Roe reclined lazily in his chair, the weight of his victory draped over him like a royal robe. Naomi had been his for days, his puppet, his entertainment, his proof that he had mastered her completely. And tonight? Tonight was a celebration.
"Bring me a drink, boy!" Roe barked to a passing guard, his voice slurring slightly from the remnants of his last indulgence. His eye flicked lazily to Naomi, curled against the bars of her cage, her limbs weak from exhaustion. "You see this, sweetheart? This is just the beginning. You an' me? We got big plans."
Naomi said nothing. She barely even breathed in response. She had learned silence well.
The guard returned with a dusty bottle and two mismatched glasses. Roe popped the cork with his teeth, taking a long, satisfied swig. "Mmm, that's the good shit," he muttered, wiping his mouth. Then, with a lazy grin, he sloshed some into the second glass. "Come on, girl, let's have a toast! Oh, wait, you ain't got the hands free, do ya?" He laughed, a slow, lecherous chuckle that curled Naomi's stomach.
She clenched her fists. Focus.
The collar was failing.
She could feel it, the control wasn't absolute anymore. She had tested it in the last few hours, sending out the faintest whispers of suggestion, testing the edges of Roe's control. She wasn't sure if he had noticed, but the moment was coming. She just needed to be patient.
Naomi watched as Roe lifted the bottle, bringing it to his lips again. And then, she pushed.
A single, whispered thought.
Drink.
Roe took a sip.
Naomi's breath hitched, heart hammering. It worked.
She steadied herself. Roe was already planning to drink, she just… encouraged it.
Do it again.
"Drink again," she whispered within the confines of her own mind, pushing the thought out toward him.
Roe chuckled and lifted the bottle again, taking a deeper swig, tipping it back without hesitation. "Damn good stuff," he muttered.
Push more.
"Twice as much this time."
Roe didn't even question it. He just drank.
The warmth in Naomi's chest burned brighter now, realization hitting her like a spark catching dry tinder. He doesn't even know. He's so used to controlling her, so sure of his absolute power, that he doesn't even recognize the subtle shift in their positions.
The collar was running out of sedative.
And Naomi was getting stronger.
Naomi waited, forcing herself to be measured, precise. Roe continued drinking—faster, sloppier, deeper. His usual smug composure was starting to crack, his limbs growing looser, his body slumping lazily in his chair.
She didn't need to push anymore. He was doing it to himself now.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Naomi whispered again. Send the guard away. Tell him you're tired.
Roe smacked his lips, sighing heavily. "You," he slurred, pointing lazily at the guard. "Get out. Tired of your ugly face standin' around. Piss off."
The guard hesitated, glancing at Naomi. She kept her eyes low, hiding the flicker of triumph surging through her veins.
"Go on," Roe snapped, waving the bottle at him. "Ain't no fun with you watchin'."
The guard nodded and left.
Naomi let out a slow, measured breath. Now it was just them.
Now it was her moment.
"Throw your keys at the girl."
Roe didn't hesitate. With a lazy, careless motion, he tossed the ring of keys toward her cage, the metallic clatter of them hitting the floor sending a shockwave of realization through Naomi's body.
She could barely move, barely breathe. Her fingers trembled as she reached for them, her breath coming in shallow, shaking gasps.
Freedom.
But not yet. Not while Roe still sat there.
She gripped the key, her pulse thrumming. One last command.
"Sit."
Roe waddled backward, collapsing into his chair, his body heavy with alcohol and submission. He groaned, shifting lazily. "Yep, girly," he mumbled. "You an' me, we're gonna take over this damned city. You think you're miserable now?"
He laughed to himself, his words slurring. "Not an awful lotta your kind down here, human, female… blokes would pay an awful lot to slip into bed with you."
He grinned. "Scars and all."
Something inside Naomi snapped.
She had been waiting. She had been building. She had been patient.
But now? Now was the moment.
Roe leaned back further, laughing to himself, his head tilting up toward the ceiling. "Rat got your tongue?" he cackled, lifting his head just in time to see her standing.
Outside of the cage collar in hand.
Roe's laughter died in his throat.
His single eye widened in horror as Naomi stepped forward, the burning green glow of her power radiating from within, illuminating her eyes in sickly, unnatural light.
Naomi's voice was quiet, steady.
"What a fine little thing we've got here."
She lifted the collar.
The last chain Roe had over her.
Roe stared at her, the haze of alcohol slowing his thoughts just enough that the fear took a second too long to register.
But when it did, it was absolute.
