The world collapsed around Ariella in a violent storm of sound and impact.
Metal screamed against metal. Glass shattered. Her body jerked forward, the seatbelt digging cruelly into her chest. Her head snapped sideways, striking something hard. Pain exploded at the base of her skull, and the night dissolved into fragments of light and shadow.
She tried to breathe, but the air was thick with smoke and the acrid sting of gasoline. Every inhale burned. Somewhere, muffled through the ringing in her ears, came the chaotic chorus of voices, shouts, footsteps, and the thud of doors slamming open.
“Ariella!”
Elian’s voice cut through the haze. Rough. Urgent. Alive.
Her eyelids fluttered. Shapes swam in and out of focus. A hand gripped her shoulder, strong and insistent, shaking her back into c
