The night still stank of smoke. Ash drifted like dying snowflakes over the city, curling against stone walls and cobblestones slick with blood. Somewhere far behind her, flames devoured the mansion that had been her cage.
Adriana ran.
Her lungs burned, every step pounding through her bruised body, but she didn’t dare slow. The fire hadn’t been an ending—it was the opening shot of a hunt. Damian’s world, Isabella’s lies, the council’s greed—they would not let her go. Not now. Not ever.
The alleys of Rome—dark arteries carved through the bones of the ancient city—swallowed her whole. She darted between markets long since closed, through streets where only the desperate prowled. She felt eyes on her, shadows whispering. Every corner could hide a knife.
She stumbled once, hand bracing agai
