First of all, thanks so much to @queen-of-boops for gifting me this GORGEOUS artwork of my man Titian. The work was commissioned from @erixadraws who did an amazing job!!
Second, I've been working on this Titian/Eva fic for legit 5 months, and it's fiiiiinally done! Hope you enjoy!
Summary:
It’s a good thing shesmu don’t dream… or this man might haunt hers.
I wrote this WIP while HS2 was still releasing, this was based on a theory I still have regarding Vicky/MC. Initially I thought I might add it as a part of my long Malbonte fic, but by the time I get to this point in the story I’ll be 100 at the rate I’m going.
I tried to tie it up as a one-shot but it’s pretty obvious there was meant to be more after this concludes. Maybe I’ll post that as a continuation someday.
This is a rewrite of the scene where MC (in this case, Antigone) tries to flee when on Earth with Leeloo and Dino.
Book: Heaven’s Secret 2
Female Main Character: Antigone Walker
Pairing: F!MC x Malbonte
Word Count: 3500
Rating: M (suicide, mentions of torture and cruelty)
Warnings: suicide attempt, mentions (brief and vague) of torture and starvation.
Tag: @rc-catalog
Antigone
Antigone knew she only had one chance to get away, one chance to be free of the literal chains she carried around her neck. She quickly glanced over to Leeloo and Dino who were still arguing a few metres away. They wouldn’t immediately notice her absence. It could be enough time to escape… In any event she had to try, she may not ever get another opportunity, if she didn’t try now she may never get to again.
She ran, hiding in a nearby alley with a direct view of the sky. Antigone looked up, ready to spread her wings when she felt his energy and a sense of dread filled her core.
Malbonte. How did he know?
He landed in front of her, the pavement cracking under his feet and his gaze murderous. Dino and Leeloo, feeling Malbonte’s overwhelming energy and noticing Antigone's absence ran to the entrance of the alley, stopping short under Malbonte’s angry stare.
”Where do you think you’re going?”
Malbonte’s tone was nothing like Antigone remembered how he used to speak to her. He was furious, and his palpable anger rolled off his energy in thick, overpowering waves.
”I just have to get out of here… I have to go…” Antigone mumbled nervously, her anxious gaze darting back and forth between Malbonte and the sky. She knew he was faster and even before she’d been stripped of his energy, far more powerful than she could ever dream of being but if she could just get past him, maybe…
“Do you think you can escape? Like a bug trying to slip between the fingers of the hand about to crush it?”
Malbonte’s voice was poison on Antigone’s already crushed heart as he interrupted her thoughts. Where was the man she loved for the last ten years? Where were the traces of Bont she knew so well in him? This was the first time since she met him that Antigone saw Malbonte the same way everyone else did, heartless, cold… a monster.
”I’m trying to do something! Am I supposed to just kneel like the rest of you pathetic cowards?!" Antigone‘s voice was shrill and defeated. ”I won’t be Lucifer’s pet! The last time I spoke to him, I was breaking his heart to leave him for you. He hates me.“
Antigone paused and looked at Malbonte for a moment, studying him.
“And you’re just going to let him keep me on a leash? Is that all I am to you? A dog who has to be obedient? After everything we’ve been through, that’s how you think of me?”
Malbonte’s eyes flashed with a fury Antigone had never seen directed at herself before and she knew in that moment that the man she loved was gone. Or perhaps he never existed in the first place. Antigone swallowed the lump beginning to form in her throat.
"Shut up, or you'll get a muzzle to go with your leash."
Antigone couldn't hide the horror in her features at his angry words and Malbonte seized on the moment to approach her quickly.
”We’re going back.”
Malbonte grabbed Antigone’s arm roughly as he spoke, pulling her toward himself. He was surprised when, with the very little strength she had left, Antigone shoved him angrily.
”Over my dead body.”
Malbonte scowled at her and stepped toward her menacingly.
”That can be arranged.”
Antigone felt the last of her hope shatter with every word he just uttered. She looked at him with all the contempt she could muster and stepped back, her eyes blazing with challenge.
“Then do it. I won’t let you take me back there Malbonte. I will make you kill me before I ever have to look at Plague's face again.”
