She drew her dagger, then crossed the alley on fast and silent feet. Something stirred behind the rubble. This human was stealthier than any others she’d seen, but not stealthy enough.

Feet from the rubble, Val raised her dagger.

“Stop!” someone familiar hissed.

Val froze. Tetra stepped out from behind the rubble, hands raised, black eyes ablaze with defiance.

“Tetra!” Val growled. Fury pressed the scarlet fog to the corners of her vision, and she gripped the dagger tightly. “I told you to stay at the Fist!”

“No.” Tetra folded her arms, voice low. “You told me to do what Enzo said, and he told me to do whatever I had to.”

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake,” Val muttered. “What a day for you to discover a loophole. I don’t have time for this. Go to Genevieve.” She turned away.

“Val, wait!” Tetra scampered across the alley and grabbed her arm.

Val shook her off. “I’m busy. This is an important mission.”

“I know!” Tetra exclaimed. “That’s why I’m here!”

Val turned to her, eyebrows raised. “You had a good time fighting that guy at Blair and Yuka’s house, huh? Liked getting praised? Liked being the hero?”

“Maybe, but—” Tetra began.

“It’s not always like that, Tetra. Sometimes, the good guys get killed.” Val strove to keep her voice down. “Especially when feral faeries follow them into fights!”

Tetra thrust her fingers into her choppy hair and pulled it hard. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry!”

The faerie had never spoken those words to Val with sincerity. They froze her in her tracks.

“I screwed up at the bodega. I know I did. It was tempting to hurt those rude assholes, and I could have, okay?” Tetra threw her hands up. “They wanted to hurt me, and I could have defended myself under your orders, but I didn’t do that. I didn’t want to screw it up! Flipping the car was…I don’t know. The only other thing I could think of!”

Val blinked. “You weren’t forced not to hurt them because of my orders?”

“No!” Tetra hissed. “I could have beaten their asses since I knew they were out to harm me, but I didn’t. I know I screwed up. I know I ruined everything, and I’m sorry.” She stopped, and her tone turned gentle. “I really am.”

Disarmed, Val stared at the faerie in silence. Long seconds dragged past. A thud from the warehouse reminded her that she had work to do.

Val exhaled. “Okay, apology accepted. Honestly...” She grimaced. “I might have been a little harsh.”

“A little harsh?” Tetra raised her eyebrows.

“Don’t push it,” Val warned, trying not to smile. “Seriously, go to Genevieve while I deal with this situation.”

“Don’t you get it?” Tetra threw up her hands. “I made that apology so you’d let me help you. Why would you let me go through with that and then send me away?”

“I’m serious, Tetra. We’re cool. Well, cooler than we were, but it’s not safe. I want you to get out of here,” Val told her.

“Val, please. Don’t go in there alone,” Tetra begged.

Val folded her arms, keeping her voice low. “You know I could order you to leave.”

“Please, don’t. Please.” Tetra groaned. “Do you know how humiliating this is? Just listen to me and let me help you!”

“Tetra—” Val began.

“Has it ever occurred to you that you could order me to go in there with you?” Tetra cut her off. “You could order me to protect you. To fight to the death to keep you safe like you do for your clients.”

“I’m not going to abuse you,” Val grumbled. “I’m supposed to keep you safe. That’s why I got so pissed at the bodega. That whole thing made me feel like I’d never be able to help you live a happy, free life.”

Tetra blinked. “That...that’s what you want for me.” It wasn’t a question. “You’ve shown me that from the day I became your vassal.”

“Yes, very cute. Sentimental sap and so on.” Val sneered. “Now⁠—”

Tetra clapped her hands over her ears. “Don’t! Don’t make me leave!”

“What is your problem?” Val whispered angrily. “Why did you come here?”

Tetra let her hands fall to her sides. “You know what the worst thing Sinatria ever did to me was?”

Val glared at her. “I don’t have time to listen to you talk shit about your sister.”

Tetra held up her hands. “Please listen.”

“Fine. Make it quick,” Val growled. “What’s this terrible thing that Sinatria did to you?”

Tetra sighed. “She did the worst thing a faerie could.”

“What?” Val demanded, worry knotting her belly. Do you have a reason to be like this, Tetra? Is my friend Sinatria not what she seems?

Tetra closed her eyes, hands flexing open and shut by her sides. “She unlocked something inside me,” she admitted, “that allowed me to c... To ca...c...ca...”

Relief flooded Val’s chest. She tried to smother a grin, but it was impossible not to enjoy herself. “What was that? What’d she unlock?”

“She…she made me… Sh-she changed me,” Tetra stuttered. “She⁠—”

Val cupped a hand behind her ear, grinning. “Are you trying to say that you care?”

Tetra stamped her foot. “Okay, fine! Sinatria made me give a shit about someone besides myself. There. I said it.”

Val chuckled. “Well done.”

Tetra plowed on. “It hurt that you wouldn’t trust me after what happened, and I want to make it right, but this is about more than that. You’ve done so much for me when you had every right to make me do whatever you wanted. I’m not letting you die.”

Vulnerability shone in the faerie’s black eyes.

“Listen, it’s cool.” Val spread her hands, tilting the dagger’s blade. “I forgive you. You sure you want to do this? There are ten armed gangsters and a couple of workers in there. They might be armed, too.”

Tetra grinned. “Do I have your permission to hurt people?”