The moment I opened my eyes, the air felt sharper, heavier, as if it carried warnings I hadn’t noticed before. My pulse hit the roof instantly. Something had shifted. Danger wasn’t approaching; it was already inside the room, slithering between the shadows, unseen but tangible. Adrian’s presence beside me was a tether, grounding me in a world that had gone chaotic, unpredictable, and deadly. His eyes, cold and calculating, scanned the room with precision, every muscle coiled as if anticipating the strike before it landed.
“Stay close,” he muttered, barely above a whisper, but each word carried authority. I nodded, heart hammering, trying to steady my breathing. Each step I had taken in the past few weeks, each revelation, each betrayal had built toward this point, and the weight of it pre
