The hiss of the seals was a serpent’s warning. High-pressure river water, black and freezing, began to spray through the microscopic gaps in the launch gate, turning the terminal into a humid, echoing tomb. Every drop that hit the concrete floor was a second lost for the boy trapped in the ceramic white coffin of the pod.
Seraphina kept her hand pressed firmly against Vincenzo’s chest. She could feel the erratic, fluttery rhythm of his heart beneath the expensive wool of his coat. It was the pulse of a coward who had spent his life behind firewalls, now forced to face the physical weight of his own destruction.
"Breathe, Vincenzo," Seraphina hissed, her face inches from his. Her voice was a low, melodic blade. "If you don't slow your heart, that scanner stays red. If that door doesn't op