Antigone found herself grateful when Malbonte lazily waved his hand, putting up a protective shield around them as though he were preparing for a real fight. They both knew it was pointless, that with a simple gesture Malbonte could destroy her and not even break a sweat but him offering her the decency of pretending she was a valid opponent was enough to feel grateful, as pathetic as her gratitude made her feel.
When Malbonte sent a wave of dark energy at her, Antigone ducked, letting his power crash into the protective bubble behind her with a loud thud. Antigone could hear Dino from beyond the wall, pleading with Malbonte to let him take her back to the Academy safely but his yells went ignored. Malbonte stepped toward Antigone, never taking his eyes off hers as he spoke.
"There can be no other power in you but mine. You were born as a vessel for the darkness that runs in my veins, but you were deprived of that. From now on, you shouldn't hope to find any other power within yourself. What do you hope to accomplish here, Antigone?"
Antigone scowled at her former lover angrily, ignoring his question she replied.
"Do you know what humans see as real power? Willpower, strength, resilience, and belief in a person, even when he tries time and time again to show me it isn't worth it!"
Malbonte didn’t stop, he didn’t hesitate as he stepped toward her to grab her. Antigone knew he knew she had no power so he wouldn’t have to defend himself. He clearly didn’t expect her next act though.
Antigone, noticing a rusty old knife lying on the ground in the alley just a couple steps away from herself picked it up off the ground and threw it at Malbonte as hard as she could. It landed exactly where she expected, with a dull thud in his shoulder. He glanced at it lazily before grabbing her again, not even bothering to remove the knife.
That would turn out to be a fatal mistake.
Antigone steeled herself. She had a plan, but worst case scenario non-existence was better than anything waiting for her at the Academy. That's why she pulled the knife from Malbonte's shoulder when he pulled her against him again and plunged it deep into her own heart. Malbonte, still holding her arm, moved to hold her in his arms not hiding the shock on his face.
"Anything is better than going back there. I love you, even now."
Antigone barely recognized the sound of her own voice as she muttered her final words to Malbonte.
She felt Malbonte freeze momentarily before he pulled the knife from her in a quick motion. She heard Dino and Leeloo cry out in surprise as she started to slip into blissful oblivion. The last thing she saw before her eyes fell closed was the face of her love, for the first time in months displaying something other than cold indifference. His fear, his regret, his hurt. Malbonte put his hand on her chest and let out a stream of dark energy, and then... there was nothing but darkness. No more pain, no more heartache, just… nothing.
Lucifer
Lucifer was with Plague when Dino and Leeloo returned from the mission, notably without Antigone. He was about to ask where she was when Plague beat him to it.
"Dino, my boy, whatever has got you feeling so... deliciously anguished?" Plague lilted at the angel as he arrived, feasting on his energy as it powered her. Dino didn't answer, instead making eye contact with Lucifer.
"Antigone tried to flee. Malbonte... killed her.”
Leeloo answered for Dino, her tone lifeless as she spoke.
Lucifer staggered, catching himself in time before he fell to his knees. He couldn't have heard Leeloo right. Malbonte was an asshole, a monster, cruel and ruthless, but Antigone had always been the exception to that. He must have misheard the angel, he had to of. There was no way Malbonte would have done such a thing, not after…
"What?!"
Plague spit the word in angry surprise, interrupting Lucifer’s thoughts before composing herself and shaking her head. Lucifer watched as the Horsewoman approached Dino and grabbed his chin to enter his subconscious. Lucifer clenched his jaw as he watched Plague’s face morph into a relaxed smile, clearly getting something out of Dino she was seeking while Dino’s eyes flooded with unshed tears.
No! No, no, no, no, no.
It didn’t make any sense. Just the day before Malbonte had told Lucifer to volunteer to take Antigone when the Unclaimed were being auctioned off as slaves; an unspoken agreement between the two that Lucifer would ensure Antigone would remain as unharmed as she could be considering their circumstance. Why would he turn around and kill her the next day? What could she have possibly done to change Malbonte’s attitude toward her so quickly? Antigone was defenceless against anyone let alone Malbonte, so it wouldn’t have been self defence. Leeloo and Dino had to be mistaken, they just had to.
"What a shame, she was so much fun. But I guess now you know what happens when you don't follow the rules."
