She did not resist when the woman guided her away from the dissolving crowd, though every instinct screamed at her to stay alert, since she could not trust easily. The grip around her shoulders was firm and deliberate, not cruel, not gentle either, and the men of the Order closed ranks around them with silent efficiency.
As they walked by, conversations faded as people turned their eyes elsewhere, pretending not to see, not to know, nor to remember what had just happened, after all, no one was brave or foolish enough to do what she just did. In this city, attention was currency, and most chose poverty over debt.
They moved through the streets that subtly changed the deeper they went. The noise softened, not because there were fewer people, but because the magic embedded into the stone seemed to swallow sound selectively. Lanterns burned with steady, colorless light. The buildings grew older, heavier with history, their walls etched with sigils worn smooth by centuries of enforcement.
Only once they crossed into a quieter courtyard did the woman release her hold.
"Breathe," she said calmly, turning to face her fully. "I see that you are finally realizing the extent of what you just did and you're shaking or are you just pretending?"
She tensed a little at her words and her eyes narrowed, she hadn't realized she was shaking.
The woman studied her openly now, eyes sharp and bright, missing nothing. Up close, her beauty was less ornamental and more dangerous, like a blade polished until it reflected only what it was meant to cut. Authority clung to her not as a symbol but as a consequence.
"You handled that better than most," the woman continued. "Predator circles don't like losing prey, and they don't usually retreat unless they know they have crossed something they can't afford to."
She swallowed, steadying herself. "I didn't know who you were. I just knew they would stop, given the fact you had so much attention."
"That," the woman said with a faint smile, "was a correct assumption."
She turned and gestured, and a door set into the courtyard wall opened soundlessly, revealing a narrow passage leading down. Without waiting, the woman began to descend, clearly expecting her to follow.
She looked around and scoffed, knowing she had no choice, since she brought this mess on herself, so she did.
The passage opened into a chamber carved directly from stone, lit by slow-burning sigil lamps embedded into the walls. Maps covered one side, layered with marks and annotations, some glowing faintly as if still active. The air felt dense here, not oppressive, but weighted with control.
The woman removed her gloves and set them aside before finally offering a name.
"My title is Magistrate Selene Vaelor," she said. "I work for the royal family as well and I oversee irregular threats and nonstandard assets within this district."
The word "asset" lingered in the girl's mind and her brows furrowed.
Selene's gaze sharpened as she continued. "Which brings us to you."
She tensed but did not back away.
"You're not registered here and you have no identification," Selene said. "You are not bound to a guild, not claimed by a house, and not documented by the city's bestial registry. Yet you passed through authority wards, triggered no alarms, and drew the attention of three different circles within your first morning."
Selene stepped closer, slowly circling her. "That tells me you are either incredibly lucky or profoundly dangerous."
The system stirred, unusually restrained.
[Observation: High-Authority Individual]
[Recommendation: Limited Disclosure]
She chose her words carefully after hearing the system's warning. "I came here to understand and I am trying to survive, to build myself a new life."
Selene stopped in front of her and smiled faintly. "Everyone says that."
There was a pause, thick but not hostile, but then Selene surprised her.
"I get the need to survive, especially for a being like you, whose life is conditional, like the weather. Some of you can be accepted, some of you are treated harshly, so I won't expose you," she said. "Not today, at least."
Her breath caught in her throat and she looked up at her with wide eyes.
"Those men weren't sanctioned," Selene continued. "If they had been, you wouldn't be standing here. The city has rules, even for monsters, and even for us."
She leaned in slightly. "But protection has a cost."
There it was, the cost she was waiting to hear.
"You approached me without thinking and I claimed you in public," Selene said evenly. "That claim will circulate. Some will respect it. Others will test it. Which means from this moment on, you are under my shadow, whether you like it or not."
Her pulse quickened; in a way this was good and bad, since realistically she did not even know her so she could not let her guard down as yet.
"And what do you want in return?" She asked, her voice firm and unwavering; she was determined to get her way.
Selene's smile deepened hearing her shift in tone, something intent flashing behind it. "Honesty, eventually. Cooperation, when it matters. And for now, proximity."
She straightened as her hair flowed gently behind her with the wind. "You'll stay in a residence under my oversight. You will learn how this city works, how its laws bend and where they break. You will keep your head down, your instincts sharp, and you won't wander into black-market alleys alone again."
She hesitated. "And if I refuse?"
Selene's gaze flicked briefly to the wall, where one of the maps pulsed faintly, reacting to her presence. "Then the city will notice you without my filter."
That was not a threat. It was a fact and she knew it, whether she will trust her only time ciukd tell and for now, she had to use this opportunity and take a risk.
She nodded slowly. "I'll stay."
Selene seemed satisfied with her answer and as they moved again, escorted now through a different corridor leading upward, something prickled at the edge of her awareness. Not danger. Recognition.
The system chimed, softer than usual.
[External Awareness Detected]
[Source: Unidentified]
She felt it then, a distant tug, as if something in the city had shifted its attention toward her path, curious rather than hostile, old rather than aggressive. Whatever it was, it was not part of Selene's authority.
They emerged onto a balcony overlooking the city's inner districts, it was a separate section not far away from the castle. The view was breathtaking and terrifying all at once. Towers rose like monuments to ambition, and beneath them, lives moved in patterns far too complex to be accidental.
Selene rested her hands on the railing. "You stepped into one of the hearts of this world today," she said. "Most don't survive that long, especially when they are a little bit lost."
She followed her gaze, tail hidden, ears still aching beneath the hood. Somewhere deep within her core, something stirred, not fear or hunger, even though her stomach rumbled, but alignment, as if her path had just locked into place.
She had wanted protection.
Instead, she had entered a contract she did not yet fully understand.
And far below, unseen by either of them, a sigil buried beneath the city's oldest foundations pulsed once in quiet acknowledgment and two bright red eyes opened.