The ground didn’t just shake—it roared, wild and hungry, beneath the construction site. June clawed her way out of the smashed van, fingers digging into cold, wet sand. She hugged the silver box tight under her arm. Her mother’s heart was inside. All around, the New York skyline looked unchanged, but the air? It buzzed. Heavy, electric.
“Raven! Marcus! Get out now!” June yelled.
A black car from the Order of the Rose flew over the edge of the pit, headlights slicing through the swirling dust. It didn’t slow down. It aimed right for them, barreling down the dirt incline, set to crush the van.
Marcus shoved Dante out the back door just in time. The black car slammed the van’s side—crunch, like a bone snapping.
“June, run!” Marcus gasped, wedged between the van and a concrete pillar, pain
