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The grand ballroom of the Blackwell estate was awash with glittering light, silk gowns sweeping across polished marble floors, and the low murmur of powerful families making deals behind polite smiles. The air smelled of expensive perfume, cigar smoke, and something darker—an unspoken promise of power and danger beneath the veneer of civility.
Among the adults, a small figure with a sharp, defiant glint in her dark eyes moved like a wild thing out of place. Valeria De Luca, ten years old and as fierce as a lion cub, tugged on her mother's arm, her small hand barely reaching the folds of silk.
"I don't want to be here," she whispered, voice edged with boredom and stubbornness.
Her mother Isabella de Luca , flawless in a gown of deep emerald, smiled indulgently but said nothing, leaving Valeria to wander just enough to stay out of trouble but not far enough to disappear.
Valeria's gaze swept the room until it settled on the far corner where a tall boy stood with an air of cold command. Cassian Blackwell was fourteen, already molded by years of mafia legacy and cruelty, his sharp eyes scanning the crowd like a hawk. He wasn't just a boy; he was the heir to an empire.
Their eyes met.
Valeria's first instinct was to glare, but something in Cassian's expression—a mixture of amusement and something darker—made her pause. He didn't look like the adults around her, those who spoke in whispered threats or smiled with daggers hidden behind their teeth. No, Cassian seemed… different. Like a predator watching a wild animal, curious and calculating.
Cassian stepped forward, the movement smooth and controlled despite his youth. "Lost, princess?" His voice was low but carried over the din like a challenge.
Valeria lifted her chin defiantly. "I'm not lost. I'm exactly where I want to be."
A slow smirk tugged at Cassian's lips. "Is that so? And what would a ten-year-old want at a gathering meant for men and women with sharp teeth?"
She crossed her arms. "I'm here because I'm bored. Because my mother says I have to learn to act like a lady. But I don't want to."
Cassian's dark eyes sparkled with amusement. "A lady, huh? I think I prefer the monster."
"Monster?" Valeria's brows furrowed.
"The little monster in silk," he said, nodding toward her dress—the too-large, stiff fabric that tried and failed to tame her wild spirit. "You don't belong here, and I like that."
Valeria glanced down at her gown, then back up with a flash of a grin. "I belong wherever I want."
Cassian's smile grew. "Bold words. Most would hide behind their parents or their pretty dresses."
"I don't hide."
He stepped closer, eyes narrowing, studying her. "You're different. Dangerous, even."
Valeria blinked, unsure if 'dangerous' was a compliment or a threat.
"I'm Cassian," he said, extending a hand, one that bore the faintest scar on the knuckle—proof of battles no child should know.
"Valeria, Valeria de Luca." She took his hand briefly, her grip surprisingly firm for a child.
They stood like that for a moment, two young souls caught between innocence and a dark world pulling them apart.
"You're not scared of me?" Cassian asked softly.
Valeria shrugged. "Why should I be? I don't even know you."
"That makes two of us," Cassian said, voice dropping just a bit.
He looked around the room, then back at her. "Come on. Let's find somewhere quieter."
Before she could protest, he grabbed her hand and led her toward the grand marble staircase, dodging between adults engrossed in their own dangerous games.
At the top of the stairs, they found a secluded balcony where the night air was sharp and cool.
Valeria pulled her jacket tighter around her small frame, shivering slightly. "Why did you bring me here?"
Cassian's gaze softened for a fraction of a second. "Because you're the only person here who doesn't pretend."
She looked up at him, confused.
"You know the games adults play, right? Lies, threats, power…"
Valeria nodded slowly, her young mind trying to grasp the shadows she glimpsed.
Cassian inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "I don't want you to become like that. But you will if you stay here."
Her eyes narrowed. "I don't want to be like anyone else."
He smiled, a brief flash of something real. "Good. Then maybe we won't be enemies."
Valeria studied him for a moment. "Are you always this serious?"
"Only when it matters."
She giggled, a sound like a bell cutting through the tension.
Cassian's gaze lingered on her, his mind racing with conflicting thoughts—admiration for her fiery spirit, protectiveness he barely understood, and a dark hunger he tried to suppress.
They stayed on the balcony long after the adults had forgotten they were there, two children bound by unspoken truths.
As the evening faded into night, Cassian finally spoke. "Promise me something?"
"What?"
"That you won't change."
Valeria smiled brightly. "I promise."
He squeezed her hand gently, then released it.
Back inside, the gala's noise swallowed them again.
Valeria's mother appeared, calling her back.
As she left, Valeria glanced over her shoulder.
Cassian's eyes followed her until she disappeared.
He knew this was only the beginning.
.