THE SUN hadn’t even fully risen yet, but the compound looked like it had been dragged through hell. Smoke curled in thin gray lines from collapsed beams. Fires still smoldered in blackened patches, and bullet casings glittered across the dirt like twisted ornaments. Someone had tried to hang Christmas lights along the southern fence last night, but half of them were hanging in melted strands, blinking weakly, like even they weren’t sure they wanted to stay lit.
Lily stood in the center of the courtyard, staring at the mess. Her palms were scraped. Her arm stung where glass had cut her. Her hair was a tangled disaster. She didn’t care about any of that. Her whole body still hummed with leftover adrenaline and the sharp, painful sound of gunfire echoing in her bones.
Ronan was pacing in fr
