The safehouse was too quiet.
No gunfire.
No alarms.
No ticking clock counting down to disaster.
Just the sound of my own breathing and the dull ache in my shoulder where Lucien had stitched me up for the second time.
Three days since Viper's Nest fell.
Three days since Viktor died.
Three days since the city stopped looking over its shoulder.
The council had declared the operation complete.
Debt paid.
Case closed.
I didn't feel victorious.
I felt hollow.
Kade had left yesterday.
Back to Marcus.
Back to whatever job Marcus found for people who enjoyed breaking bones professionally.
His goodbye had been brief.
"You did good, ledger girl."
Then he was gone.
Lucien hadn't left at all.
I found him in the kitchen.
Making coffee.
The sight was oddly comforting.
A centuries-o
