The victory in the boardroom felt hollow the moment we stepped back into the sanctuary of the penthouse. While the lawyers and directors were busy scrubbing their tracks and burning ledgers, I knew the Shadow Council wouldn't just lick their wounds. They were an organization built on centuries of hierarchy and control; losing a laboratory and a prototype was an insult they would inevitably answer with blood.
I stood in the center of the kitchen, my bare feet cold against the white marble, staring at the countertop without really seeing it. My body felt light, almost buoyant, as if the silver energy I’d channeled at the bunker had permanently altered my density. It was a strange, intoxicating sensation, but underneath it was a jagged edge of anxiety that refused to blunt.
"Elena. You're v