Plague’s voice grated on his nerves as she interrupted Lucifer’s train of thought once again, draining any of the remaining hope he had from his heart as she confirmed what Dino had seen earlier that day from his memories. As strong as he was, Dino wasn’t able to manipulate his memories and hide the truth from Plague, which could only mean one thing.
Antigone really was dead.
Lucifer steeled himself. When the time came, he would personally kill Malbonte and take great pleasure in it. He let his heart fill with anger and hatred, determined to let him fuel him until the time was right and he could avenge her.
Malbonte
He hadn't seen any trace of what she did in her mind at all. Malbonte knew Antigone was impulsive, it was one of the many things he admired about her, but he never, ever expected her to give up. Ever.
He tried to save her, but her aim was impeccable and with the shackles around her neck she was drained of so much of her immortality that she was practically human. He pulled the knife from her and sent his energy to her heart in an effort to heal her but it had already stopped and now he didn't know what to do.
"Antigone!"
Dino's anguished cry snapped Malbonte to the present. He looked at Dino coldly, and without a word flew away with Antigone in his arms ignoring Dino and the other angel as he flew away. To his relief they didn’t try to follow, he likely would have killed them if they had; he needed the quiet to figure out what to do next.
First, he brought Antigone to her father’s house on Earth, hoping to find where the mortal man was buried so Antigone could be next to him. Unfortunately, in the chaos of the impending Apocalypse, nobody had noticed her father’s death yet and he hadn't been buried. His decaying body sat where it had in the living room where Lucifer ended his life days before, staring back at Malbonte in condemnation as he carried the corpse’s dead daughter into the room.
Malbonte frowned to himself. Should he bury Antigone’s father too? He'd have to come back, it wouldn't be long before Plague came looking for him and first he had to ensure Plague couldn’t get to Antigone. Still carrying her, he went to the back of the house and found a shovel. He gently placed Antigone on the ground as he tied it to his belt, securing it tightly before picking her up again and taking off.
Next, he brought Antigone to an island as far away from the Academy as he could find. He was determined to at least fulfill her final wish, to give her the freedom from Plague she sought so desperately she ended her own life over it. He couldn't be there for her the way she needed him to be, and now because of him, the only person other than his parents who ever cared for him was gone forever.
When he found a suitable island he brought her beneath a huge willow tree and sat for a while with her head in his lap. He brushed her hair out of her face and studied it carefully. She looked peaceful, if he hadn't felt her heart stop and their connection cease he would believe she was sleeping. It was the first time since Plague's arrival he had a chance to really look at Antigone. She lost a lot of weight while she was kept in her prison, and her beautiful skin was smattered in bruises and scrapes that were unusual to see on an immortal. The shackles around her neck left a dark bruise that seemed to taunt him. In one swift motion, Malbonte removed the chain from Antigone's throat and threw it off the side of the island.
He didn't know how long he sat there with her, absent-mindedly stroking her hair as he contemplated how things turned out this way. He was grateful at least, that Shephamalum's whispers were notably absent so he could grieve her in peace. Malbonte wasn't a sentimental man, several thousand years of systemic torture had sufficiently destroyed any part of him that was capable of affection, but Antigone was his exception, his only exception. He knew the Bont side of him was worried what he'd do without her. She was the only thing that kept his darkness in check and now she's gone, and it’s all his fault. He could have protected her better, he could have tried to shield her, he could have not followed through with his plans… so many things he could have done and now it was too late.
Finally, after several hours of just... sitting with her, Malbonte got up and started digging. He could just shift the earth with his powers, but there was something more... intimate about him doing it the human way. A tribute to who Antigone was, the most remarkable Unclaimed to have ever existed. In his opinion, the most remarkable person. She had been his everything, the light to his darkness, the kindness to his evil and now…
He kept digging, far longer than he needed to as he let the repetitive motion distract him from the rage and despair building up inside of him. This feeling was somehow both familiar and foreign to Malbonte, it had been a very long time since he had someone to grieve, and while he’d known since the moment they met when he was still Bont that he loved her he couldn’t even deny it to himself anymore. It was more than their connection, Antigone was everything warm and light in his otherwise dark and cold life, and without her he had nothing left.
"What... are you doing?"
Malbonte froze. He hadn't even registered in his anguish, but suddenly his entire body was flooded with relief and... connection. He turned slowly from his place in the hole he’d dug to face her, unable to hide the surprise on his face.