His single eye widened, flicking from Naomi's eerie green glow to the collar dangling from her fingertips. He opened his mouth, but his voice failed him. A dry, ragged gasp came out instead.
Naomi stepped forward, her footsteps slow, deliberate.
She wanted him to feel this moment.
Roe twitched, his body sluggish with liquor and dawning terror. His paw jerked toward his sidearm—
Too slow.
"Sit."
The command slammed into him like a hammer. His knees buckled beneath his weight, his body crashing into the chair, limbs locking rigidly in place.
Naomi exhaled slowly, power humming in her veins, stronger than it had felt in months.
The collar was empty now.
And Roe was completely at her mercy.
Roe fought against it, his muscles convulsing beneath his fur, jaw clenched so tight Naomi could hear his teeth grinding.
He was still trying to resist.
"Your hand. On the desk."
Roe's paw jerked forward, slamming onto the polished wood against his will. His claws twitched violently, fighting her control, his breath coming in ragged, furious gasps.
"You little bitch," Roe snarled through clenched teeth, sweat trickling down his brow. His fur bristled, his eye blazing with a mixture of rage and panic.
"Don't make another sound." Naomi whispered.
She reached for the dagger still stabbed into his desk, her fingers closing around the hilt of the very blade Roe had used to punish her before.
The irony was delicious.
She lifted it slowly, her chest rising and falling with deliberate breaths, savoring the weight of it in her grip.
She had been here before. She had felt this helplessness before.
Except now, now she was the one in control.
"Feel familiar you god damn idiot?" Naomi murmured, tilting her head.
Then, she drove the dagger down.
The blade punched cleanly through Roe's paw, sinking into the wood beneath.
His body jerked violently, but Naomi's command still held firm. His silent scream clawed at his throat, his mouth gaping open in a choked, soundless agony.
Naomi stared. She could feel his pain. His whole body was seizing, twitching, trying desperately to move, to react, but she wouldn't let him.
He had made her do this to others.
Now it was his turn.
She tightened her grip on the dagger, pressing down just enough to make his muscles spasm beneath her hold before pulling out the dagger.
"Kill yourself." Naomi said as she walked towards the door.
Roe's arm jerked, his own gun lifting toward his head before his body froze mid-motion, able to resist momentarily from the shock caused by the pain of being stabbed through the paw, his entire body shaking violently from the effort of resisting.
Naomi could feel the war inside him, his willpower straining against her control, his desperation clawing for purchase.
And then—
A gunshot.
The bullet whizzed past her, slamming into the stone wall ahead of her.
Naomi whipped around, her fury redoubling, white-hot rage pulsing in her veins.
Roe had fought her command just long enough to fire a wild, desperate shot, his final defiance.
She would not allow another.
Her voice ripped from her throat, raw and unrelenting.
"Stand."
Roe jerked upright, his body moving on instinct.
"Against the wall. Hands at your side."
Roe slammed back, his shoulders colliding with the cold stone, his arms falling limp at his sides, his chest rising and falling wildly as his breath came in ragged gasps.
Naomi's hands shook, her entire body trembling, but her eyes remained locked onto him.
"No more." She loosed the dagger from his desk again, the blood allowing it to slip free easier than she thought. She closed the distance quickly and grabbed the front of his coat, slamming the dagger into his chest.
Roe choked, his whole body convulsing against the wall, his mouth gasping open, his claws twitching in useless panic.
Naomi stared into his single, bloodshot eye, watching as the rage, the control, the cruelty all bled out of him.
Tears burned her vision, but her hands didn't tremble.
She pulled the dagger free and stabbed him again.
Roe's body slumped forward, his legs giving out, his weight crumbling beneath the weight of his sins.
Naomi stood over him, breath ragged, uneven, her pulse pounding in her ears.
She was free.
The collar, gone.
Her prison, shattered.
She had taken the life of her abuser with her own will.
For the first time since the explosion, Naomi had been the one to choose.
Her hands were slick with blood, but Naomi didn't hesitate.
She grabbed the gun from Roe's limp fingers, wiping her face as she took quick, shaking steps toward the door.
Her feet carried her forward before she could process what had just happened, before her mind could catch up to her actions.
She shoved open the heavy door, stepping into the cold corridors of the compound.
She was free.
She knew she had to get back to Eli, and she knew one thing for certain.
Roe was never going to hurt her again.
Naomi's breath came fast and shallow as she moved through the dim corridors of Roe's compound, her fingers gripping the stolen gun so tightly that her knuckles ached. She had no idea how to use it properly, her finger rested dangerously on the trigger, her pulse hammering through her body as adrenaline kept her moving forward.
