Lana kept her expression neutral, though her pulse thundered in her ears. Sebastian stood close, his gaze sharp, calculating. This wasn’t an offer made out of kindness. This was a test—a challenge wrapped in the pretense of an alliance.
She could feel it in the air between them.
Sebastian wanted to see what she would do.
If she was weak, if she was reckless, if she was worth the risk.
Lana took a slow breath. Then she tilted her head, studying him the same way he was studying her.
“I’d be a fool to trust you,” she said.
Sebastian’s smirk was slow, approving. “Good. That means you’re thinking.”
Lana glanced at the door behind him, the hallway beyond dark and quiet. “Why are you here, really?”
Sebastian’s smirk faded. “Because I know how this ends.”
Lana folded her arms. “And how’s
