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Striding away, I no longer feel like crying. I feel just a bit empowered by what I insisted on. I really have reached my limit on people who think they know who I am.

My name is Silla Tremaine, and I am not a weak, spoiled woman living in a gilded cage. Though a prison is still a prison, no matter how pretty it appears to be.

SIDNEY

Silla came home in a mood last night. I don’t know how the meeting went, outside of her telling me that he was a small dicked man who was clearly compensating. When I asked her if he needed to be relieved of his small member, Grayson snorted.

“That’s to be seen, Sidney,” he said, watching as Silla grabbed Andrya’s hand to help her change. There’s a zipper that’s a bitch to get down alone. I think she’s had her fill of testosterone because she fell asleep last night wrapped in Andrya’s arms.

“Sidney, will you spar with me, please?” Silla asks, winding her braid into a bun. “I feel unsettled, and I don’t like not knowing if I’m capable of bringing a man to his knees if he touches me.”

“Who touched you, Kitten?” Ayden asks, kissing the back of her neck. Her eyelashes flutter at his touch, making me smile. I need our twenty questions session to happen later today, so we can have our fun. Silla has made it clear that she wants to start having sex again based on the suction cup dildo she left on the shower wall this morning.

Fuck, I want to know if she actually used it or is just dropping teasers to mess with us. Godsdamnit I’m harder than a rock now. Clearing my throat, I force myself to focus.

“If I tell you, you’ll kill them, and I’m not sure if we're done with them yet,” Silla says carefully. Grayson smirks on the couch, legs splayed wide as he looks something up on his phone.

“You were pretty fierce last night, Dangerous Girl. Any more practice, and you’ll be able to drop any man or woman who pisses you off. Do you want to spar here, or down the street at the gym?” Gray asks.

There’s a gym that I found that I’ve started sparring, running, and weight training at with the guys when we have some time. Isaac and Silla were wrapped up in research, and boredom isn’t a good look for us.

“I kind of want to get out for a bit,” she says, wrinkling her nose. “No one will think I’m Cinder in workout clothes, right?”

The similarities, now that she’s looking for them, are starting to fuck with her head. They may not be blood sisters, but their skin tone and features are similar.

“No, Pet,” I tell her with a smile. “Run along and get dressed so we can go. You look as if you have some energy to run off, so we’ll jog there, okay?”

Nodding, Silla goes to change, and I turn to Grayson.

“Do I need to worry about anything?” I ask bluntly. “Did she get hurt?”

“No, the leader of the Underground, Falcon, is a bit of a dick,” he explains. “It appears everyone thinks Silla is this spoiled royal brat, but she’s nothing of the sort.”

“Silla wasn’t living in the castle because she wanted to,” Isaac grunts, leaning forward from his perch on the couch.

“We know that, but no one else does. Silla got very tired of people telling her she’d make a great ‘Puppet Queen’,” Gray mutters. “Silla made light of it in front of the crowds of people around them when she told him he was compensating for a tiny dick, but I don’t know if they’re the right people for us to be working with.”

“We can always shift the plan so we don’t need them,” Isaac says caustically. No one is allowed to fuck with Silla, and I kind of agree with his words. I need to start working on a poison that is tasteless in case we decide to poison the castle members.

“Do we turn him over to Cinder?” Andrya asks curiously. “I mean, I don’t know that anyone deserves that, but how much of an asshole are we talking about?”

“One who speaks from ignorance,” Grayson explains. “I think he’s innocent and means well, but he was spouting bullshit at our girl.”

“Yes he was,” Silla says, dressed in black leggings, a matching crop top, and sneakers.

“Sweater,” Ayden reminds her, tossing a hoodie at her.

Smiling, Silla sees it is his. Throwing it over her head, it’s huge, but Ayden looks smug as a pig in shit.

“Smooth,” I chuckle. “Do we need to know anything else about last night?”

“Falcon is an uneducated asswipe, has a half brother who lived as an orphan, and they recently reconnected. I don’t believe Kal knows what Falcon’s real name is, but he kept trying to reassure me that he’s a good guy,” Silla reports, blowing out a breath. “I don’t like them. I know it sounds petulant, but they’re both so arrogant. The only way I’d agree to speak to Falcon again is if he came to me on his knees.”

“Always trust your gut, Baby Girl,” Andrya reassures her. “You won’t always vibe well with everyone, and there’s a reason for that. Now go do weird work out things, while I make Grayson help me prepare a lasagna.”

“Fuck, that sounds really good,” he groans. “A million times yes, please.”

Linking my fingers in hers, I grab water from the fridge before waving as we walk out. My phone is in my pocket, and my shorts are tight enough that it won’t fall out.