The building shook, dust raining from the cracked ceiling.
Ariana clutched Adrian’s arm like her life depended on it—because it did. Every heartbeat thumped in her ears, loud and jagged, like a warning. Shadows stretched across the hallway, alive and hungry, curling around corners, sliding across broken walls.
“They’re here,” Adrian growled, jaw tight, eyes narrowing into black slits. “And they’re not leaving without taking everything.”
Ariana swallowed hard. Her hands were trembling, but she didn’t pull away. She pressed herself to him instinctively, letting his presence anchor her amid the chaos. Every instinct screamed to run—but a deeper, more dangerous part of her, the part that had survived too much, wanted to fight.
“What do we do?” she whispered, voice shaking.
“Survive,” he s
