The silence in Lina’s room was heavy, the air thick with the smell of old paper and the faint scent of her perfume. She was hunched over her desk, her eyes blurring over the text, when a sharp thud against the balcony glass made her jump.
Her heart didn't just beat; it hammered against her ribs with a sickening dread. Her first thought wasn't of a thief—it was of her father. If he found her awake, or worse, if he thought something was wrong, the consequences would be terrifying. Her survival instincts flared. With a quiet shink, her claws slid out, glowing faintly under the desk lamp. She stayed low to the ground, moving toward the window like a shadow, ready to strike anything that broke through.
"Who’s there?" she whispered, her voice trembling with a lethal edge.
A shadow moved on th