She could hear movement in the rooms beyond, guards, unaware of what she had done. Not yet, at least. But the moment someone found Roe's body, the entire compound would erupt into chaos.
Naomi couldn't let that happen.
Steeling herself, she reached out with her power, casting thoughts like nets into the minds around her.
You didn't hear that noise. You didn't see anything strange. Stay where you are.
The guards remained in place, their footsteps stilling, their conversation cutting off mid-sentence. Naomi moved swiftly past them, her power blanketing their awareness like a thick fog. She pushed herself further, silencing the scrape of her boots against the stone floor, forcing her presence to blur in their minds.
Step by step, she became a ghost.
The tunnels ahead yawned open, and she ran.
The air was thick with damp and decay as Naomi moved deeper into the tunnels, the weight of her escape pressing down on her. Every breath burned in her lungs. The gun in her hands felt too heavy, too unnatural.
She didn't know how to fire it properly. Didn't even know if the safety was on. But she clung to it anyway, as though sheer desperation would make it work if she needed it.
She slowed her steps as she neared the wooden plank bridge, the same bridge she had crossed before Roe's men captured her. Naomi hesitated just for a second, catching her breath.
Just a few more steps.
Just a little farther, and she would be out of the Ruined Quarter for good.
Then a hand grabbed her shoulder.
Naomi whipped around, panicked, her heart screaming in her chest. The moment blurred—
Bang.
The gun went off.
A sharp cry rang out.
Naomi's mind caught up a second too late as she saw Talia stumble backward, clutching her leg, her face twisting in shock and pain. The scent of blood hit the damp air.
Naomi's breath caught in her throat, horror clawing at her insides. She had acted without thinking.
Talia's voice was strained but urgent. "Naomi, wait—"
But Naomi was already backing away, her limbs trembling, the weight of everything crushing down on her at once. Her escape. Roe's death. The gun still clutched in her shaking fingers.
She turned and ran.
Behind her, Talia's voice chased after her, growing weaker.
"I was trying to help!"
Then, the sound of Talia collapsing, the wound taking its toll.
Naomi didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
She had one thought left, one desperate drive that overpowered everything else:
Get to Eli.
She vanished into the tunnels, leaving Talia behind, the echoes of her own mistake following her into the darkness.
Naomi ran.
Her breath burned in her chest, her legs aching with exhaustion, but she couldn't stop now. The tunnels twisted around her, a dark labyrinth of damp stone and flickering torchlight. The Ruined Quarter was behind her, but the terror still clung to her skin.
She had escaped.
She had killed Roe.
And yet, it didn't feel like victory.
Her hands were still slick with his blood, the weight of the stolen gun like lead in her grip. Talia's voice echoed in the back of her mind, "I was trying to help!" But Naomi shoved it aside. She couldn't think about that right now.
She had to get to Eli.
He was all that mattered.
By the time Naomi reached her hideout, her breath was ragged, her limbs shaking. She staggered through the entrance, half-expecting to see Eli's still body lying where she had left him, wrapped in blankets, safe in the only sanctuary she had been able to give him.
But the room was empty.
Naomi froze.
Her pulse thundered in her ears as she took in the scene, everything scattered, overturned, the remnants of her fragile world broken apart.
The bedroll was gone.
Eli's body, gone.
Naomi's breath hitched, her mind racing. Where was he? Who had taken him?
She stumbled forward, searching, grasping for anything, and then, her foot hit something.
A small, crushed object lay at her feet.
Naomi knelt, her hands shaking as she reached for it.
It was the wooden box.
The same one Eli had carved for her.
It had been trampled, the delicate engravings on its surface barely recognizable beneath the dirt and scuff marks. The lid was cracked, barely hanging on by its hinges.
And beside it the lockets
Crushed. Broken.
The only thing Eli had ever given her, now nothing but ruined wood and shattered glass.
Naomi stared, the weight of the moment crashing over her like a wave.
He was gone.
Everything she had fought for, killed for, suffered for…
Gone.
Her hands curled into fists, the rough edges of the box biting into her palms. A sharp, gasping sob forced its way out of her throat, but she bit it back, shaking her head violently.
No. No, no, no.
This couldn't be it.
This couldn't be the end.
Her vision blurred, but she forced herself to think. Someone had taken him. Someone had moved him.
But who? And why?
She had no answers. No clues.
She had nowhere left to go.
Except forward.