"You're.. awake?"
He couldn’t bring himself to say the words he was really thinking.
Alive. She’s alive. How?
Antigone was sitting on the ground where he left her, watching him with curiosity.
"Where are we?"
She left his question unanswered, asking her own instead. Malbonte dropped the shovel in the hole he was burying and rushed over to her, ignoring her flinch when he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. She froze in his embrace for only a moment before melting in his arms the way she always did and burying her face in his chest. He felt her anguish and relief from his embrace as he held her close.
He was confused, he knew without a doubt that she was dead. Their connection had snapped within him like a dry twig the moment her heart stopped and her energy had completely ceased to exist. Yet here she was in his arms, speaking to him as though she had only taken a nap. Their connection intact, her energy brightening his own like it always had.
"I'm not sure," he finally answered her question.
He felt Antigone's confusion and surprise and had no doubt she could sense his own.
How is this even possible? Did Shephamalum have something to do with it?
Malbonte knew the god of darkness would be able to, He had brought Malbonte back from death countless times. It didn't seem likely though, not unless He needed Antigone for something that Malbonte was not yet aware of. Malbonte dismissed the thought for now, but he'd come back to it later. In this moment he didn’t want to think about anything, anything but the woman in his arms whose tears were dampening his jacket as he held her tightly.
It was then Antigone seemed to notice her chain was gone. She put her hand up to her throat gingerly, her hands shaking as though she couldn't believe it.
"Did you... free me?"
Malbonte continued to hold her, not willing to let her go in that moment. She was warm, she was breathing and alive and he wanted nothing more in that moment to bask in her warmth, in her life and light and everything in between.
"You died."
He finally found the words to admit it. Antigone looked up at him from his arms, studying his face closely.
"I intended to.”
Her voice was quiet and without regret.
"I didn't expect you to... give up,"
He studied her face carefully as he spoke, trying to piece together what was going on. She intended to die. She really was dead. Had he gone mad? Was she a figment of his sick brain and he finally snapped?
"That's because I didn't."
He could feel the amusement in her energy as she spoke, and if he wasn’t so fucking relieved to be speaking to her again it would have angered him. Instead, he tilted his head in curiosity.
"You're not making a lot of sense."
"It's not so fun being on that side of things, is it?" Antigone chuckled dryly. She sighed heavily and stepped back from Malbonte, looking at his hands still holding her arms. "Are you going to bring me back there?"
Malbonte shook his head.
"They think you're dead. Let it stay that way."
"Malbonte..." Antigone started. "I'm not going to stay in hiding if that's what you're implying."
"It's better than killing yourself”
His tone was cold, reflecting the anger he felt toward her careless and in his opinion, selfish action. To his surprise, Antigone laughed.
"I didn't think I had any secrets from you," she replied casually.
Malbonte only blinked, looking at her strangely.
"You... don't..."
He studied Antigone carefully as he spoke, surprised to find her mind mysteriously silent. Had she figured out how to block him from her thoughts?
"Hm"
Malbonte looked Antigone up and down carefully supressing the urge to chuckle at her defiant stare.
"You knew you'd come back." He said finally.
Antigone laughed again and shook her head.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Malbonte was confused. Antigone really didn't have any secrets from him, he could read her mind more easily than his own, but there was nothing but silence in that moment.
Are you trying to read my thoughts?
Finally, her voice entered his mind again. Malbonte smirked.
I don't think you'll find what you're looking for.
Malbonte continued to study the woman in front of him carefully. Finally, he spoke.
"Where will you go?"
Antigone shrugged. "I'm not sure I should tell you that."
Malbonte chuckled as a picture of a small house on the edge of a cliff on Earth came to his mind from her memories. Clearly, she was planning to go there.
"You won't be safe with humans," he said carefully, chuckling at Antigone's huff of indignation.
"It'd be nice if I could hide this stuff from you too."
"You won't be safe," he repeated.
"I'll be safer than I was with you."
Malbonte couldn't argue that. He did his best to keep her out of harm’s way, and the only reason she was alive as long as she had been was because he convinced Plague not to kill her. Still, he knew things hadn’t been easy for Antigone, she’d been tortured and starved in the dungeons for months and when she was finally released tortured some more. Malbonte clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the self-hatred bubbling through his veins.
