Juliette’s POV:
Smoke drifted through the shattered corridors of the underground arena as I stumbled out with my hand pressed hard against my bleeding side. Every breath burned. Every step felt like glass grinding beneath my skin. But pain was not what kept my legs trembling.
It was the silence.
The silence after Lukas vanished into the chaos.
The silence after the intruder escaped with whatever piece of me he had stolen.
The silence after Dorian and Bryan’s roars faded into distant echoes.
I leaned against the broken doorway, chest heaving, my pulse uneven. The world above ground felt too bright, too open, too exposed after everything that happened in the dark.
A figure sprinted down the hallway.
“Juliette!”
Dorian.
His golden eyes locked on mine, wild with panic. His clothes we
