MINE TO UNMAKE

WHEN CAGES HAVE NAMES

JAYDEN'S POV: THE MANSION

I walked into the Blackwood mansion, my boots clicking against the marble like a Death Signal. My foster parents sat in the grand parlor, looking Strict and composed. Beside them sat Vanessa Sterling—the daughter of a rival Pillar in the Veridian underworld.

"Jayden," my foster father said, his voice cold. "The arrangement is finalized. Vanessa is your future. She is the only one with the sovereign strand to merge our empires."

I looked at Vanessa. She was perfect ice—expensive diamonds, a fake smile, and eyes that held no Glow. She was a Ghost compared to the fire I had just left at Onyx.

"I don't do arrangements," I growled, the Violence in my voice making the guards shift their feet. And I don't merge. I conquer."

Vanessa stood up, her silk dress rustling. " I came back for you, Jayden. I don't know what you are hiding, something that made you clear out onyx tonight. That filthy thing you have been stashing will be deleted.

My hand twitched toward my holster. "If you even speak her name again, Vanessa, the Sterling empire will be in ruins by morning."

ZAHRA’S POV

Jayden’s estate was an empire in marble, but I felt like a "Caged lily." I wandered through the halls, my heels clicking on the floors, clutching the black bag he’d sent. I was safe here, but I was also "Sleepless."

I looked at the phone he’d gifted me. No new texts.

Suddenly, reality buffered. A message popped up on the screen, but it wasn't from him. It was from an Unknown Number.

“ I don't know how you crawl into Jaydens life, Zahra. Filth doesn't become family, dear. It gets washed away. Enjoy the 'Glow' while it lasts, because Jayden Blackwood belongs to me.“

I dropped the phone, my heart rate, returned. The Angel- Jayden who had saved me had a War I knew nothing about. And Eira Vance just drafted me onto the front line.