Annakel
Alexander doesn’t tell her the plan right away.
That’s how she knows it’s dangerous.
Back at the penthouse, the air feels tighter than it did this morning. Viktor is already there, speaking to two men Annakel hasn’t met. Both are human, both dressed like they could walk into a grocery store unnoticed, both carrying themselves like violence in polite packaging.
Jonah stands near the dining table with a laptop open, jaw set. Inessa hovers at the edge of the room, pretending to straighten things that don’t need straightening, eyes sharp.
Edmund is in the guest room. Sleeping, hopefully. Or lying awake, listening to the war build around his daughter’s marriage.
Annakel steps inside and feels Alexander’s hand at her lower back, guiding her forward. The touch is light.
Her body st
