It’s hard to be inconspicuous when you’re hanging upside down.

I glare at Noah, who stands below me, struggling to keep a straight face. I’d been too distracted by the floating crystals, and before I knew it, the magic had me dangling by my ankles 50 feet from the ground.

“You know, I could get you down if I wanted to,” he says, his voice a smooth mix of mockery and patience. “It’s my magic that’s keeping you from falling after all.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” I snap, my frustration bubbling over.

He shrugs, the faintest smirk on his lips. “It’s kind of amusing.”

I try to use my own magic to sever the threads holding me up, but it’s useless. “Okay, Noah. I’m sorry I tried to run. Are you happy now?”

His eyes harden, but his tone stays measured. “Why? Why did you try to run?”

“Everyone in Court wants me dead,” I mutter. “And don’t pretend it’s not true. Your father nearly had me executed in front of the whole kingdom.”

There’s a flicker in his gaze, a flash of something I don’t like. “And you think I didn’t try to stop it? You think I didn’t fight him for you?”

“Then why save me?” I can’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. “Why drag me back here, where nothing’s changed?”

Noah’s eyes narrow, and for a brief moment, the mask of the prince slips. “Because I wasn’t going to let them kill something that’s mine.”

I freeze.

__

Mine.

The word hits like a blow to the chest. I’m not just some stray he’s taken pity on. I’m something he thinks he owns.

“I’m not yours,” I hiss, fighting the tremor in my voice. “I never asked to be.”

He steps closer, and for the first time, I feel the full weight of him, of the power he holds. “You don’t have to ask. You never did.”

My magic flares again, but I can’t move, can’t break free. “You think you can just decide this for me? That I’ll play along with your twisted little game?”

“No, I don’t think you’ll play along,” he says, his voice cold. “But you’ll survive it. Because I’m not going to let you die, Sitara. Not because of my father. Not because of any of them.”

I can feel it now—the weight of his words, the impossibility of what he’s asking. I’m trapped, and he knows it.

He extends his hand, magic swirling between us. “I’ll get you down,” he murmurs, almost gently. “But don’t think for a second that things are going to change just because you hit the ground.”

The magic snaps, and I fall. But I know now—there’s no escaping this. There’s no escaping him