"No predator in Aethelgard Prime will ever lay a finger on you," Gerald promised softly, his dark eyes locking onto hers with an unyielding, absolute conviction that chilled her to her very core.
Miles away from the opulent warmth of the Sovereign Estate, far beneath the soaring spires of the Sky-District, the badlands border lay shrouded in an oily, damp fog. Sector 19 was a forgotten industrial wasteland where rusted pipelines groaned under the pressure of toxic runoff and cold rain slicked the jagged concrete ruins.
Deep within an abandoned power sub-station, the damp air smelled heavily of ozone, rotting synthetic rubber, and old rust. Water dripped rhythmically from a ruptured ceiling beam, striking the cracked metal floor with hollow, reverberating thuds.
Christ stood near a f
