POV: Aurora
Every time I close my eyes, I hear Dante's words echoing in my head: "In the eyes of many, you will be Noir's omega."
He didn't say "if you accept it," but it was implied. Registration. Name. Clan.
I wake up hot, clinging to the sheets. I open the window, let in the cool air, and still feel like I have a stove burning inside me.
I think about saying yes just to get this all sorted out. Then I think about how that would tie me to him in a way I'm not sure I want.
I arrive at work with dark circles under my eyes. The thirty-first floor greets me with the smell of coffee.
Lina looks at me as soon as I walk in.
"Long night face," she says. "The report or your life?"
"Both," I reply.
She follows me to the machine.
"Did you talk to him?" she asks. "The one upstairs."
I nod.
"Yes," I reply. "Yesterday. He explained what he meant by 'protection.'"
Lina raises an eyebrow.
"And what does that mean?" she asks.
I pour coffee.
"He wants me to register under his name," I say finally. "Formally. So that on the papers we don't see, it appears that I'm 'under Noir'. So that no one else can touch certain things without going through him."
Lina blinks.
"That sounds less like a helmet and more like a collar," she comments.
"I know," I reply.
We return to the cubicle. I sit down. She stays there, leaning against the wall.
"What did he offer you in return?" she asks. "More pay, a promotion, extra insurance, what?"
"Security," I say. "That if anyone tries to use me, he'll be there. That if something happens with... what's happening to me, it won't be a stranger who decides.
She looks at me silently for a few seconds.
"And how did you feel when he offered it?" she asks.
I bite the rim of the cup.
"Partly relief," I admit. "Partly fear. It's like being on a dangerous street and a huge guy says, 'Walk close to me and no one will touch you.' It sounds good until you remember that he could also push you into the car if he wanted to."
Lina nods slowly.
"At least you see it," she says. "A lot of people get caught up in 'how nice that someone cares about me' and then wake up with no way out."
She crosses her arms.
"Aurora, he's your boss," she adds. "The top boss. Wanting to put his name above yours may be protection, yes, but it's also an elegant way of saying, 'you're coming with me, whether you like it or not.'"
"He says it's a choice," I reply.
"Life always says it's a choice," she replies. "The trick is how much pressure there is behind that word."
I sigh.
"My other options are worse," I say. "Staying 'free' so that anyone can get their hands on me when this progresses, or ending up in the hands of people like Valcourt."
"The one from the elevator?" she asks.
I nod.
"The foundation already invited me to an event," I add. "Hotel, 'young talent,' all expenses paid. Dante turned it down before I even saw it.
"How nice," she says. "They're fighting over who gets to drive you home.
She leans toward me a little.
"Look," she says. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, because I don't understand half of what's going on in your head. But I do know something about men with power. If you're going to tie yourself to one, do it with your eyes open and with conditions."
"Conditions?" I ask.
"Yes," she replies. "Ask yourself what you want."
Not just 'not dying in the attempt'. Do you want to stay here? Do you want to study? Do you want to help your family? Whatever it is. That has to be clear, even if it's only in your head, before you say yes to his last name.
The idea of 'saying yes to his last name' gives me a strange feeling.
"I don't even know what I want for breakfast tomorrow," I reply. Let alone what I want to do with the rest of my life.
"Then start with something smaller," she says. "Do you want to continue being you? Or are you willing to become 'Noir's girl' everywhere?"
The question hurts because it touches on something I had already thought about. I imagined my name associated with his in more ways than just on a form. In emails, in hallways, in rumors.
"I don't want to disappear," I murmur. "I don't want my only description to be 'his girl.'"
"Then, if you ever accept, let it be clear that you still have a voice," she says. "You're not signing up to become a shadow."
He straightens up.
"And while you're thinking, do something you can do today," she adds. "Find out exactly who Valcourt is." Not just "weird guy in the elevator." What he does, what he gets involved in, how he treats the people who fall into his circle.
"Google him?" I ask, half-jokingly.
"Whatever," she says. "Talk to someone, read the news, check reports. I don't want you to make decisions based only on what he tells you. Or what Dante tells you."
She's right. So far, everything I know has been filtered by those two.
"Okay," I say. "I'll look into it."
Lina makes a slight gesture.
"And please, while you're doing your research, don't accept any weird invitations, or coffees, or anything that smells like 'let's just talk for a while,'" she adds. "You already have enough with your possessive boss."
"He's not possessive," I reply automatically.
She looks at me with a "duh" expression.
I mentally review the last few weeks: the form, the orders, the "no one touches you without going through me."
"Well... a little," I correct myself.
"A little," she scoffs. "If he were a little more possessive, you'd have his name tattooed on your forehead."
She walks away, but before she leaves, she turns around.
"Just remember one thing," she says. "You're not a prize. You're not a scholarship. You're not a toy. You're a person. If anyone forgets that, and you forget it too, we've both lost."
When she leaves, I open a new tab on the computer.
I type in "Valcourt Nova Lyra" and look at the news that comes up. Headlines about investments, donations, agreements. Nothing says "we traffic in people," but I read between the lines.
Foundation. Hotels. Talents. Always the same structure.
I close the page.
Registration. Name. Clan.
For the first time, I begin to understand that the decision is not just between Dante yes or Dante no.
It's also between being a piece that others move or a player who at least knows what board she's on.