Brielle's POV
I woke to the sound of metal creaking. Not loud, but sharp and deliberate, like someone was opening a gate they wanted to keep quiet. The smell hit me next—sterile, with an edge of bleach and something else I couldn’t place. Something metallic. Blood?
My eyelids felt like stone. My body heavier than I remembered. I blinked, vision swimming, and realized I was lying on a cold metal table, a thin blanket draped over me. The room was dim, lit by a single buzzing fluorescent light.
Panic slithered in slowly, like a cold snake curling around my spine.
I sat up too fast, and my head spun. My neck ached where the needle had pierced it. My memories rushed back in disjointed flashes—Elias’ voice, Fiona’s scream, the men in black. The syringe.
I was taken.
My breath caught in my
