITALY, CASTELLO TERRAZZA ESTATE. THE VELVET VIXENS' DOMAIN. Shante's private suite...5 PM.
Shante lay sprawled across her bed, back pressed against the silk sheets, her gaze locked on the ceiling above. The red dye was gone,washed out in one long, silent ritual,and her hair had returned to its natural raven black, the color of midnight secrets. Her piercing green eyes, usually sharp and enigmatic, were now dulled and hollow, like jewels dulled by time and grief.
No contacts. No makeup. No armor.
Only silence.
She lay motionless, one leg draped over the other, her arms folded tightly beneath her chest as though she could hold herself together that way. Long sighs slipped from her lips like ghosts, filling the heavy quiet of the room.
The doorbell rang.
Once. Then again. A third time. Followed by urgent knocking.
"Madam Te? Are you there?" a voice called from outside, anxious. "Shante?"
The sound barely reached her.
Even in a soundproofed room, Shante usually noticed. But not now. Her mind wasn't here,not in Venice, not in this body. She might as well have been six feet under.
"Shanteeeeeee!" the voice yelled, breaking through like a crack of thunder.
She jolted upright. Reality slammed back into her chest, hard and fast.
From there, she moved like a machine. To the door. Peephole. Click. Open.
Julian stood there with an unreadable expression, her sharp amber eyes sweeping the room as though expecting to catch something illicit lingering in the air.
"What are you doing?" Julian asked, stepping in cautiously, breathing in the scent of jasmine and expensive cigarettes that always clung to Shante's space.
"And that's the first thing you say after shouting my name like a banshee?" Shante snapped, her voice sharp and commanding. "What if one of the members heard you?"
Julian smirked. "I checked. Coast is clear. I wasn't about to interrupt your... pleasure."
Shante blinked slowly. "Seriously?"
"Why won't you let me meet him?" Julian teased, still scanning for signs of a man she was sure didn't exist.
Shante ignored the comment. She turned, made her way to the antique dresser, and pulled three packs of cigarettes from the drawer. A lighter. An ashtray. Her old rituals returned like old scars. Familiar. Painful.
Julian's face changed instantly. She knew this version of Shante too well. Knew what came next. And it terrified her.
"Te... don't."
Shante didn't answer. She sat on the edge of the bed, unpacked one of the boxes, and let the cigarettes tumble into the tray like fallen soldiers. Her eyes were empty. Cold.
"What's the message?" she asked, cigarette poised at her lips.
Julian hesitated. "You don't have to do this. Just talk to me."
"I'll ask one more time," Shante said quietly,too quietly. Her voice lowered like a storm about to break. "If you say one more thing I don't want to hear, I swear to God, I'll send you to the Red Room Society."
Julian flinched.
"The Umbra Collective just sent a message," she said finally. "There's going to be a meeting at headquarters next Monday."
Shante lit her cigarette, green eyes flickering briefly in thought. A meeting? So soon?
She exhaled, thick smoke curling from her nostrils.
"Scram."
Julian took a hesitant step back. "Shan..."
"I don't like repeating myself," Shante warned, and Julian swallowed the rest of her words.
"Take care of yourself, ma," Julian whispered, backing out slowly. She lingered by the door, hoping to be called back.
She wasn't.
Shante didn't look up again. Smoke clouded the space around her like a veil, a shield, a burial shroud.
Outside, Julian sank to the floor, spine pressed to the door. She folded her arms around her knees, resting her forehead on them. She couldn't leave. Not when Shante was like this. Not when the woman she admired was slipping into the dark again.
"I'll keep you safe, Te," she murmured to the walls. "I swear I will."
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This chapters were just so brief and short,so please let's just make it as a bonus chapter.
I really hope you're enjoying this novel tho.