It’s all my fault.
"There's... a resistance," he started quietly, interrupting his own thoughts, he’d have plenty of time for his self-hatred later. "I don't know where they are, but Lucifer is working with them. I'll send him to you at the humans, he'll tell you how to find them."
Antigone turned to Malbonte, her brow furrowed in frustration.
"Malbonte, you could just tell me what you're up to. Maybe I want to help you."
"No."
Antigone huffed angrily.
"How do you keep doing this? Why do you keep pushing me away?"
Malbonte sighed heavily and dropped his head.
"Because I don't want you on my path of darkness with me.”
"Is that up to you to decide?" Antigone asked him, unable to hide the contempt in her voice. There was a pause where he considered her words. Of course it wasn’t up to him but…
"No," he answered finally. "But I won't let you anyway. You're better than this."
"So are you." Antigone looked at Malbonte with sad eyes, shaking her head when he chuckled. "So. Are. You."
"You see something in me that isn't there, Antigone." he said finally. "I'll send Lucifer to find you. He'll make sure you're safe."
"Lucifer who kept me on a leash and called me his pet a few hours ago? I'd prefer if you didn't."
"Lucifer won't hurt you,"
He was confident, and when he finally convinced her to wait for the demon he breathed a sigh of relief.
This was for the best. Selfishly, he’d miss her but he knew he couldn’t make her stay at the academy and risk losing her forever. Just because she came back once doesn’t mean she would again. Besides, as much as he hated himself for it, he needed her to fulfill his plan, even if he couldn’t tell her what it was; even if she would hate him in the end anyway.
He’d handle it, as long as she was alive to brighten the world, he would handle it.
My gift fic for the beautiful @beesandfigsart. I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. I can’t stop saying how much I loved writing this, thank you for taking part in this little exchange with me! ❤️
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Summary: I know Heaven’s a thing / I go there when you touch me, honey / Hell is when I fight with you
Life can be a beautiful, painful, messy thing. That seems to be a lesson I’m still learning even as an immortal, as I celebrate Christmas in Hell and get involved with a friend going through grief.
Captain Canary—Western AU— “Tell me again why you’re naked?”
“So… Tell me again why you’re naked?”
Sara and Mick shared a look before returning their gaze to Leonard, who was calmly leaning over a banister while taking in the sight of his wife and his best friend who were both naked as the day they were born.
“You see, Boss… We were enjoying a drink down at the saloon…” started Mick.
“When Sheriff Hunter and his crew came in, saw us, and started a brawl,” continued Sara.
“We managed to take most of them out with a few punches and bottles to the head,” said Mick, who then grunted in amusement. “Threw Hunter right out the swinging doors and into a big pile of horse shit.”
“Go on,” said Leonard, already amused by the story. He had on a black duster, something he could easily offer Sara, but he knew she’d have some sort of offense at the gesture. If she were cold or uncomfortable, she’d have asked for his jacket. Instead, she seemed to be enjoying being bare to the elements… And Leonard had to admit he was surprised Mick’s gaze didn’t wander more than it had already. Mick was doing his best to be loyal to him and respectful to Sara.
“Well he got right prickly after being tossed in the dung,” said Sara, eyes sparkling with glee as she tossed back her wet, muddy hair over her shoulder. “So he decided to cheat by bringing out his gun.”
“Always needing his toys to feel manly,” muttered Mick. “His gun jammed and we got the hell out. Decided to cut through the marsh...”
“Damn skirts weighed me down so I got rid of them,” said Sara with a shrug.
“And your excuse?” asked Leonard, looking to Mick.
“Well, hell, if she was gettin’ naked then so was I!” Mick let out a belch. “Wouldn’t be right to let her be the only one standing out if someone were to catch us.”
“You’re both filthy,” commented Leonard.
“Well, it was basically a swamp we just trod through,” said Sara, who cocked out her hip and placed her hand on it. “As if you don’t enjoy the view!”“Oh, I do,” said Leonard, his voice a low purr. He then turned his attention to Mick. “Go clean yourself up!”
Mick gave Leonard a salute then headed to the small part of their hideaway that was his and his alone. Leonard wasn’t sure if he’d actually go wash himself up, but he wanted Sara’s full attention. He straightened from his lean on the banister and moved down the porch. His boots thunked against the wood as he traveled down the steps. He grinned as he got to Sara, tipping up his hat slightly before reaching out with his gloved hand to trail a finger down her arm. She shivered at the contact. His blue eyes watched with keen interest as the cool air and her excitement worked together to pebble her nipples.
