Chapter 7 Fire in the Mirror

Morning in Belladonna was a different kind of chaos. Not loud, exactly, just... sharp. Horns blaring. Street vendors shouting. The smell of strong coffee, fuel, and city dust mixing in the air like perfume for troublemakers.

Lysandra sat at the long kitchen island in Silvano's penthouse, a cup of coffee warming her hands. She hadn't slept much. Too many dreams. Too many faces she didn't recognize whispering things she wasn't ready to hear.

Across from her, Silvano scrolled through something on his phone. Even in the quiet, he radiated that same intensity-like he was always five seconds from setting something on fire.

"You're thinking too loud," he said without looking up.

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You get this look when you're overthinking," he added, finally glancing at her. "It's like watching someone try to defuse a bomb with a spoon."

Lysandra smirked. "That's a weirdly specific insult."

He grinned, just a little. "I'm full of 'em."

But her smile faded. "I saw something again. In the mirror last night."

Silvano straightened. "What kind of something?"

"Same guy from before," she said, voice dropping. "Crimson eyes. Blood on his hands. Except this time, there was fire behind him. Like the whole city was burning."

His expression didn't change much, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

"That's... probably not good," he muttered.

"No kidding."

She stood up, walking toward the floor-length mirror in the hallway. It was just her reflection now-silver hair a little messy, white hoodie hanging loose, eyes still a little tired. But she knew what she'd seen. Knew it hadn't been a dream.

"I think something's waking up inside me," she said, softly. "Something that's been asleep for a long time."

Silvano joined her, arms crossed as he stared into the glass beside her. "Good. We'll need whatever that is, soon."

She looked at him. "You're not even surprised."

"I've grown up around magic," he said. "You can't shock me anymore."

Just then, the lights above them flickered. A hum ran through the walls like static.

Lysandra stepped back. "Okay. That wasn't me."

"No," Silvano said slowly, already pulling out his phone. "That was the building."

Seconds later, Marco's voice crackled through the intercom. "Boss. We've got movement. Fae signatures-north end. Way stronger than usual."

Lysandra's blood went cold. "The barrier?"

Silvano's eyes met hers. "It's cracking."

He turned to her, more serious than she'd ever seen him. "I need you to come with me. Now. If you're seeing the future in flames, we don't wait for the fire to hit us-we run into it first."

"Is that a strategy?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's survival," he said, already heading for the elevator.

Lysandra hesitated for only a second before grabbing her pendant and following. Her fingers tightened around it. It pulsed again-warmer this time.

The city wasn't burning yet.

But something was about to start the fire