( Daphne Spinster's POV )
Blood was easier than people.
Blood obeyed rules.
Pressure.
Volume.
Flow.
Mana.
Control.
People did not.
They smiled when they disliked you.
Offered gifts that came with expectations no one bothered to say aloud.
Called you family because a document gave them permission.
Blood never lied.
I raised my hand.
The crimson sphere above my palm stretched.
One strand became five.
Five became twenty.
They circled my fingers in thin, controlled lines.
I increased the pressure.
Gravity descended.
The strands stopped.
Not because I released them.
Because each one had suddenly become dozens of times heavier.
My wrist trembled.
I ignored it.
Thirty seconds.
Forty.
Fifty.
Pain started behind my eyes.
I continued.
One minute.
The blood collapsed.
It struck the stone floor with enough weight to crack the surface beneath it.
I exhaled.
Slowly.
"Again."
"No."
I looked toward the door.
Duke Spinster stood there.
I hadn't heard him enter.
