SERAPHINA The elevator opened with a hiss, and I barely had a second to breathe before the man’s grip tightened on my wrist again. His fingers dug in like iron. No escape. “Let’s go, pretty boy,” he said with a twisted grin, yanking me out into darkness that stank of filth, wine, and rotting desire. The underground brothel. A hundred times more terrifying than the Sinspire floor above. "Juan!" wolves greeted him with toothy grins, snarling and drunk on pleasure. So that’s his name. I tried to keep my expression blank, to control my disgust, but every step deeper into that place scraped my nerves raw. My boots echoed across velvet-draped halls lined with glass cages, blood-red curtains, and chained bodies. My heart twisted in my chest. Male and female prostitutes, displayed like