“Sara...” Another shiver. “Someone’s been bad...”
“You like it when I’m bad,” she said, stepping into his space, absorbing some of his warmth.
“True... But I like it more when you don’t smell like a swamp.”
“Well, hell, did you want me to get caught instead?” asked asked, giving him a swat on the chest. Her hand was dirty and it left some residue on his shirt. He ignored it, instead pulling her in closer to him, making her squirm. “Leonard!”
“Yes?”
“Let me go!”
“Say pretty please,” he murmured into her ear and she sighed.
“You cheat. You know I’m a sucker for your drawl,” she murmured, pressing her lips to his.
“Not all of us... Can be... Proper folk,” he said between each kiss, his voice more breathless with each passed word.
“I’m not proper,” she said, biting his lower lip.
“Not anymore,” he countered, hauling her up flush against him. “How about we make ourselves a bath and continue this inside?”
“Yeah, good idea, the mud is starting to set.”
They took their bath. Took extra time to make sure each spot on their bodies was squeaky clean. They then settled on the sheets in the bed they called theirs for now, knowing it was only temporary because Hunter and his men could find their location at any time. When and if they did, the trio would move on as they always did.
Because the only thing they really needed was each other.
Oh, and the money they kept stealing and stashing away throughout the county.
congrats on your follower milestone, you deserve it! may I suggest rebelcaptain + I know your weakness. It’s kisses.You are doomed. (Don’t worry. We’re all doomed eventually.) from the a softer world prompts list? thanks :)
Ahh, you’re so sweet!! Thank you for the prompt, it is one of my favorite lines. Sorry that this turned out rather short, but I hope you enjoy!
“You can’t keep doing this, Jyn.”
His voice is low, just for her to hear, in this back-alley where he has her backed in a wall, willingly trapped between his arms. And it rumbles with anger, the genuine kind you usually can only see flashing through his eyes or a tremble in his clenched fist.
Perhaps she did cross one line too much. She always does. Regrets wrap around her neck like a choker, but she’s used to ignoring that noose. Had to learn it years ago.
“I cannot come running, risking my cover, to save you each time you risk your life. And if you get hurt…” Cassian’s voice trails off in strained silence, revealing gleaming bones of the matter.
“I will not forgive that.” He concludes, darkly, in his ‘I am your superior officer’ tone, but in truth it means everything neither dare to say. Your pain kills me. I cannot do this without you, not anymore.
She knows this would be the perfect moment to tell him how important the information she uncovered is, how she may have found the key to complete this undercover mission. But she’s never been that responsible. Assuring Cassian that she is alive and well, feeling that he is, too, is so much more important.
“It would sound a lot more impressive, Captain,” she murmurs, fingers latching on the collars of his jacket (it is really a mystery how he always ends up rocking one, even undercover), “if I did not know your weakness.”
He looks like he is about to protest, but when Jyn yanks him towards her, there is no resistance. His lips are warm, hungry and hurried, as if he is trying to wrestle a heart worth of emotions in one kiss. She does the same.
It’s not abuse of power, Jyn thinks, because her flaw in defense is the same. But she isn’t naive enough to not know what it spells for two people of their walk of life.
They are doomed. But we all are, eventually. And there are infinitely worse ways to go than loving Cassian Andor.
Excerpt of the upcoming chapter to Dead of Night (Malbonte x Vicky)
TW//: graphic descriptions of violence. blood. explicit content. please read additional tags on ao3!
@rc-catalog
He'd warned her. Told her to stop sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Tried to help her understand that she had to be careful, that under no circumstances could she afford to be reckless.
This woman was going to cost him his sanity. It was inevitable.
Vicky tripped, her balance faltering. She would have fallen if he hadn't kept her upright.
His irritation spiked. Without thinking, he grabbed her other shoulder and jerked her around to face him.
The words were already there, burning at the back of his throat. He was this close to giving her a taste of what it meant to provoke him. To wrap his fingers around her fragile throat and squeeze—until the light in her eyes flickered, until she finally understood the consequences of her recklessness.
