The alarms didn’t sound like warnings.
They sounded like hunger.
A deep, mechanical howl that vibrated through the concrete floor and up my spine, rattling my teeth, shaking loose something feral inside my chest. Red lights strobed harder now, pulsing like a heartbeat that wasn’t human.
Mara Vale swore again, sharp and ugly. “Lock it down. Lock everything down.”
The man in black laughed.
Not loud.
Not manic.
Pleased.
“Too late,” he said calmly. “Once Seraphine starts something, she finishes it.”
My pulse hammered. “You planned this.”
“I anticipated it,” he corrected. “There’s a difference.”
I backed farther away from him, palms slick with sweat, stitches screaming as I shifted my weight. The room felt smaller now. Air heavier. Like the walls were leaning in to listen.
Mara turn
