The midnight hour has long since passed, and the gallery feels like it belongs to a different world. Julian doesn't let me rest. He leads me out of the bedroom, his hand wrapped tight around my wrist. He is naked, unashamed, and radiating a terrifying level of power. He takes me to the library, a room where the walls are lined with thousands of leather-bound secrets. In the center of the room stands a large, tilted drafting table.
"My grandfather used this to map out the lands he stole," Julian whispers, his voice smooth and dangerous. "Tonight, it will serve a better purpose."
He lifts me onto the slanted wood. The surface is cold and hard against my bare back, but I don’t care. The grey smoke is beginning to ghost around his heart now, a faint blurring of his chest that makes him look
