"And the price?"
"The price was me." Noel's hand found mine on the couch cushion. Her fingers interlaced with mine. "She taught me everything she knew. Made me into the perfect weapon for wars I never wanted to fight. And then she aimed me at Stark Industries like I was just another asset in her portfolio."
Mera had gone quiet. Cheon was watching from the kitchen island. Neither of them interrupted.
"I'm not my mother." Noel's voice gained an edge. "I use her tactics because they work. But I choose my own battles. And I choose who I fight for."
"Who do you fight for?"
"Right now?" Her grip tightened on my hand. "You. Them." She nodded toward Mera and Cheon. "This ridiculous family you're building out of broken pieces and borrowed power and sheer stubborn refusal to accept the hand you were dealt."
I didn't have words for that.
So I kissed her instead.
It was brief. Softer than our kiss the night before. More deliberate. A promise rather than an impulse.
